Jetta,Corolla,or Mazda

[anthony]

I am starting to think of my next car,as my very trustworthy and completely reliable Honda Accord Euro will be coming up to the 5 year mark in June,is immaculate,and only done 57000 kilometers,so i think now is a good time to change over.

Unfortunatly Honda does not have anything suitable in its line up,so i am looking at fully equiped compact sedans.

1.Mazda 3 SP25 GT is very sporty and looks fantastic,but negatives are very tight back seat space and small boot,as well as louder than average engine and tyre noise.

2.Toyota Corolla ZR ,very roomy interior and boot,quiet and smooth with classic good looks,and excellent reliability,quality,and resale value.
Just not the most exciting of the trio.

3.Volkswagen Jetta highline,impressive interior ,best boot space,and conservative but good looking.
Question marks over reliability of TSI engine,and DSG gearbox,as well as build quality and dealers.

I have owned 4 VWs before,but never a Mazda or Toyota.

Please help with some unbiassed advice

Thank you.

[h100vw]

I am starting to think of my next car,as my very trustworthy and completely reliable Honda Accord Euro will be coming up to the 5 year mark in June,is immaculate,and only done 57000 kilometers,so i think now is a good time to change over.

Unfortunatly Honda does not have anything suitable in its line up,so i am looking at fully equiped compact sedans.

1.Mazda 3 SP25 GT is very sporty and looks fantastic,but negatives are very tight back seat space and small boot,as well as louder than average engine and tyre noise.

2.Toyota Corolla ZR ,very roomy interior and boot,quiet and smooth with classic good looks,and excellent reliability,quality,and resale value.
Just not the most exciting of the trio.

3.Volkswagen Jetta highline,impressive interior ,best boot space,and conservative but good looking.
Question marks over reliability of TSI engine,and DSG gearbox,as well as build quality and dealers.

I have owned 4 VWs before,but never a Mazda or Toyota.

Please help with some unbiassed advice

Thank you.

Keep the Honda, go on big holiday.

Gavin

[brad]

Stay away from the Corolla. My inlaws have the latest version & you can see cost-cutting everywhere you look.

The Euro will soldier on for years (how does anyone only do 60k in 5 years?. Get it detailed at Final Inspection. Fit some koni dampers & new wheels & it will be like a new car

[anthony]

Brad do the inlaws have the hatch or sedan ?

I am not a fan of the hatch,but the sedan has roomier interior,much bigger boot,and more equipment.

Also better looking IMHO...and apparently better to drive than its sibling.

[tigger73]

If you're worried about the reliability of the 118TSI (and I don't blame you), then you need to look at the 103TDI Highline or the 15TSI Highline. Both these cars have a much more reliable engine and DSG is the higher spec DQ250 model which has had a lot fewer issues than the 7 speed DQ200 DSG in the lower priced cars. Though in VW's defence, although not perfect I think these have been getting better.

[JustCruisn]

Avoid the 118TSI and 7 speed DSG and the Jetta should be right to go.
Mazda will use way fuel and requires twice the servicing, corolla will be reliable but fail at everything else.
They all have their pros and cons, you just have to work out which is more important to you.

[brad]

Brad do the inlaws have the hatch or sedan ?

I am not a fan of the hatch,but the sedan has roomier interior,much bigger boot,and more equipment.

Also better looking IMHO...and apparently better to drive than its sibling.

They have the hatch but we have Corolla Sedans in our fleet pool at work. They are unpleasant to drive and aimed at the lowest common denominator. The in-laws love their Corolla but their last 3 cars have been Toyotas & they don't even look at the competition.

My 86yo Dad has the very first of the Accord Euros (Lux spec) (and had the Accord Seppo before that) and the Corolla would be a big disappointment after the Honda.

If I was purchasing I'd head for the Mazda or a 147tsi Jetta or an Elegance spec 118tsi (different engine to the Jetta) Skoda Octavia (but I'm biased as that's what I drive).

I have friend with Hyundais that seem more upmarket than the Corolla. I used to be a Toyota mech in the late '80s & I reckon Toyotas have gone backwards quite badly.

[Lucas_R]

Either keep the Accord or get the Mazda SP25. We just got a SP25 Astina sedan a week ago and its really nice - much nicer than the Corolla, Civic, Lancer, Impreza etc etc.

Also note that the SP25 sedans have a much larger boot than the hatch's. The interior on the Mazda is leaps ahead of all the other Jap cars too - it's close to the euro's.