[Closed] Which to choose?? mazda 6, vw passat or audi a6 estates??

Mazda6 DPF problems are usually with the EURO4 compliant 2.0d. The new 2.2d is not supposed to suffer from the same problem due to different DPF design. Have a look on Honest John.

If you want a nice car of a similar size without DPF issues then get a Honda Accord CDTI - no DPF so no issues. (The newer iDTEC engines have DPFs).

Why not the Mondeo?

cheers for the reply.

my old dear has an accord and she has had no end of trouble with it so its put me off honda to be honest!!

FunkyDunc - Member
Why not the Mondeo?

Indeed. For that money, I'd be getting a V70 or a Mondeo before any of the above.

funkydoc I had a look at the mondeo and to be honest its a nice car.

however the car i looked at was the dealers to of the range demo car (titanium x sport) it only had 6k on the clock and the interior look tired already.??

plus I want one with roof bars and finding a mondy with them fitted is quite hard!

Surprised at that. IMO Ford are better quality than VW these days.

V70's of very pricey for a decent engine though

Not driven the Passat but test drive both the Mazda and the Audi and the Audi was streets ahead.

what ages were the mazda and audi mastiles ??

streets ahead in what respects??

An Audi A6 can come with some fairly high repair costs (as can most cars) if you're not careful. You could keep the costs down if you're prepared to do the work yourself or know a good independent garage. Do a search on A6 electrics. I owned A6 2.7 Quattro and it was a great car but it was time to sell when it was out of warranty.

mastiles_fanylion - Member
Not driven the Passat but test drive both the Mazda and the Audi and the Audi was streets ahead.

Interesting.

I test drove both these too and thought that the Audi (2.7d Quattro A6 Avant with an Auto box) was somewhat pedestrian with uninspiring handling. Wasn't a bad car but I didn't think is warranted the price IMO.

I bought the 185ps 2.2d Mazda 6 Sport. Much preferred it.

FWIW I tried the Passat, Mondeo, V70 and V50 too.

wombat how do you find the mazda then mate??

has yours got the bose stereo and the sub in the boot??

how do you find rear leg room?

cheers

steve

Renton,

Mine has the Bose and the Sub in the boot (it goes up to 62), I'm 6'2" and have plenty of room in the rear when the driver's seat is right for me driving (if you see what I mean).

Mine's the hatchback version but I can fit 2 fully build 20" bike inside with the big bit of the rear seat folded.

I was looking at (and test drove) the estate but was offered a much better deal on the hatch and it still does everything I want it to.

thanks for that Wombat, have you come across any issues with it so far ?

The A6 is a wonderful drive, great seats. I swapped out to a Merc C class and hate it. As has been said there are a few things that can be "very" expensive to repair on the Audi and by extension I assume the VW. Fuel injector £1k, I had one go on my A4.

My A6 tried to kill itself but under warranty Audi were awesome. I am looking at change in the next 12 months and thinking Audi or Mondeo. If I get an Audi it will get an extended 3 year warranty, similar budget to yourself. Also get the Sline completely different and far better drive that the SE.

I tested all the estates except the Honda at the time. The V70 felt like a boat.

Renton,
No real issues, one of the the keyless entry keys was replaced under warranty when it developed an intermittant fault but apart from that it's been no trouble at all.

Bought it at 9 months old as an ex demonstrator with 6k miles on it. Have had it 28 months now and put 40k miles on and it's never missed a beat.

Have averaged 47mpg since last August, VED of £135 a year & £175 for a main dealer service so (IMO) it's not too expensive to run.

Actually £12.5k might get you a "pre-loved" Skoda Superb estate which is a lovely motor. It doesn't have the Mondeo's or Mazda's driving dynamics but how often are you really on a country lane "enjoying" the drive? Most driving nowadays is about getting there in 1 piece and trying to not get stressed in the traffic.

New Toyota Avensis Tourer might be worth a look too & Saab 9-5 Estate

Both new, both with the 170bhp engine. The Mazda just felt that bit lacking - difficult to put finger on why.

Cos you're silly? 🙂

Driving enjoyment - those cars are big, you're not going to be able to throw them about properly on country roads because they are just too big. At least for the ones I go on.

I've not driven the Passat sport suspension option but the Jetta sport was ridiculously hard and very unpleasant.

I've owned all three (estates): Audi A4 Quattro 140bhp. Passat 140bhp sport and Mazda 6 185bhp sport. The Audi and Passat have higher quality interior trim / better seats but the Mazda was far more fun to drive, more reliable, more practical (to flip the rear seats)and far more kit for the money. The A4 is also quite a bit smaller (in real terms) than the other two.

Sorry I see you are comparing them against an A6 which is even bigger than the other two. They are a notch up though I would have thought but no experience of them so can't really comment.

Renton, I've just swapped my 3 year old Mazda 6 Sport Estate (owned from new) for a new Audi A4 Avant. The Mazda was a very nice car to drive, but the Audi is at another level in terms of build quaility and refinement. I guess you will find the same with an A6, but it's going to be much older/higher milage.
Compared to the above, I found the Passat dull to drive but adequate in all other areas.

I've got a Mazda 6 Estate SL 2.0d after having an A4 avant (previous version). I don't commute in it so DPF's not a problem but I was pissed off when I found out about it after I'd bought it (need to do more research). It's definitely practical with leather seats that the kids clamber all over, a big boot that will take a bike completely hidden (with the wheels off) and the Bose stereo is ace. And it's got a sunroof which I'm a big fan of. I bought a proper spare (full size alloy) off ebay and the subwoofer still fits but I would recommend a spare (spacesaver or full size) for any care as more and more come with some spray crap these days.

It's not an exciting car (too barge like), it's plasticky and I don't get the economy I hoped (42 mpg average) but i'm not in a rush to replace it and from a practical perspective it works well for me.

I would recommend a spare (spacesaver or full size) for any care as more and more come with some spray crap these days.

Excellent advice, I have a full-size steel spare. The cans of spray and compressor are a complete waste of time and effort IME

Just a point, but the OP does know that the Mazda 6 is a Ford Mondeo underneath?

Although I do believe after looking around that the engines may be unique?

AFAIK the engine and gearboxes are Mazda, not Ford (could be wrong though).

wombat, I think the petrol engines are the same Duratorq, but the diesel may be different, either way they aren't bad cars!

A6 estate sport had an Audi A4 sport (Quattro) version loved it, so go for an Audi as long as you don't tailgate and drive like a nob!

Ah, hadn't though about the petrol ones 😳

>Just a point, but the OP does know that the Mazda 6 is a Ford Mondeo underneath? Although I do believe after looking around that the engines may be unique?<

Correct - Mazda declined Fords offering and made their own.

Chassis is Mondeo iirc but nowt wrong with that.

I'd go Toyota Avensis estate, new model. My 09 plate recently went back with 110K and not missed a single beat. Full of all the trimmings, and would go for £10K I think. If I needed another car I would have bought it from lease company