What car should I buy next?

[dArK5HaD0w]

Looks a bit like the Jetta from the front.

same here!

i could've sworn it was a "facelift" jetta when i first saw the kizashi pictures!!
i almost bought a jetta tfsi, so i got a bit excited when i 1st saw these images, before finding out it was a kizashi!!

[Brycem]

I come from a market where you can't give Suzukis away. Then again the same could be said for Subaru and other brands which sell well here. I just can't get my head around it. Suzuki are the poor man of Japanese manufacturing and in my view have been well and truly usurped by Hyundai and Kia's latest efforts.

[bobski]

If I was worried about resale I wouldn't have bought a Skoda.

Yeah, well you'd need to have a look at the i45 if you were shopping in that bracket. However, sometimes manufacturers come out with good cars when the rest are crapolla. Mind you, the latest Swift wasn't a bad bit of kit when it was fresh in the playground. Suppose it depends what you want. I'll always take a car thats fun to drive than a toyota (for example ).

[BlackOctaviaRS]

Oh well, just read the latest Wheels - they compared 6, Accord Euro, i45 & Kizashi - Accord Euro was judged best. Kizashi got bad raps for its speed and handling.

Back to looking at a golf GTI now...not that I'm complaining :-P

[bobski]

What model Kizashi was it? I've read reviews raving about it's ride - maybe let down by the handling?

The sport seems to have AWD, but no extra power? Their website seems a bit patchy and doesn't yet have complete specs for the sport. But from what I can tell, same engine, but AWD... ie, more weight?

[K1W1]

If we are seriously comparing Suzuki with Skoda matters have taken a turn for the worse...........................

Don't forget that Suzuki are now part of the wider VAG family since VW purchased 20% (?) of the company earlier in the year. At the time I seem to recall the one of the official reasons was Suzuki's expertise in building small and micro cars.

The Kizashi now means that all of those tens of thousands of Swift owners have a logical upgrade path so at this point I'd be putting money on the Kizashi to outsell the Octavia once they get the ball rolling properly with their marketing. The Suzuki dealers seem to have stock for one thing.

[Brycem]

The VW influence in Suzuki products will not be noticed for many years, if ever.

The VW influence in Skoda is plain to see for all who have sat in one.

Sales figures are not a barometer of a good car but rather the apathy of the motor buying public in general.

Kizashi has some crappy normally aspirated four cylinder engine that under performs and over consumes much like the garbage that Mazda, Subaru, Honda and Toyota peddle. Skoda's 1.8 TSI engine is light years ahead and their 2.0tsi is in another galaxy. The engines the Japanese offer in this country are shameful and I can't really fathom why the public put up with them - cheap fuel and ignorance of a better alternative is all I can think of.

RACQ magazine recently compared an Octavia RS Wagon with a liberty, mondeo and mazda 6. The performance differential between the Skoda and the other three was staggering and amazingly it emitted the least CO2.

[BlackOctaviaRS]

The VW influence in Suzuki products will not be noticed for many years, if ever.

The VW influence in Skoda is plain to see for all who have sat in one.

Sales figures are not a barometer of a good car but rather the apathy of the motor buying public in general.

Kizashi has some crappy normally aspirated four cylinder engine that under performs and over consumes much like the garbage that Mazda, Subaru, Honda and Toyota peddle. Skoda's 1.8 TSI engine is light years ahead and their 2.0tsi is in another galaxy. The engines the Japanese offer in this country are shameful and I can't really fathom why the public put up with them - cheap fuel and ignorance of a better alternative is all I can think of.

RACQ magazine recently compared an Octavia RS Wagon with a liberty, mondeo and mazda 6. The performance differential between the Skoda and the other three was staggering and amazingly it emitted the least CO2.

Can't argue with any of that. I noticed that in Wheels comparison of the i45, 6, Euro and Kizashi. Kizashi was sloooowww...No way I'm going back to a slow, under performing, thirsty car.

[woofy]

I had a hire car Jetta dump its oil in March and was given a Suzuki as a replacement, for a small car, it was heavy, sluggish and I could visibly see the fuel guage dropping as I drove along a freeway. It's tank was empty very quickly which peeved me to no end, I had actually hired a diesel SKoda due to me driving a few hundred kms and was substituted the diesel Jetta, and then the Suzie screwed up my fuel saving plan completely.

My cousin started out working as a mechanic for Honda/Mazda and now works for VW/Audi and has said that the VAG designs are pretty complex, and hence can have more issues compared to Honda/Mazda but as he says "they have thought of everything."

Why people use Japanese cars? Well they are pretty much dead set reliable, Mazda have improved drastically over the last 8 yrs, their level of sophistication in engine design well may surpass euro engines. Japanese cars certainly have much less issues than pretty much every other make. My questions is always why people put up with Commodores and Falcons. I've never had an issue with our 2006 6, nor any previous Mazdas or Hondas. The Skoda on the other hand which seems as good as euro gets, had two defective headlights on delivery, eats oil and has rubber seal creaks...all considered normal. Its a lot nicer car to drive, but I'm under no illusion that in the long run, the 6 would outlast it no problems. VAG like turboing things,if Mazda or Honda put a turbo in, they would be fairly one par. Mazda does use them but only in the performance spec, turbos still are susceptible to more issues by nature, otherwise they would use them. They have been cutting down emissions and improving economy by around 20-30% each time they tinker with the engine, and doing that NA.

We do live in Asia funny enough, also a big decider...there has been a huge shift to Japanese cars here for good reason.

[PassatB6]

Why people use Japanese cars? Well they are pretty much dead set reliable, Mazda have improved drastically over the last 8 yrs, their level of sophistication in engine design well may surpass euro engines. Japanese cars certainly have much less issues than pretty much every other make. My questions is always why people put up with Commodores and Falcons. I've never had an issue with our 2006 6, nor any previous Mazdas or Hondas. The Skoda on the other hand which seems as good as euro gets, had two defective headlights on delivery, eats oil and has rubber seal creaks...all considered normal. Its a lot nicer car to drive, but I'm under no illusion that in the long run, the 6 would outlast it no problems. VAG like turboing things,if Mazda or Honda put a turbo in, they would be fairly one par. Mazda does use them but only in the performance spec, turbos still are susceptible to more issues by nature, otherwise they would use them. They have been cutting down emissions and improving economy by around 20-30% each time they tinker with the engine, and doing that NA.

We do live in Asia funny enough, also a big decider...there has been a huge shift to Japanese cars here for good reason.

Skoda generally do as well or better than Mazda on reliability surveys. Japanese cars are generally reliable because they are simple and don't use much new tech. The complexity of euro cars is far greater so you can have reliability issues. Though Mazda has just had a huge recall and Toyota's recent reliability problems are well documented.

[BlackOctaviaRS]

Well, after weeks of searching, research, test drive, I'm about to buy a VW Jetta with the same engine and gearbox as the RS!

[Jake02]

Well, after weeks of searching, research, test drive, I'm about to buy a VW Jetta with the same engine and gearbox as the RS!

Sorry but for God's sake why?

[dArK5HaD0w]

Sorry but for God's sake why?

i second that...."why the jetta?!?!?"

the new jetta model has just been released overseas. why would u want to buy this outdated shape & outdated interior now?!?!
if u want the jetta, then wait a couple of months for the new one.

i too like the jetta - i was so close to buying the 147tfsi last year. but the outdated shape & interior kept turning me off. a second hand a3 was my next choice......but then out came the RS - SOLD

[Antiplastix]

....Ummm, the current Octavia is based on the Jetta body/chasis that your all bagging out. If there was a 147 Jetta wagon when I bought my RS I probably would have bought that.

[Jake02]

....Ummm, the current Octavia is based on the Jetta body/chasis that your all bagging out. If there was a 147 Jetta wagon when I bought my RS I probably would have bought that.

Oh God I'm fully aware of that, but Jetta's are just bland to me. I'd prefer a Passat... You can't even get a 147TSI manual.