Kizashi v Mazda 6

[~tc~]

As far as cars go, the States is like a different planet to the UK. Diesel cars outsell petrol here, and 9 out of 10 cars are manual. Without wanting to appear rude, American cars are considered quite primitive, and a program called Top Gear (very funny) often laugh at them. It's quite strange that in this day and age Americans still love gas guzzling big petrol engine'd cars so much. I suppose it is because your roads are so much bigger, and fuel so much cheaper.

A few comments to consider:
- Europeans really can not comprehend the concept of "space" as Americans do. In my travels all over the world, actually only the Chinese and Canadians are on the same page.
- laws are intentionally punitive against diesel cars in the US. I believe we are the only country in the world that taxes diesel higher than petrol, and the emissions limitations are downright Draconian.
- I really don't understand the whole manual transmission thing either, although due to the lack of public transport, we probably do drive in traffic more than Europeans do.

[paininthenuts]

Be careful with the diesels if you don't do long trips. A lot of people in Australia have found problems with the engine oil being diluted due to the engine ECU injecting extra diesel to clean the DPF. You end up having to get the oil changed more often. A few people on a Mazda forum I used to frequent found it was better if they used a lower gear/ drove it harder.

Sort of defeats the purpose of having the diesel for the economy!

Yeh, diesels don't like short journeys. Your OK if the engine can reach normal running temperature on a regular basis. If you work a mile up the road, buy a petrtol.

[~tc~]

If you work a mile up the road, buy a petrtol.

If you live a mile from work, but a bike ... A good pair of shoes ... A bus/subway pass.

NO car, gas or petrol, is going to do well with only those short trips. My mom just got rid of her '96 Volvo, it only had like 30k miles on it... But 4 sets of brakes, 2 or 3 exhaust systems ... Those short trips are killers.

[KuroNekko]

Electric vehicles would be the best for short distance commuting for a slew of reasons. I really think they make the best inner-city and short distance travel vehicles. PHEVs and hybrids would be good alternatives as well as they can utilize their electric powertrains in short and low speed travel.

[KuroNekko]

As far as cars go, the States is like a different planet to the UK. Diesel cars outsell petrol here, and 9 out of 10 cars are manual. Without wanting to appear rude, American cars are considered quite primitive, and a program called Top Gear (very funny) often laugh at them. It's quite strange that in this day and age Americans still love gas guzzling big petrol engine'd cars so much. I suppose it is because your roads are so much bigger, and fuel so much cheaper.

As ~tc~ already mentioned, it's because the driving conditions are so different from Europe to the US. Same goes for some Asian nations like Japan.
I've heard a lot of Americans gripe about how Japan does not import many American cars. I always state that for people to understand why, they need to visit Japan. Everything from the narrow roads, slow speed limits, tiny parking spaces, and the high cost of fuel pretty much makes American cars rather miserable for Japan. On the other hand, kei-cars powered by tiny 660cc engines are very popular in Japan and only Japanese companies make them.

Many Americans are well aware of Top Gear. In fact, it's the world's most popular non-fiction television show. It's great in that it entertains an international audience and even non-car enthusiasts like that show.
I am aware that Jeremy Clarkson ridicules American cars. I have a few Top Gear UK Edition magazines and can tell you that those Brits overrate British cars that are known to be rather junky in the US.
For example, nearly all of the brands ranking dead last in reliability ratings for decades are British. Mini, Jaguar, and Land Rover are notorious for being unreliable and expensive to fix.
Even German cars (which are the best from Europe) are known to be less reliable and more costly to fix than American and Asian counterparts.
So while Europeans may look at American cars as primitive, many Americans see European cars as expensive junk or lease-mobiles. The ridicule goes both ways.

[paininthenuts]

As far as cars go, the States is like a different planet to the UK. Diesel cars outsell petrol here, and 9 out of 10 cars are manual. Without wanting to appear rude, American cars are considered quite primitive, and a program called Top Gear (very funny) often laugh at them. It's quite strange that in this day and age Americans still love gas guzzling big petrol engine'd cars so much. I suppose it is because your roads are so much bigger, and fuel so much cheaper.

As ~tc~ already mentioned, it's because the driving conditions are so different from Europe to the US. Same goes for some Asian nations like Japan.
I've heard a lot of Americans gripe about how Japan does not import many American cars. I always state that for people to understand why, they need to visit Japan. Everything from the narrow roads, slow speed limits, tiny parking spaces, and the high cost of fuel pretty much makes American cars rather miserable for Japan. On the other hand, kei-cars powered by tiny 660cc engines are very popular in Japan and only Japanese companies make them.

Many Americans are well aware of Top Gear. In fact, it's the world's most popular non-fiction television show. It's great in that it entertains an international audience and even non-car enthusiasts like that show.
I am aware that Jeremy Clarkson ridicules American cars. I have a few Top Gear UK Edition magazines and can tell you that those Brits overrate British cars that are known to be rather junky in the US.
For example, nearly all of the brands ranking dead last in reliability ratings for decades are British. Mini, Jaguar, and Land Rover are notorious for being unreliable and expensive to fix.
Even German cars (which are the best from Europe) are known to be less reliable and more costly to fix than American and Asian counterparts.
So while Europeans may look at American cars as primitive, many Americans see European cars as expensive junk or lease-mobiles. The ridicule goes both ways.

I tend to agree. I am not a fan of Vauxhall, or Ford, which are considered British, although they aren't really. I certainly don't rate Land Rover, although the cars are very nice. Oh, and I should mention Mini are BMW. I believe the Japanese and Koreans make the best value for money cars. I believe American cars are well designed for the environment the inhabit.

[KuroNekko]

I tend to agree. I am not a fan of Vauxhall, or Ford, which are considered British, although they aren't really. I certainly don't rate Land Rover, although the cars are very nice. Oh, and I should mention Mini are BMW. I believe the Japanese and Koreans make the best value for money cars. I believe American cars are well designed for the environment the inhabit.

Well, no major British brand owns themselves anymore. They are all foreign-owned.
Mini and Rolls-Royce are owned by BMW.
Bentley is owned by Volkswagen.
Jaguar and Land Rover are owned by Tata from India.
MG is owned by a Chinese automaker.
Aston Martin is largely owned by an Italian company.
The rest are so small-scale or exclusive that they don't really matter in the market.

I agree that the Asians do the value factor best. They make reliable cars that are affordable. Not necessarily the best to drive, but typically the best to own.

American cars are generally built with comfort or utility in mind. They are either purpose-built work trucks or comfortable highway cruisers. While there are exceptions like the Corvette, Viper, etc., American cars have generally been less exciting models when compared to the segment. Volume sellers like the Chevy Malibu and Lincoln MKZ exemplify this. Detroit seemed to care little unless it was a muscle car but they are improving and now offer rather decent cars across the board.

[Knightstruth]

I haven't driven the new 6 but I did drive the fusion. It is a nice surprisingly comfortable run but is not what I would call sporty. Handled the rough roads of NYC very well though!
The other think I would like to mention is that the mid-size category has gotten so big. The new malibu is bigger than the previous generation even. It is more appealing to me to go in the compact class now since the mid-size is so big.
I will be interested in how the mazda 6 holds up though the years.

[KuroNekko]

I haven't driven the new 6 but I did drive the fusion. It is a nice surprisingly comfortable run but is not what I would call sporty. Handled the rough roads of NYC very well though!
The other think I would like to mention is that the mid-size category has gotten so big. The new malibu is bigger than the previous generation even. It is more appealing to me to go in the compact class now since the mid-size is so big.
I will be interested in how the mazda 6 holds up though the years.

I agree about the Fusion. I rented one for a few days when my Kizashi was in the body shop following a fender bender. It's a great car, but was designed the American way: a quiet and comfortable cruiser and not too great in the corners. Overall, I really liked the Fusion, but I'd say the Kizashi is much closer to being a sports sedan.

I wrote up a comparison report, but it's all based on my personal observations and experience.
http://www.kizashiclub.com/forum/viewto ... f=8&t=2697

On the topic of the Mazda6: I think the Mazda6 would be like the Kizashi in that it will be a sharper handling car than something like the Fusion, but probably not as comfortable nor as isolating from the road. Hard to say definitely until one test drives them all.

[Firefly]

If you like the Fusion you'll probably like the 6 better. The only thing the Fusion is better at is off-the-line acceleration.
I have not driven the AWD Fusion, but that might be worth a try for you.