Is this the end?

[Silentnoise713]

Looks like we may sell/trade the Mz5 :'( As much as I do like/hate this car, I wanted to keep it but the Fit has caused some troubles. In short, the misses does not like a MT Fit. She's not fond of the Mz5 (b/c of size) but likes the MT. We also decided two MT cars is just not practical since we can't lend it to our family members so one has to go. Since I'm the primary driver and commute the most, it is really hard to make a case to keep the Mz5 over the Fit. I blame the oil companies but really it's just basic economics. It's not final yet but all signs point to this fate.


BUT this doesn't mean it's the end all. We may consider an auto Mz5 but I would put the kabosh on mods. I am also leaning towards a Prius (+ the biggest RSB I can find). What awesome choices! /s. OTOH, maybe a nicely used A3 TDI (never owned a VW but I fear reliability) can be a good compromise.


Ciao for now.

 

[Rockin03mp5]

No oooooooo.

Seriously look at the cmax hybrid. Screw the prius.

Just wish the cmax had sliding does.

 

[Davicho]

Don't lend your cars out to family....there problem fixed. One reason why my Mazda5 is manual is because my wife chooses not to drive it and not everyone knows how to drive manual trans. Yes I'm greedy with my 5!

 

[Robotazky]

"This is the end,
Beautiful friend,
This is the end,
My only friend, the end,
Of our elaborate plans, the end,
Of everything that stands, the end,
No safety or surprise, the end,
I'll never look into your eyes...again,
Can you picture what will be,
So limitless and free,
Desperately in need...of some...stranger's hand,
In a...desperate land"

- Jim Morrison (who probably couldn't even put gas a in a car)

 

[doctorz]

awww. We're still enjoying the Mazda5/Fit combo and we know a couple of others with that combo.

 

[thaxman]

OTOH, maybe a nicely used A3 TDI (never owned a VW but I fear reliability) can be a good compromise.


Ciao for now.

Audis are pretty reliable to a hair over 100K. When I was allroad shopping (wisely passed) I tt many A6 & A4 owners who said they had 0 probs. But this was regarding 00-04 back in 08, so they were all below the 100K mark.
After that, like most European cars, the engineered lifespan of most parts is up & it will five and ten you till you put it on the curb with a for sale sign. They always herald "German engineering" but IMHO, that's only credible if you are the original lessee, because German engineering merely means it was designed to be precise and awesome to about 50K.

 

[thaxman]

Oh, and what is bad abt the Mz5's size? I hope your wife doesn't find it too big. Mebbe she needs a Yaris 3-door.

 

[Silentnoise713]

No oooooooo.

Seriously look at the cmax hybrid. Screw the prius.

Just wish the cmax had sliding does.

That's a great idea. I had given up on the C-Max when the version we got was not the euro 'Grand' version. Need to dig up the Motor Trend issue comparing the hybrid. Also, I took a peek at a parked C-Max and am pretty sure the front brakes are the same as ours

I enjoy this combo as well but the Mz5's hwy NVH is terrible but this could be a combo of things (bad shocks and my roof rack). Also, my driving style n enviroment gets me around 22ish MPG; same conditions get me 31ish I the Fit. The Mz5's exterior dimensions is still a tad longer than I'd like but I'm fine with it. Wife prefers smaller cars bc it's easier to park. I think she just needs to adjust to the Mz5 bc the interior gives the impression that the car is bigger than it is. We'll mull it over the next 2-3 weeks.

Timing is also bad. Car is due for rear shocks so if we r keeping it, I'd go for Bilsteins sports and H&R. Otherwise, GR2s and be done.

 

[phunky.buddha]

Boo. Why would you want to loan your cars to family? That's one of the reasons why all my cars are stick... and as a result, one of my sisters in law now drives stick exclusively.

 

[DKaz]

Needs changes, that's understandable. The 5 made sense to me when we were a one car family, but now we have the 3 and the MPV.

All my family except my mom and all my wife's family can drive stick.

 

[cburrell]

You must drive aggressive, I've seen people get a lot better than 31 mpg's from the fit, high 30's. It is all how you drive it.

 

[Rockin03mp5]

Thankfully rear shocks are pretty easy to replace.

 

[Silentnoise713]

You must drive aggressive, I've seen people get a lot better than 31 mpg's from the fit, high 30's. It is all how you drive it.

Not aggressive, I'd say more like assertive. My problem is mostly due to environment, city round about runs really kill AVG mpg quickly. Also, anyhing less than 70 on the hwy feels dangerous around here. If I lived in the suburbs, my avgs would be a lot rosier. I've looked around and low 30s IS the real avg for Fit. FWIW, pure highway + pseudo hypermiling @ 60 mph can net me 45ish in the Fit. I would never do that again . Best I can do in a Mz5 is 32. Some like to brag how high they can get but I would not use these as realistic examples.

Now, if you like fuzzy math, it makes the Mz5 look better since it can carry 6 (MPGxP).

 

[DKaz]

I averaged 25 overall in my 5 and my best highway was 35 although I typically got 29-33. Strictly city, 22-25, and super short city trips about 18.

I've gotten my 3 to do 40-45mpg on a few trips on the local freeways, like on a Saturday at 8am. Can't wait to see what it'll get on a road trip. My MPV on the other hand barely does better than 21 on the highway lol.

 

[Wishmaster]

Yep, looks like that's pretty much real-world standard MPG for the Fit, if just a couple MPG's off the average - http://www.fuelly.com/car/honda/fit

Which is really good considering these cars tend to be driven mostly in urban environments doing mostly short city trips. My 5 gets about the same mileage yours does... between 21 and 22 for short city trips then anywhere between 24 and 29 for road trips (depending on conditions and mountains), which gives me a current average of 24.3 mpg. Our second car, an old '92 Honda Civic hatch is currently running an average of 33.4 mpg and that is 100% city.

So yes, I can completely understand that if you don't need the six passenger seating, space offered or the convenience of sliding doors offered by the 5, why you'd go smaller and more efficient. Once we're done having to load our 22 month old twins in and out of giant car seats and don't have to carry around a giant double stroller, along with everything else... I will totally ditch the giant gas guzzling 5 for something small, efficient and fun. No offense to the 5, it's been a pretty good ride, but it really is just a stop-gap to make our lives easier while the kids are little. In the 18 years I've been driving, it's the largest and least efficient of the 9 cars I've owned, and comparatively, the least dynamic and least fun to drive. I know many people on here like to complement it's small size and great driving dynamics, but this is always in comparison to other true mini-vans or SUV's or large sedans. When you come from driving little, light, fun cars all your life... driving the 5, feels like "driving a mini-van". So the sooner I can get rid of it, the better. In the meantime, I am happy to agree it is a great vehicle for what it offers and in comparison to it's competition.

 

[cburrell]

No the 5 isn't as nimble or as good in turns as my 3, but I know that it's handling is better than a compact corolla, elantra, cruze, or a midsize camry, sonota, or malibu, just to name a few. By no means does it compare to my 2012 3, nor can it compete with a passat, or focus, but for its size it outperforms a lot of cars. I know that most of the cars I just named are criticized by car experts for their poor driving dynamics, but to me it is still impressive that the 5 out handles them. For the size of the 5 the fuel economy is mid pack, it isn't class leading, but it isn't by any means at the bottom either. It is actually competitive for it's class. I travel 65 miles round trips to work every week and most of it is highway, I consistently get 28-30 mpg's. My co-worker has a 09 cobalt and he gets 28 mpg's driving about the same amount of highway miles. My sister-in-law has a 05 Vibe which is smaller than the 5 and only gets 31 mpg's on the highway. The 5 gets better highway mpg's than a compact car. I just don't understand why people think the 5 is awful on mpg's, when you look at the other options on the market, there are some options out there that are better than the 5, but there are also a lot of other options out there that are equal or worse than the 5. I know that a 20 year car is going to get great gas mileage, but it is unfair to compare cars today to cars 20 years ago. The size, cafe standards, safety standards, and technology have all add a lot of weight to modern cars which hinders mpg's. A 92 Geo got 45-47 highway mpg's, that is better than the smart car, sub-compacts, and some hybrids of today, but the Geo isn't as safe, puts out more emmissions, and has no technology whatsoever.

 

[Wishmaster]

Yep, exactly... totally agree, it handles a bit better than all the other big soft or crappy sedans, suv's and mini-vans out there. Highway MPG is never a very good stat for me to go on as I live and drive in a very dense urban environment and as such my percentage of highway driving is only about 10% (except for road trips). On the highway since all of these vehicles have around the same size engines and gear ratios they'll all get pretty much the same highway MPG's. It's in the city where the size and the weight of the 5 lower it's MPG to a consistent 21 to 22 mpg.

Not sure if you got the tone of my post, maybe I didn't explain it well enough. We were talking in the context of a Honda Fit. None of the cars you've listed above (expect for the skyactive 3 and the focus are cars I will be looking at. You're right, they're all in the basically the same league and as I said in my previous comment, that's why I like the 5, it does a great job for what it is, that's why I bought it. Again, once I'm able, I'll be switching to one of the many great handling, efficient, small cars out there that average around 35 mpg and get 25 to 30 in the city and I can dump the big, slow, poor handling 5 (comparatively )

 

[skyhawk]

We have the 5, the 3, and the 2. Addresses all driving challenges. If the 5 is too small for a long road trip, we take the 3 as well to form a convoy.

 

[Silentnoise713]

There is some light at the end of the tunnel. My brother in law is willing and wanting to learn to drive a manual (wife assumed/insist he wouldn't - NYers btw so they barely drive). This would save our situation. How are we going to teach him is another story. However, I am going to curb myself from dumping money into the car due to uncertainty (truthfully I'd also like something better, which is why I dump money into cars).

We have the 5, the 3, and the 2. Addresses all driving challenges. If the 5 is too small for a long road trip, we take the 3 as well to form a convoy.

Wow, I hope you get outstanding deals for sticking with Mazda. I like to focus on the model, not manufacturer. That said, time to plan to add the new Mz6 to the stable. It sure is a looker and excellent package!

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/05/2014-mazda6-first-drive-review/
I think the review reads a bit bias but you get the idea.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Anyone (or know someone) who may be interested in a well maintained manual Mazda5?