shiroboi

So proud of my home city.

My business is in PakKred. There's Central Obviously if you want to shop. And Impact as other's mentioned that often has interesting events. Other than that, there's not a ton of entertainment in the immediate area. If you're up for a reasonable cab/bus/van ride (less than 1hr) you have:

Future Park Ragsit/Major Cineplex

Dream World Themepark (East of Future Park)

Wake Boarding Park (East of Future Park)

Lumpinee Boxing Stadium

Safari World - Incredible but pricey.

Soon Siam Themepark (reasonably big themepark + waterpark) Worlds biggest wave pool.

The Mall Nam Wong Wan (has waterpark)

Explanade Cinexplex Near Nam Wong Wan (Ice Skating, bowling, movies)

Everything in Bangkok.

Basically, if you're here and you're bored, it's your own fault. There's a crapload of stuff to do if you have the will. The 166 bus and private vans pick up on Chaengwattana road and run straight to victory monument. From there, you can take BTS anywhere in Bangkok. It's a whopping 40 baht van ride to victory monument.

I took a flight to Singapore from DM last month and got there 2+ hours early for a 7 AM flight thinking it was enough time. The airport was absolutely Jam packed, mostly with Chinese travelers. I almost missed my flight. Couldn't believe it.

Bought a Garmin unit a little less than 2 years ago. I've been blown away by it's accuracy and real photos of intersections. I've used them quite a bit in the states and they've just gotten better.

HOWEVER

The search function to find addresses is less than worthless and I can only search for functions and find them less than 10% of the time whether searching in English or Thai. We've resorted to looking up things in Google maps, and then entering the Coordinates into the GPS. It's awkward but it works well and gets us where we need to go. I do wish they'd have a better search function but like someone else mentioned, if you don't spell it exactly, it doesn't find what you're looking for.

I've had pretty good experience in general with most of the J.I.B. stores. They usually carry and install kingston ram which is decent. I even had them build me a new computer while I waited so I'm pretty sure they could install ram which takes 5 minutes.

American here with a family and business in Thailand. To address OP's Question. I haven't felt any difference on a personal level. I have had concerns about where the Thai government is headed and the relationship it has with the US degrading. Should the US ever decide to impose sanctions on Thailand, things would get ugly fast for us Yanks here in the LoS. I don't think that would happen but I do have concerns.

I've gone skiing with a few Thai girls before. Usually the excitement is there but make sure she's properly and I can't stress this enough, properly dressed up. Not in a light jacket that just looks cute. Also ask yourself if she's athletic, that will greatly impact her ability to pick up sports and have fun quickly. My wife is not athletic in the slightest and spent most of the time falling down which led to a lousy experience.

I still haven't bought a car yet. I agree with others, the price is what's putting us off. The entry model is in our price range but it feels like a night and day difference with the interior quality compared to the top model.

Oh the fuel economy last time I checked was 83 mpg which equates to about 35.3 Km/L. It is a bit more expensive but I figured you could make that back in fuel efficiency. I did some math and the Mazda 2 when compared to a regular Honda Jazz would probably take you about 50 months to make up a price difference of 100k baht if you saved 2K in fuel a month.

Hi Shiroboi,

Tried to convince my son to get the Fiesta Ecoboost at 704,000 full high specced but he decided on the Mazda 2 entry. The High looks pretty same so went for entry and added about 15-17,000 for leather interior. Will get the car on 31st and see how it came out.

Did you have a look at the Fiesta Ecoboost? Nice overall package and fun to drive. Should also be quite decent on fuel.

I was actually checking that out yesterday. I think it's certainly worth a look but my wife doens't seem to like the fiesta, nor is she a fan of Ford. Ultimately we may end up with a Yaris for the pure and simple reason that it comes in a light blue metallic that my wife loves so much. Sigh, women.

I still haven't bought a car yet. I agree with others, the price is what's putting us off. The entry model is in our price range but it feels like a night and day difference with the interior quality compared to the top model.

Oh the fuel economy last time I checked was 83 mpg which equates to about 35.3 Km/L. It is a bit more expensive but I figured you could make that back in fuel efficiency. I did some math and the Mazda 2 when compared to a regular Honda Jazz would probably take you about 50 months to make up a price difference of 100k baht if you saved 2K in fuel a month.

My wife and I have a Thai Majority Shareholder business. We looked into setting up business in HK. It was about $3,000 US for the setup fees and $2K every year therafter for maintenance. I checked and this year, I think I paid a whopping $400 in Thai taxes. If you have a good accountant and write off everything properly, you can keep your thai taxes down. Alternatively you could go BOI and get the tax exemption for 8 years. Setting up in HK can be a good move but you need to analyze your situation to see if it's worth it for you.

In Fairness, I was at the government complex for children's day and the airshow was pretty cool. Deafening, but cool.

Yeah, it's very torquey. Mazda said it has the same torque as their 2.5L Petrol engine. I don't know if I'd buy it for racing but the engine was smooth and hearty and would be great for city driving and getting up to highway speeds.

I'd say that the road deaths ARE badly skewed by the number of motorcyclists here.

Not so sure they are. 4 wheel and over vehicles tend to travel far greater distances per year than motorcycles. The further the distance travelled the more likely you are to have an accident. Motorcycles also use high speed highways far less than 4+ wheel vehicles. I regularly travel the 15km Pattaya-Ban Amphur route and would be outnumbered by cars 20:1. If there was a way to do it without using the highway I would. Mad car drivers, speeding, changing lanes continually, jumping the lights, pushing me over into the dangerous gravel road edge. They should all have their vehicles taken from them.

See, that's my point. Cars passing you constantly. These underpowered 125cc motorcycles and scooters often have difficulty keeping up with the flow of traffic, thus becoming obstructions. In the last 2 months I've personally witnessed 3 motorcycle accidents, none of which were the car's fault. Trust me, there's plenty of bad car drivers but it's easy to see why there are so many motorcycle deaths here. If a car has an accident, survival rate is high. If a Motorcycle has an accident, survival rate is low. More motorcycles = more deaths. There's easily 100x more motorcycles here per square km than there is in the US.

Was also just informed that test drives no available. I booked a Diesel during the latest Motor Show in Bkk for my son.

Prices only out on 15th Jan'15. Then i will decide on the model but sure won't go for Top....as mentioned to near a bigger (better) car.

Hey Frank, they are definitely doing test drives now. I went to 2 seperate Mazda dealerships and both were giving test drives. I think you can't buy one until the 15th officially. Pricing will be announced then.

The old Mazda 2 and Fiesta shared the same Chassis and both looked very similar as a result. This new Mazda 2 is completely original. I'd say this is a pretty radical departure from the Fiesta. The Kodo design is bolder and more striking. I really like it but it may not be for everybody. It may take a bit to grow on people. Some people may prefer the older simpler rounder design. The old Mazda2 wasn't bad looking at all either. It's hard to argue about design though, it's really up to the person's opinion.

I remember the first time I came to Thailand, I had culture shock about the roads. I think to anybody who visits here who is used to law and order, the roads can seem a quite shocking place.

Tomorrow, I will have been living in LOS for 2 years now. Driving here is a secondary thought now. What a difference a year or two makes. It's not completely systemless. It may be a broken system but everyone here is used to how the broken system works. If you understand the rules and drive defensively, you'll most likely be fine. Most car drivers I see, save for a few reckless speeders or drunks, drive fine for the most part. But so many times I see motorcyclists try to U-turn around cars making a right hand turn. The people who should be the most careful are the most reckless. I'd say that the road deaths ARE badly skewed by the number of motorcyclists here. Great post OP!

I'm guessing it's a little turbo diesel so there will be some nice tuning modules for it in the near future.

Yeah, it's a hot little car. I'm sure the tuners will soup it up. The petrol version isn't out yet. I believe that it's supposed to be the faster of the two but the Turbo Diesel engine has gotten the best reviews to date. I think it'll be a very solid city car to own.

Hey all, today was the first day I believe you could test drive the new Mazda 2s so I just went out to test drive the top model Mazda2 Skyactive D Sedan.

I'm not a professional reviewer and really would have liked to spend more time in the car but here's my thoughts for what they're worth.

In fairness, I've never driven a small car with a diesel engine so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. For starters the car has the looks. Mazda's Kodo design translates well to the small car. I liked the lines of the sedan over the 5 door hatchback but that's probably just personal opinion. Being 6 foot tall, I've had serious problems fitting in some of the sportier looking 1.5L cars on the market. A Vios is a tight squeeze and I literally cannot drive a Honda City without my head hitting the roof or my neck craned down to see underneath the top of the windshield. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of headroom and legroom in the 2. While it was nice and roomy up front, the back seat did look kind of tight. May be best suited for smaller people and children. The biggest standout was the overall interior quality and features on the top model. You could blindfold someone, put them in this car and then on the reveal, tell them they were in a new A class Mercades and you could fool them for a couple of minutes or until they saw the Mazda Logo (whichever comes first) The leather seats were comfy and supportive without being too soft. The dash was consolidated well. I did find it odd that the main gauge in the middle was a tachometer with a smaller digital speedometer. This model had the flip up glass holographic speedometer as well but I couldn't figure out how to activate it. The sales guy wasn't much help either. The circular vents and the various feaux carbon fiber accented pieces gave it a high quality and sporty look. The standout was the leather stiched panel on the dash and the AV navigation knob on the armrest. These are only on the top model but made the interior feel much nicer.

Mostly I was only on straights during the test drive so I couldn't really comment on the handling. The car felt very solid and well put together. The diesel engine was very quiet which was a surprise. I knew about the engine cutoff at stoplights but what was surprising is how fast it came back on when I pressed the gas pedal. There was almost no delay at all. For acceleration, it felt a little laggy when I mashed the gas pedal at a green light. The acceleration wasn't quite as immediate as I'd have liked. That could be attributed to turbo lag. After a second though, that wave of torque kicked in giving very smooth and hearty acceleration. The torque curve was fairly linear with no vtech like neck snaps. I didn't take it up too high but it felt like the top end was weak compared to a petrol engine. I did manually shift it a few times but not enough to see if that mode would actually be useful.

Visibility was passable. It was a bit hard really getting a feel for what was behind me. Even on the top model, backup cameras are not standard. Trunk space was much larger than I had thought. Had I been inclined I could have curled up in the trunk/boot easily. That was a definite plus in a small car.

I did get to sit in an entry model and saw one of the mid models. The entry level had an all plastic dash, lacked some of the trim highlights. While still a solid car, engine and exterior wise, the interior felt noticably cheaper. I liked the middle model a bit more, it added back some shiny bits on the dash and the seats seemed a little less cheap. If the price is right on this model, it may be their best seller. Neither of the lower two models had the GPS or AV features of the top model. While they both had alloy wheels, the don't get the larger and cooler looking alloys of the top model.

Verdict: Mazda has just brought a serious contender into the 1.5L subcompact class. The styling, interior and fuel economy from my perspective are all best in class. I'm highly considering buying one. Even if I don't I expect it to sell very, very well here in Thailand.

As for pricing, I'm not even sure. They didn't even have price sheets made up yet at both dealerships I stopped at. I know the top model is around 800K baht with the entry point in the mid 600's. A top model Mazda 2 gets awfully close to the starting price for the 2.0L Mazda 3. I did sit in a base model 3 afterwards and I felt like I while roomier, I was downgrading the interior significantly.

Feel free to comment and throw in your experiences if you've driven it yet. Keep in mind, this was just my first impression. I'll probably go back soon to drive it again with the wife.

Robblok, half of 10% is 5%. You have 5% less power. 20% less power would be a HUGE difference. I'm pretty sure I'd notice that.

Ace of Pop, I have a Honda Freed. It's based on the FIt/Jazz chassis and engine. Has 7 seats.

AsiaCheese, My father in Law has the Jazz and I used to drive it a lot. It could get anywhere from 13-16 Kl/Litre depending on how I drove it. Those numbers are in line with my Freed test. Same engine but more weight.

Thats good for a Mini People Carrier.7 in a Car annoyed me safety wise,my only real care in this section.

What are you the saftey police? I'm using it on rare occasion as the manufacturer has indicated it be used. 7 people, all in seatbelts, little ones in the back row. I don't see how that's any less safe than a Honda Jazz. My car is bigger, taller and weighs more. If you don't like it, write to Honda. It isn't a southeast asia only model like the new Mobilio. This car was built and used by Japanese people in Japan to their saftey standards.

The HHV of ethanol is 84,000 BTU/gal and benzene is 124,000 BTU/gal so that puts ethanol closer to 68% the efficiency of straight benzene. I don't doubt your results but 2 tanks in an uncontrolled environment can hardly be considered a satisfactory test. The loss of power for a daily driver is negligible unless you have something to prove to the countless morons on the road trying to keep up with them.

Fossil fuels won't last forever, that stuff should be saved hot rods.

Those HHV facts are interesting. Thanks for sharing.

I do agree that my tests wouldn't pass scientific merit but both tanks had almost exactly the same fuel efficiency by the end and are more or less in line with everything I've read about E20. Just sharing my results, not ironclad conclusions.

My car is so badly underpowered as is. Driving around town with just me in it is one thing. But pulling 7 people with a 1.5L engine is just painful, there's no reason I'd ever want to willingly decrease my power, even if it's by 3-4%. My fuel tank is small so decreasing the range is another unwanted setback. Finally, the very noticable drop in fuel efficiency mostly negates any significant savings I might come up with. I have to fill up more often with E20. I'm not sure what's so ecological about consuming larger quantities of fuel.

I really think it's just a nice thought to put eco friendly fuel at the pump when in reality, it's doing a whole lot of nothing and saving you very little money.

Robblok, half of 10% is 5%. You have 5% less power. 20% less power would be a HUGE difference. I'm pretty sure I'd notice that.

Ace of Pop, I have a Honda Freed. It's based on the FIt/Jazz chassis and engine. Has 7 seats.

AsiaCheese, My father in Law has the Jazz and I used to drive it a lot. It could get anywhere from 13-16 Kl/Litre depending on how I drove it. Those numbers are in line with my Freed test. Same engine but more weight.

Man, Op, this thread was such a tease. Don't make a post about photos if you're not planning on posting any photos. At least throw one or two up on your post.

An thanks for the replies. Like I said, I don't really have enough data and this wasn't a controlled science experiment so it's good to hear from other people on the subject.

I may have misspoke about the fuel name. Gasohol 91 is probably the appropriate term. It's always Gau-neung at the pump. Performance wise, you're probably not going to notice a 5% drop much. However the fuel economy drop was definitely noticable for me. I just checked yesterday and on my last fill up I'm running 12+ Kilometers per litre without trying. When i was Running E 20, it was an effort to keep it in the low 10s. I did notice a big drop getting stuck in bangkok traffic. Highway wasn't too bad though. Still for my last trip to Kanchanaburi I switched back to 91 to deal with the hills. With 7 people in the car, I need the extra range and power on a long trip.