Mazda 3 MPS

smy0003 · Postby **smy0003** » Tue Feb 28, 2017 9:41 pm

I've been in a CC, the interior quality is better than any bmw or merc I've been in. Very nice.

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Tigger · Postby **Tigger** » Sat Mar 04, 2017 10:38 pm

The R32 is going to be a money pit. A bit boring to look at, too. A friend had one and even his mechanic told him to get rid of it when things started to go wrong.
I wouldn't recommend any German car, but that's just me. French will give you massive headaches.
Having said that, I'd kill for the Alfa 159 GTS with AWD and the 3.2l busso V6. Mmmm
But that, that is the very definition of headache.

What about something like a Camry Sportivo? Spacious, hard as nails, and rwd.

speed · Postby **speed** » Sat Mar 04, 2017 11:18 pm

He's already bought a cc Passat and I believe that camrys are still fwd.

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smy0003 · Postby **smy0003** » Sat Mar 04, 2017 11:41 pm

Tigger wrote:The R32 is going to be a money pit. A bit boring to look at, too. A friend had one and even his mechanic told him to get rid of it when things started to go wrong.
I wouldn't recommend any German car, but that's just me. French will give you massive headaches.
Having said that, I'd kill for the Alfa 159 GTS with AWD and the 3.2l busso V6. Mmmm
But that, that is the very definition of headache.

What about something like a Camry Sportivo? Spacious, hard as nails, and rwd.

Camry hasn't been RWD since 1982. French cars aren't that bad, neither are German cars. They are not Corollas, but every performance car makes reliability concessions compared to a Camry, even the ND with soft top and gearbox issues.

Tigger · Postby **Tigger** » Sun Mar 05, 2017 11:23 am

I swear i had the same conversation with someone who brought one, and was proved wrong. Now, however, i can't find a single thing on a red configuration.
I'll take that back!

bruce · Postby **bruce** » Sun Mar 05, 2017 3:22 pm

I can't believe u would recommend a Camry to anyone under 60!

jaycrab · Postby **jaycrab** » Sun Mar 05, 2017 4:25 pm

Tigger wrote:Having said that, I'd kill for the Alfa 159 GTS with AWD and the 3.2l busso V6. Mmmm
But that, that is the very definition of headache.

What about something like a Camry Sportivo? Spacious, hard as nails, and rwd.

I thought about a 159 ti. They're very nice but I've had two Alfas and was burnt on my last.
Also it doesn't have the busso V6. It's a GM block with Italian head and build. Still nice but nothing like the old V6 in the 147/156.

I cant fault the Passat so far. Its taking a while to adjust to the size but it feels and drives like a new 70k car.

bootz · Postby **bootz** » Sun Mar 05, 2017 7:44 pm

Oh no Camry love? LOL

Factory TRD V6 Supercharged, I will leave it to you to look up kw

MikeVictor · Postby **MikeVictor** » Sun Mar 05, 2017 8:29 pm

bootz wrote:Oh no Camry love? LOL

Factory TRD V6 Supercharged, I will leave it to you to look up kw

Copper I knew loathed the Camry's QPS had foisted on him - Aurion I think they're called? Said they had a penchant for trying to kill him with the torque-steer and the turning circle was hideous.

smy0003 · Postby **smy0003** » Sun Mar 05, 2017 8:34 pm

240kw?
I assume you're talking about the aurion? I see them from time to time and wonder whether I'd rather have one of them or a similar vintage SS. They're about the same price now. The v8 has a certain appeal (and running cost) but the VE interior is the single lowest quality interior I've ever been in.
The passat cc would certainly outrun the aurion, who knows how a VE SS would fair.

I'm just thinking out loud now...

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speed · Postby **speed** » Sun Mar 05, 2017 9:31 pm

I'm still in shock that somebody said that the r32 was boring and then suggested a camry.. the most boring car on the planet.

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Postby **NitroDann** » Mon Mar 06, 2017 6:46 am

I have a 2000 v6 manual camry that my little brother drives and its much quicker than the same vintage s pack commodore and about on par with the same vintage auto SS.

Even worse is that manual 3.5L magnas are comfortably faster than early 5.7L auto SS.

When you ignore the grand-dad factor you start to realise that many 'sports cars' are much worse in most ways than family sedans.

Also suggesting that german and french cars are ok in terns of reliability is a joke, any and every publication available which breaks down ownership costs wants to have a word with whoever said that.

If you want a good value dependable vehicle to put your family in buy mainstream japanese, its not up for debate its completely indisputable.

The real truth is that people cant get past the hangups of wanting a car which elicits some kind of status boner, regardless of plumetting resale, poor reliability, insane service costs or outright dealership sticker shock.

My 2c is buy the Mazda 3 but get an SP25 and enjoy 10 years of cheap reliable sporty motoring without the headaches of maintaining a powertrain which you wont often get to enjoy and which doesnt match the chassis anyway.

Dann

speed · Postby **speed** » Mon Mar 06, 2017 8:05 am

I don't think that anyone is debating toyota's reliability.

The German cars that I've owned have been great value for money and we've never bought them for some sort of boner status.

We've also never had any reliability issues with them.

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Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Mon Mar 06, 2017 8:20 am

I agree with a lot of nitros comments. The trouble with the car world is that truth is often one of the casualties about vehicles and their makes and faults service etc. I still have a copy of the Dog and Lemon Guide which few averages punters would read ,or if they did perhaps reckon it was all fairy tales. A mate bought a Euro used 4WD at considerable cost and told me that the well know model got terrific reviews- he never read the D&L and there was no way I would have mentioned it after the event-. The modern equivalent is John Cadogan Auto expert- Australian guy. If nothing else his on line commentaries are highly entertaining and at times eye watering. His views on VW don't seem to bear any resemblance to the sycophant main stream RACV etc who rap up cars that dont deserve it. I guess the writers have to be careful otherwise they dont get work as journos etc. Its all about business.

Japanese cars in general have a good reputation but there are exceptions where Japanese ownership has been watered down- you know .. dont you.

AndyT · Postby **AndyT** » Mon Mar 06, 2017 9:23 am

My only 1st hand Euro car experience has been with an Alfa 156 and whilst it was a thoroughly enjoyable car to drive, the maintenance and repair costs were (to me) eyewateringly expensive. It didn't stay long.

Close friends are buying late model BMW's and whilst I am a fan, have been put off by their ownership experiences and costs for repairs that seem to be par for the course of ownership. As one mate said of the 'normal' oil leaks of his 335i convertible, "my VN Commodore never leaked this much oil!"

I think perception of Euro cars differs to the reality and agree with comments of perceived badge superiority, German engineering excellence and the like. What makes them appear so much better built than Japanese and now Korean models?. Remember much of the Eurotrash out there isn't built in Europe anyway.

I am at the stage in life where I've done the Oz cars, Jap cars and would like to try another Euro (Merc) but again, the ownership experience makes me nervous