Well, Mazda now knows why they could never get a diesel to work like VW......
I like the Mazda option, it may not get quite the MPG, but its more better than Prius. Although, a prius is a great utility car. As someone said here, sometimes getting a car that fits your needs and does what you want is better than one that doesn't. Or something like that.
NickD wrote: If only Mazda would quit screwing around and bring us both the wagon and diesel variants of the new 6.
and a skyactive 2 door Mazda2 pls
The Mazda 5 isn't as bad on fuel as you might think. I average a consistent 28 mpg in mine. Not too bad for something with a third row seat. The 12 and up models have a 6 speed manual as opposed to a 5. The captains chairs in the second row come in handy for taking a nap.
If you are interested in a cx-3, I would check out a stick shift cx-5. The cx-5 gets almost the same mileage and has much more cargo space.
How about a Jetta Sportwagen with a gas motor? Also, check out Hyundai Elantra Wagons and Focus Wagons (you can find them cheap if you look hard enough).
I would also go with a Mazda 3 hatchback. A couple other not so great choices are an older A4 wagon, E-class wagon, and 3/5-series wagon.
Wonder if the stoppage on sale of VAG diesels will drive up the prices on used ones
R350 Bluetec
In reply to bigdaddylee82:
It is actually R320. The only reason I know that is because that is what I wanted to get when we were looking but they were out of our price range.
Are used 328d wagons in your price range? Good looking and handling German diesel wagon, just no automatic.
Following this thread with interest; my Mazda5 got crunched in a parking lot last week and the body shop estimate doesn't look good.
plug in focus?
(I'm pushing the plug in hatchback model that based off a traditional car, opposed to a plug in only model)
If you're not interested in a Mazda 3 (they really are beautiful in person) the CX5, even fully loaded with an auto, will return 38 highway if you keep your foot out of it.
Otherwise a 328d might not be a terrible idea to look into.
Why not just get the VW? We should reward bold innovation in the automotive marketplace, and who can deny that outsmarting the test was bold?
The BMW and Mercedes aren't quite pie-in-the-sky, but they're really more than we feel okay about spending on a car. A quick peek at the local dealer says even used the BMW's in the mid-plus 30s. And the Merc's mileage is terrible! What do those things weigh?
I'm clearly going to have to visit a Mazda lot with an open mind, and see their stuff in person, and not just in passing on the road. I can't shake the feeling the 3 has too much nose for a FWD hatch, and I'm resistant to anything SUV-ish because I hate to get counted among those who bought one, thereby reinforcing the fallacy that it's what I wanted... But between the 3, 5, CX-3, and CX-5, Mazda appears to make a huge proportion of the candidates.
It totally crossed my mind to buy the TDI anyway. It's true that even if it got 10% less mpg and made 10% less power, it'd still be miles more what we want than anything else I can think of, so even post-reflash it's probably still the car we want. BUT... as I've noted before, we're trying to vote with our $$ for cleaner/greener, and breaking the rules to pollute extra is even worse than just not making something like what we want. So, no VWs for us, even non-TDIs. I hate it, but they've thrown away this sure-fire sale, and they can't benefit from us. (Yes, I'm jealous in a way of our friends who bought theirs just in time not to know better...)
Plug in Focus? I'm only seeing full-electric and "normal" Focuses on the Ford site... I am half-pondering the C-Max, especially the Energi hybrid, which would do that neat trick of allowing 80-90% of our driving to be done full-electric, while also allowing us to just top up the tank and head out of town...
Funny you should mention the C-Max, we just got back from a short test drive of one at Carmax. It's our current front-runner, as long as I can get a good price on one pre-owned.
The model we tested, though, only had 13k miles and Carmax had evidently replaced 2 tires already. Does anyone know of tire wear issues on the C-Max or might that have just been a fluke?
TDI is the answer, I've written and deleted several responses, but they all sounded a little antagonistic and/or floundery when I read them back to myself.
Find a '14 at a Carmax, or similar.
In reply to bigdaddylee82:
I feel ya. I'm afraid it's pretty much a nonstarter. And lo, do you find me in state of bummed-out-edness...
Would S-plan pricing on a Mazda change the formula for you? Over in the "how influential are you?" Thread wonkothesane (great name btw) mentions that if you do two autocrosses this year and register with their motorsports page you can get REALLY good pricing on any new Mazda.
Borrow a Miata or bum a co-drive to take advantage of that!
In reply to Ransom: and if you wanted to go older but really much nicer, I'm looking to get out of the Passat wagon now and consolidate to a newer Suburban. The MPGs are less than what you are shooting for but when your buy in is less than half of a new car, mileage is less critical.
Solution: get this.
http://flagstaff.craigslist.org/cto/5210586664.html
My friend has an identical 1996 Passat TDI wagon. It gets unbelievable mileage and is interesting to drive. We have driven it from Boston MA to Gainesville for the Challenge on two tanks of diesel. And that's with 3 dudes and all our stuff and tools in the car. 
In reply to Ransom:
The sticker on mine says over 5000 lbs. The Bluetec should get about 30 on the highway, which for something that big is good I think. I will also say this, I just got back from driving from Ohio to COTA in Austin and our R is the best mile eating machine I have ever driven. Aside from the gas mileage, our is the 3.5 gas V6, the seats are great, there is a lot of room inside and with the air springs it handles better than it should.
KyAllroad wrote: Would S-plan pricing on a Mazda change the formula for you? Over in the "how influential are you?" Thread wonkothesane (great name btw) mentions that if you do two autocrosses this year and register with their motorsports page you can get REALLY good pricing on any new Mazda. Borrow a Miata or bum a co-drive to take advantage of that!
How's the visibility in the Mazdas folks have mentioned? I was driving behind a new 3 this morning, and I was struck that in addition to doing that tapering-window thing that has the tail going almost cargo-van, there's an opaque black surround on the rear window glass that looks to almost turn it into a porthole...
Actually, anything anybody wants to say about seeing out of their recommendations is highly welcome... Focus, C-Max, AllTheMazdas, anything. I've talked about voting for clean and green, but voting for being able to see where the berk I'm going also has merit.
Current TDI owners may be tempted to boycott the dealer "fix" unless Big Brother says otherwise and withholds registration renewal for non-compliant cars.
< TDI owner
Interesting sidebar - VW's website has been purged of any mention of diesel technology. Poof! Gone.
The visibility out of the Mazda 5 is great.
I'm not a big diesel fan, but I had a rental 2.2L SkyD CX5 in Germany this summer which was pretty nice. We have a 2012 Sky 2.0L Mazda3 hatch. Mazda should embrace the practical side of things and bring the Mazda6 wagon here, it's a beautiful car and the competition is limited.
Also, 2.5L Sky Mazda5 would be sweet. I would 100% replace our mazda3 with one of those.
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