I'm thinking of either going for a Ford S-Max or a Mazda 5. If there is anyone out there who can rate either of these from personal experience then great. Please share opinions of other suitable cars of this type. Before you ask, I have read numerous reviews of both on the internet, but I would like to hear from people who have had a day to day use of these cars.
2006-09-21 04:41:07 · 12 answers · asked by L.L comfy jumper 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Buying & Selling
All of the answers received so far are very good, but it is the Ford S-Max which I am particularly interested in. Does anyone out there own one, or know much about them?
2006-09-21 06:56:30 · update #1
They're about the same.
Ford, Mazda and Volvo all use the same chassis and engines because they're all the same company.
So, all you have to decide is which one looks the nicest.
One thing I would say is that the Mazda factories have better quality standards than ford. This is because of the good manufacturing practices that they have in place in Japan.
2006-09-21 04:42:32 · answer #1 · answered by BadShopper 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Dear Car Buyer,
Ignore all the answers provided so far, from what I can tell most of them seem to be Americans and I'm afraid Americans don't know jack about cars. For a start 90% of the population drive pick-ups or 10ton SUV's. They drive everywhere in a straight line and can only get upto 55mph (and before anyone starts moaning, I know that some crazy states have in recent years increased the limit to 70).
Mazda is not owned by Ford, but they do have a collaboration with them for development etc. Mazda 5 is not on the same platform as the S-Max and Focus, the Japs decided they could do a better job and did their own.
As far as quality is concerned there is actually very little in it. The S-Max is designed and bulit in Germany with most systems and components supplied by the same companies and production facilities that supply the likes of BMW, Audi (VW) and Dailmer (and unfortunately Chrysler).
If you only have 1 child, and my telepathy says you do, then to be honest you don't even need an S-Max, it'll cost you less to get a Focus and it was launched after the S-Max which means that they will have had time to sort out all the shitty Chassis and Drive Train issues that will have been there on the S-Max.
Contrary to popular belief the Japanese cars of today are also about 10 years behind their European counterparts in terms of design and manufacturing techniques, I know I work for one. The pilosophy is if it aint broke don't fix it which means they get left behind with regard to technical advances.
Anyhoo, it is totally out of character for me to give proper advise, so I feel I must add to this a few snippets of Kylies ****.
Did you Know that Mazda stands for Mothers **** Zigzag'd Down to Aberdeen? Probably not.
Did you also know that S-Max stands for Sex-Max? Oh yes, the extra head room comes in quite handy, diddle-de-dee.
S-Max? S-Max my ****! You see, now that's not nice.
Best Answer Please!
2006-09-22 02:08:21 · answer #2 · answered by Goose 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Obviously, this is ultimately YOUR decision... but the Best Family Car on the market is the Chevrolet Impala. The Toyota Camry and Honda Accord are more popular, but they are too small for a larger Family... they are Really cramped on a long trip. If you want to know what the best Family VEHICLE is... that is a MiniVan. No contest. Mazda 5 is fairly practical for a compact car, and has added utility with the 5 door configuration but I would not choose a Mazda due to perpetually poor crash test ratings.
If you have to have a small/midsize 5-door/wagon... How about a good used VW Passat Wagon? If you can find one with a Diesel they are quite thrifty. Good Luck! But please check the Crash Test Ratings before you decide!
2006-09-21 05:16:49 · answer #3 · answered by FreedomLover 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Mazda has Japanese quality. I owned a truck for 24 years never broke down never messed with engine.
2006-09-21 04:54:56 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to www.msn.com and look for MSN autos. You can read through user reviews written by people who own them. I used that for the last 2 cars I was considering and it helped me out a lot.
2006-09-21 04:44:54 · answer #5 · answered by Mike Hunt 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
if u r lookin to throw your money away, go ahead. these cars depreciate like mad, and in terms of ford- built badly. u will lose thousands a yr. for reliability go for japanese but best is german- built well, very relaible and when u come to sell, u will find it will hold in value- it sworth the extra cost as u will see when u sell.
family car- audi a4, golf(car of yr), bmw 3 series, x5, x3.....
even second hand- very good value and will still hold its value
2006-09-22 02:12:15 · answer #6 · answered by dennis s 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
none, why sit in a tin can in a traffic jam? GET A BIKE if you have to take the family get a taxi.
2006-09-21 09:50:37 · answer #7 · answered by melas 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i have a mazda 6 and its great.
2006-09-21 04:42:35 · answer #8 · answered by Alfred E. Newman 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would stay away from kzd2k's answer... just look at the amount of wrong information...
2006-09-21 04:48:52 · answer #9 · answered by J D 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Try :
whatcar.com
-reader reviews
I hope this helps.
2006-09-21 07:24:17 · answer #10 · answered by David C 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋