Sold my Avensis

[alan333]

I've sold my trusty Avensis, and went for a Mazda 6 this time.  My last 4 cars over about 7 years have been Avensis: two T25's and two T27's, with a half year or so with an Accord half way (didn't like the Honda at all).  They've all been good cars but I fancied a change, but still want the jap reliability.

My latest T27 had the cvt box and I've always raved about how good it was, but over the last while I've been doing more motorway running and the high revving gets a bit annoying.  It also had a light rattle from the back brakes (or suspension?) which the main dealer reckoned they fixed on two services, but which came back after a couple of months each time.  It wasn't until I drove someone else's new car that I realised how rattly and "not new" my car actually felt, and how much nicer modern auto boxes can be, especially at motorway speeds (and bear in mind mine was under 4 years old with 38k miles).

Anyway I'll still be around and can hopefully still offer my tuppence worth, and for the time being I'll leave my profile with the T27 since it's my 'latest' Toyota.

[Heidfirst]

Hi Alan, which engine/trans/spec. level have you gone with? Is it one of the new 6s with an EPB? I thought about a 6 last time that I changed but couldn't find as good a deal & I was staying well away from the Mazda 2.2 diesel (it has had problems & Mazda are apparently not as forthcoming on fixing them under goodwill as Toyota ...).

From Arnold Clark, Stirling?

[alan333]

Hi Heidfirst, it's a 2.2 diesel Sports Nav 175bhp auto, a 15 plate facelift saloon and has the EPB.  I was the same as you and shyed away from them due to EGR horror stories, but it seems most problems have ironed themselves out over the time.  A guy I know, who does mainly short runs, is on his third new diesel now and hasn't had any problems with any of his.  Yeah I got it at AC Mazda Stirling.

[Heidfirst]

It's the DPF & fuel contamination of the oil stories that worry me ... Oh, & timing chains.

Did it come with a spare or a tyre repair kit?

Looking forward to hearing how you get on with the 6 (where you feel it is better/worse than the Avensis) & how dealer & running costs compare.

[alan333]

I did some reading around and there seems to be much less problems with the diesel filling the sump than there was when I researched it last time.  Also the stretching T-chain issue is reportedly fixed.  I did think about getting a petrol but reckoned the resale price of the diesel should be better when the time comes.  Plus the extra grunt of the diesel was tempting, and it seemed a good deal.  If I get grief from it I'll sell it before it runs out of warranty, but if it's good I can see me having it for a good while.

It came without a spare wheel, for which Mazda want over £400, and that's without a tyre (seriously!), but eBay was my friend there and I now have one sitting nicely under the boot floor.

I've only had it a couple of weeks but so far I'm impressed.  The fuel computer is saying around 47mpg at the mo, but I've not had a chance to check it with brim calculations yet - I expect it to be 5% high.  On one particularly 'nice' drive it quoted 55mpg, where my Avensis would've given me about 45 on the same drive. 

It glides along the road better than my Avensis and, even with the sports suspension and tyres, it soaks up the bumps smootther/better (and much quieter).  It's sharper on the corners too, but that's probably related to the aforemetioned suspension/tyres.    It's got bags more punch at low revs and the 'box is a delight... I'm back to being able to 'let it' change up by lifting off the throttle a bit, or 'asking it' to change down by a slightly heavier right foot, much more like a traditional torque converter 'box.  It's not a car that encourages you to drive fast either, which I like in a car, but it's off like a rocket if you ask it to.

It's better specced too, and I'm particularly enjoying the heated leather, the turn-the-corner-with-you LED headlights, and the heads up display.

[Heidfirst]

Well, it's a newer generation design than the Avensis so one would expect improvements & you have gone from a 1.8 petrol to a 2.2 TD  so it will have more low down grunt (& better mpg). Would be interesting to have a comparison against the "new" 2015 Avensis which supposedly has improved noise & ride even though it's just a rework of a 7 year old design rather than a new one.

I seem to recall ruling the 6 out though because the load space on the estate didn't go flat with the back seats folded.

Are you on 19" wheels & tyres? How much does 1 of those tyres cost to replace ?

I hope that you (& I) get better resale value for diesels. It was partly that that swung me to my current car from the 1.8 TR that I initially was looking for as in theory it would cost no more to run due to lower depreciation & better mpg. Now that NOx has raised it's head (& I know that your car is EU6) plus more people are realising that diesels aren't ideal for urban use & are expensive to fix out of warranty I suspect that the differential may narrow - I can easily see me running a hybrid next time.          

[TomdeGuerre]

Congrats on the new car Alan, hope you get on OK with it. I pass one of these quite regular, a white ’64 reg and it’s a bonny looking car, I like the styling of it. Going by your review so far it seems to be a good choice and seeing round the corner headlights is cool, just like Monsieur Citreon showed us a few years ago. I note what you say about the change from the Toyota CVT box. If wiki is to be believed your diesel engine is about the same weight as the petrol but with twin turbos so that’s a ???? if anything goes wrong. And it has the aqueous urea system for the DPF regen, fancy using pig wee for the good of the environment. The farmers round here do their own assaults on the environment, they use pig slurry as fertiliser and it really stinks

[Heidfirst]

My Avensis also has the swivelling headlights albeit bi-xenon rather than LED. I thought that the Mazda diesel didn't use an additive for SCR?

Btw, does the 6 have a lockable glove compartment? Can't believe how few cars these days do ...

[Konrad C]

 congrats on your new purchase Alan.

Mazda is one of the other brands I would go for outside Toyota. The other is Honda. Nissan are okay.

A few years back, a neighbour had a '05 Mazda 6 diesel. When it was new, it was quiet, but over time it got noisier. He said there were issues and sold it for a Ford Galaxy.

The latest Mazda 6 is a large car. The saloon is bigger than the Avensis Tourer. I like the petrol SkyActiv technology and if I downsize, Mazda 3, Auris and Honda Civic are my options. 

Alan, good comparisons regarding the cars.

Konrad  

[alan333]

3 hours ago, Heidfirst said:

Well, it's a newer generation design than the Avensis so one would expect improvements & you have gone from a 1.8 petrol to a 2.2 TD  so it will have more low down grunt (& better mpg). Would be interesting to have a comparison against the "new" 2015 Avensis which supposedly has improved noise & ride even though it's just a rework of a 7 year old design rather than a new one.

I seem to recall ruling the 6 out though because the load space on the estate didn't go flat with the back seats folded.

Are you on 19" wheels & tyres? How much does 1 of those tyres cost to replace ?

I hope that you (& I) get better resale value for diesels. It was partly that that swung me to my current car from the 1.8 TR that I initially was looking for as in theory it would cost no more to run due to lower depreciation & better mpg. Now that NOx has raised it's head (& I know that your car is EU6) plus more people are realising that diesels aren't ideal for urban use & are expensive to fix out of warranty I suspect that the differential may narrow - I can easily see me running a hybrid next time.          

I totally agree that I should expect improvements with a newer design generation, and about the mpg and grunt.  IIRC the new Avensis is only available with the petrol cvt, and no auto with the 2.0 beemer engine, only the 1.6.  I'm against another cvt as I hinted above, and the 1.6 would be a bit underpowered methinks.  Plus a change is needed sometimes lol.

The rear seats on my saloon fold flat (unlike my Avensis saloon) , and the current brochure says "Versatile 60:40 seats can be folded flat", so maybe they also do in the tourer now?

It's on 225/45/19 tyres.  A quick check on blackcircles.com shows cheapos from a shade over £100/corner, up to about £180 for Conti Sport Contact 5's.  To compare...Goodyear Efficient Grip for the Avensis are quoted on the same site at £99 (Efficient Grips not listed in the Mazda size tho for a true comparison).

I also agree with you about future car values and deadly diesel, but I suppose I've bitten the bullet now so I'll find out in a year or three lol.

3 hours ago, TomdeGuerre said:

Congrats on the new car Alan, hope you get on OK with it. I pass one of these quite regular, a white ’64 reg and it’s a bonny looking car, I like the styling of it. Going by your review so far it seems to be a good choice and seeing round the corner headlights is cool, just like Monsieur Citreon showed us a few years ago. I note what you say about the change from the Toyota CVT box. If wiki is to be believed your diesel engine is about the same weight as the petrol but with twin turbos so that’s a ???? if anything goes wrong. And it has the aqueous urea system for the DPF regen, fancy using pig wee for the good of the environment. The farmers round here do their own assaults on the environment, they use pig slurry as fertiliser and it really stinks

Cheers Tom.  The 64 plate will be the pre-facelift model, although it's hard to tell from outside.  There's subtle differences with slightly different shaped front fogs etc, but the inside has a different dash layout and a better touch screen/joystick controller system.  According to the guy who's now on his third Mazda, the facelift one is a better drive than the pre-facelift too.  Monsieur Citroen was certainly early to the 'turning headlights' party... wasn't it on the original 1970's DS?  Why did car manufacturers forget about that great feature for about 30 years lol.  

I wasn't aware that it had two turbos, but the whole 'modern diesel' thing scared me enough to make sure I bought one still under warranty.  Hopefully if it blows up they'll fix it.

And pig pee?  I didn't know that either.  I'll ask the local farmer if he has any spare if I need it lol.

3 hours ago, Heidfirst said:

My Avensis also has the swivelling headlights albeit bi-xenon rather than LED. I thought that the Mazda diesel didn't use an additive for SCR?

Btw, does the 6 have a lockable glove compartment? Can't believe how few cars these days do ...

I'm pretty sure your xenons will be just as good as LED, it's a huge improvement on what I had tho lol.  I haven't came across anything in the manual about adding pig pee/adblue etc, but I've not read it properly yet.

I'm pretty sure it doesn't have a lockable glovebox, but then again I've never ever locked one in over 30 years, so no biggy for me.

1 hour ago, Konrad C said:

 congrats on your new purchase Alan.

Mazda is one of the other brands I would go for outside Toyota. The other is Honda. Nissan are okay.

A few years back, a neighbour had a '05 Mazda 6 diesel. When it was new, it was quiet, but over time it got noisier. He said there were issues and sold it for a Ford Galaxy.

The latest Mazda 6 is a large car. The saloon is bigger than the Avensis Tourer. I like the petrol SkyActiv technology and if I downsize, Mazda 3, Auris and Honda Civic are my options. 

Alan, good comparisons regarding the cars.

Konrad  

Cheers Konrad.  I'm the same with jap cars but I hated that Accord, and a Civic my OH owned a while ago had it's downsides too, hence I checked out Mazdas.  Nissan are pretty much Renault these days are they not?  Don't get me started on a Laguna I once owned...that thing cost more to keep on the road than it did to buy!  I did check out the new shape Qashqui (or however you spell it) but the diesel auto figures didn't excite me, and there's millions of them around.

This car is lovely and quiet just now but you're probably right it'll get noisier.  But then again so did my Avensis lol.

You're right it is a big car, 160mm longer than an Avensis saloon, 30mm wider (but 30mm lower).  Most places I park it have plenty space tho, except the dreaded supermarket car park...hopefully I can pick a big space so I don't return to an inconsiderate departing door dinger.

My OH has a new Mazda 3 2.0 petrol auto, and it's the car that made me want mine.  Hers is great except, as quite a big guy, it's just on the verge of being a shade too small for me. It's perky and has loads of torque, and the 'box is great.  I haven't booted it along the motorway but at, say, 70 mph it still has plenty power on tap for it's 120bhp.  Well kitted too for the mid range model with heated seats and voice dialling etc.  I would have definitely considered one if it had been around on the right deal tho.

 

Thanks for your kind posts guys, I'll update you with things as I find them out.  Like today I decided the windscreen pillars are thicker so that's why it's not so good visibility, not the slightly lower seating position I originally thought it was.  Oh and the auto mode on the climate control goes to 'feet' mode after a while, rather than 'feet and screen' like the Avensis did (in winter anyway).  But the heater is much hotter, and takes a little less time to get hot (but that'll probably slow down as time goes on I know).

Cheer guys :)

 

[Heidfirst]

2 hours ago, alan333 said:

The rear seats on my saloon fold flat (unlike my Avensis saloon) , and the current brochure says "Versatile 60:40 seats can be folded flat", so maybe they also do in the tourer now?

doesn't look like it on the current Mazda UK website. Looks like a good 4"-6" higher at the front than the boot floor. Odd that it is flat in the saloon & not the estate? 

[alan333]

Couldn't agree more there Heidfirst, I'll check mine out and see if they're exagerating.  BTW the boot in my saloon isn't as deep as the Avensis either.  Longer probably, but not as deep.