Looking at buying a one of the above vehicles, 2017 onwards……looking at upgrading from a Honda Jazz to something a little more powerful and luxurious, ie leather.
Would be open to other suggestions, though a little gun-shy of Euros.
Budget, hopefully under $25k.
Cheers!
EDIT: Would prefer nothing bigger than the Mazda/Civic.
Cheers….Camry hadn't really been on my radar…..wanted something a little sporty, which I should have mentioned!
Camry sportivo
Sporty… Mazda 3…
You and I have different definitions of "sporty" lol
Ok might be a Renault, but look at it
Power - 147kW @ 6050rpm
Torque - 260Nm @ 2000rpm
Power to Weight Ratio - 122.1 kW/t
Acceleration 0-100km/h - 6.7 s
Now that's sporty
Thanks spackbace…..nice looking car….just heard too many Euro horror stories!
Jeep…..{SHUDDER}.
I had a Mazda 3 Astina, my first brand new car!. Great little car, good mix of comfort and tech, with enough power. However about 5000ks in developed an bad rattle. Turned out it was a chassis weld which was faulty and had broken. Dealer was great in getting it fixed over the course of about two weeks, loan car and all that, but basically had to take the whole right hand side of the car off.
Mazda Australia was one of the worst customer experiences I had. I hit them up about an extra years warranty just to cover any potential further gremlins later on down the track (I had three years, shortly after I bought they went to 5 years standard), and it was like drawing blood from a stone.
Eventually after a few months, I managed to get it out of them, but the whole experience has turned me off them going forward. Sold the car last year.
That is concerning…….I had thought of Mazda as the type of company that would stand behind its product.
Get the Mazda 3 Astina as it offers a great balance of sporty and affordable maintenance costs with great looks and tech features. Most if not all dealers will initially put a wall against warranty claims etc. Mazda make solid cars and have good resale value.
Thanks Logical, I must admit I'm leaning heavily towards the Mazda…..build quality seems a lot more premium than the others…..and I agree, there's horror stories about every car manufacturer.
@Actionman77: As I said. The dealer was fantastic, and I cannot complain about the car itself. I would take it over the Honda any day of the week. I'd just highly recommend trying to get one of the models with the 5 year warranty if you can, I think it was those made mid 2018 onwards!
@OP
Give the Kia Cerato S a test-drive , they are pretty capable cars from factory and should tick your boxes.
Thanks, I'll add it to the list…..it's one I hadn't considered.
2nd hand?
You can get a 2017 Mazda 3/Axela hybrid for 20k with like 20,000KM imported from Japan, which is a bargain with most budget cars no longer deep discounted.
I mean the local 2021 hybrid model is 40k.
Hyundai i30 sr 150kw still have a few years warranty left
Thanks yogihogi……will check it out!
EDIT: Looks like only 124kW?
I30 SR. Emphasis on the SR.
Don’t write something off just because the number on the page appears ‘too low’. It might feel powerful enough to drive.
The i30 Sr is certainly a great looking vehicle, though I think I prefer the Cerato GT…..a close cousin I think?
@Actionman77: A better cousin iirc. The cerato gt matches the i30 n line (unless the latter has had a name change recently)
Honda has been going downhill since they stopped the accord euro. The latest generation all share that obnoxious fugly tail, the civic is second worst after the CRV. I wouldn't give them money based on their laziness and lack of range.
Appreciate all the input…….I've narrowed my choice down to a Kia Cerato GT (MY19) or Hyundai Elantra Sport (MY19).
Cerato seems to have the edge, more inclusions for the money and longer warranty.
For anyone interested, ended up picking up a 2019 MY20 Hyundai Elantra Sport…..8000km on the clock. $27k.
Ford focus 2016 (LZ) onward - no nasty DTC, go for S or Titanium trim. Strong 1.5T 4 cylinder (3 cylinder in the newer ones) works well, and the set of safety tech borrow from Volvo is one of the best that I have used to-date. Still love using Ford's Sync 3, as good as an in car system can get.
https://www.carsales.com.au/cars?q=(And.(C.Make.Ford..(C.Model.Focus..Badge.Titanium.))_.Year.range(2017..).)&sortkey=TopDeal&sb=~Price&pg=1
Civic.
Camry would be better in every way though. :D