shiroboi

I saw it at the motor show and was interested. I think it's launching in Indonesia first. They said they expected it to be in indonesia next year. I would think Thailand would be similar. 2013 is definitely out though.

While you're at it, don't forget the Mitsubishi Space Wagon. I would have considered that if it was still around. Last model was 2011 as I recall. Had the same 2.4L Mivec engine as my old Lancer Ralliart. Good engine.

For the Pajero, I think it can be maneuverable but requires much more driver effort for it to be so. The CX-7 taught me that you can have a larger vehicle and still have it handle respectibly. There's just way too much movement in the Pajero's suspension for our tastes. If you're a truck guy, it's acceptable, if you're a performance car guy, it's not.

Nobody has mentioned the Brio Amaze. It's one of the non-hatchbacks in that price range. I sat in one the other day and was quite shocked at how much legroom I had.

http://www.honda.co.th/th/brioamaze

Need 2 Thai employees for the first year and 4 the second year for a work permit.

Can't comment on the Chevy-Isuzu relationship, but Ford and Mazda definitely share technologies. The two examples I know of, is the CX-9 uses a Ford V6 Engine. Also, the Mazda 2 and the Ford Fiesta share the same platform.

Ford and Chevy confuse me here. They both sell against themself. Ranger/Mazda B.T.and Chevy Colarado V Isuze D Max. What is the Captive based on i wonder.?. Personally i thing they did great harm to their reputation passing off Daewoos as a the Real Deal.At least if yo buy a Mitsu thats what you get with a PJS.My Sons bought the best non 4W.D. Captiva, i will see it at the Water Hurling Weekend.

What is the connection between Mazda-Ford and Chevrolet-Isuzu?

I know there used to be company connections, but these have (almost) completely disappeared.

UPDATE

We stopped at two Honda Dealerships today. So in addition to the monthly special of 0% financing with 25% down, the closest dealership to our house said they'd throw in every available option at no additional cost. That's free body skirt, interior LED lighting, illuminated door sills. The works. All for 950,000 baht. I think we're sold. Will put down money on Saturday, Thanks for the suggestions everyone, they were very helpful in my considerations.

The new Suzuki Ertiga???

http://www.suzuki.co.th/ertiga/

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

The Ertiga isn't bad but I think we want something a bit nicer with more power. It's definitely good competion for the Avanza, but not in the same class as Innova or Freed.

Yes it is a Thai family. I'd say on my typical outing, a 5 seater is fine. Probably 25% of the time, a larger vehicle would be handy. Keep in mind there's usually 3 very small children in the car so that may help the weight a bit. Except for me, our passengers are mostly small children and skinny Thai women. I think the Freed would be pretty ideal. I like the power of the Innova better and wish there was a 2 Litre version of the Freed. Maybe I should give the Captiva a second look.

Curse you Pajero, why do you have to be so truck-like? Wish Mitsu would bring the Outlander here. I'd buy that in a second. On paper, the Pajero is the perfect vehicle and I love the looks. I just don't like how big trucks drive and it's a big truck.

The mazda cx-5 is another option, not sure when it's available though; there's another thread here about it. The proton exora turbo (138HP/205NM) would be another consideration against the freed - cheaper (879K) and more power; though the proton will depreciate faster.

It would definitely be a contender considering how much we liked our CX-7. Alas, it could be a ways out before hitting the public. The CRV is here now so if we were to go with a 5 seater, I think we'd end up with the CRV, my wife likes it. As for the Proton, I don't trust it, their website looks like they're playing damage control combating "untruths" about their car. I've driven in Japan and I trust most Japanese automakers at least as far as safety and reliability is concerned.

If the O.P. has got to please all the Family, hes between a Rock and a Hard place. A trailer on a Jazz is one way out.

This seriously made me laugh.

Yes it is a Thai family. I'd say on my typical outing, a 5 seater is fine. Probably 25% of the time, a larger vehicle would be handy. Keep in mind there's usually 3 very small children in the car so that may help the weight a bit. Except for me, our passengers are mostly small children and skinny Thai women. I think the Freed would be pretty ideal. I like the power of the Innova better and wish there was a 2 Litre version of the Freed. Maybe I should give the Captiva a second look.

Curse you Pajero, why do you have to be so truck-like? Wish Mitsu would bring the Outlander here. I'd buy that in a second. On paper, the Pajero is the perfect vehicle and I love the looks. I just don't like how big trucks drive and it's a big truck.

What about a Chevy Trailblazer.You can do some good deals on a L.E. so im told. The steering is Super Light, i can confirm. Wheels spin easily with Auto Box,powers there just the Piggy Eyed Dials put me off.

That's funny, if you were recommending Chevy, I expected to hear about the Captiva. Despite the fact of us being American, we've never liked Chevy. For a Chevrolet the Captiva isn't bad looking. We usually buy Japanese though. I also stopped at Ford today but they didn't have anything interesting. Ford has the Eco Sport coming out next year which looks interesting but probably a bit too late.

I only make comment about rides i have driven. I could say the New Proton P.C. nearby is nice, but ive only sat in it. The Tinted Widows caused me to not drive it.

I think I'd buy a Chevy before I got a Proton. I just don't know enough about them.

If needing to routinely transport 7+ people, you're assumedly talking about at least 350KG on board. I would definitely recommend doing all your test drives with the whole family in tow (or take 5 cement bags with you LOL) - these gasoline MPV's might seem quite reasonable when it's only you, your wife and maybe a sales rep on board, but load them up and their whole character can changes entirely..

As for the Freed specifically, the 1.5L engine does a OK job when unloaded, but has very pronounced torque deficiency when loaded. Handling under load also transforms from almost-hatchback-chuckable to a bouncy wallowing elephant with a hip problem.

Also be warned that it's long + low lip rear door just can't be opened in mall carparks unless you've parked it ass-out, and no-one has boxed you in

Other options you may want to consider are:

Hyundai H-1

Chev Captiva

My recommendation though? A bait and switch. Take the family back to look at the Innova, and start conditioning them that it's a compromise of functionality over form. Then go buy a Pajero Sport

That is a very good idea about the test drive. I wanted to test drive the Freed but they didn't have a test available at our local dealership. Might head to Rangsit where they have a larger dealership where I could do a family test drive. What really changed my mind about the 1.5L engine was when we took a trip in the Jazz with 10 people. It was slow, but not nearly as bad as I had anticipated. Same engine in the Freed. I might be tempted for the Pajero bait and switch if I liked it. I wasnt' sold myself though. 3 nos from the 3 adult passengers we had I think buried the hatchet in getting the Pajero Sport.

What about a Chevy Trailblazer.You can do some good deals on a L.E. so im told. The steering is Super Light, i can confirm. Wheels spin easily with Auto Box,powers there just the Piggy Eyed Dials put me off.

That's funny, if you were recommending Chevy, I expected to hear about the Captiva. Despite the fact of us being American, we've never liked Chevy. For a Chevrolet the Captiva isn't bad looking. We usually buy Japanese though. I also stopped at Ford today but they didn't have anything interesting. Ford has the Eco Sport coming out next year which looks interesting but probably a bit too late.

I've never been a fan of 4wd on underpowered 4-cylender cars. The 4WD drive train adds weight and definitely absorbs some power. Handling is going to be better on 4wd, but you'll lose out on power and weight meaning a slower ride. Considering though that you don't have a lot of power and most of the roads are flat here, it's probably wisest to get the 2wd version. Also, there's not much snow in Thailand. I don't think adverse weather will affect it much either.

I know, I was very dissapointed that I didn't take well to the Pajero, I really wanted to like it.

Here's a list of our past few cars.

Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart

Mitsubishi Eclipse ('06)

BMW 325i

Mazda CX-7

Every one of them had tight road going suspension. I think we've gotten used to it. The Pajero is an off-road vehicle, it needs a soft suspension to absorb things like rocks and potholes. I can absolutely see why the Pajero is a good vehicle and why people love it. I'm just not a truck guy and my wife isn't either. We need something built for roads with a firm suspension. Also, I really value maneuverability in the congested area where we live. I felt like the Pajero took too much effort to get it to turn or change lanes. That's just physics I guess. After driving the Jazz it felt like steering a bus.

I'm very iffy on Proton, it looks like they're doing damage control on their website combating bad press on their family hauler. Doesn't make me like them more.

As for the Ertiga, I checked it out at the Bangkok international auto show. It wasn't bad but it didn't do a whole lot for me. I'm worried enough about a 1.5L engine in a family hauler as is. The Ertiga has a 1.4L engine. It is darn cheap though. If I was on a tighter budget, it would be a bigger contender. I may just have the wife check it out. Thanks for the comments.

My friend owns a CX-5 with the skyactive engine. The engine itself is great but I could definitely feel the strain with the 4wd system. I think it would be better paired with 2wd. My overall thoughts was that it really is a small SUV. It's basically a jacked up Mazda 3 hatchback, or at least what it felt like on the inside. This is coming from someone who owned a CX-7. Still a good car, i think it will do well in Thailand.

We just had our second child in Thailand and we live with extended family. We've come to the realization that anytime we go anywhere, there are too many people in the car. The other day, I kid you not, we put 10 people in a Honda Jazz.

So we definitely need a 7+ seater. We really liked the Pajero Sport. I'm a big Mitsubishi fan, we've owned 3 of them. The Pajero seems to be a good value, won Thai car of the year, and has great looks and good features. The problem? We test drove it yesterday and the family unanimously hated it. We just aren't big truck people other than my father-in-law. I definitely want something smaller. That rules out the full sized SUVs like the Fortuner and MU-7.

We headed to Toyota and checked out the Avanza and Innova. Interest rates were high at Toyota. The Avanza is too small and cheap and the Innova is your typical Toyota. Comfy but with zero style and absolutely boring.

I think the winner might be the top model Honda Freed. I love our Jazz and it's build on the same platform, has all the features we want and the price is under 1Million Baht. Plus they have 0% financing in May. We like the CRV as well but it only has 5 seats.

So two questions for the forum:

1. Is there anybody with experience with the Freed? Positive, negative, I'd love to hear it.

2. Am I missing any other cars that are good for hauling people? Needs to be under 1.3Million.

For 2 Million Baht, Nobody has mentioned Lexus. The CT200h might not be everyones first thought of Lexus but the gas milage is great on it and you get much better build quality than the X1. Just throwing it out there.

And for someone who mentioned forgoing the bmw for a GTi, are you high? VW is "the people's car". He wants to step up to a luxury vehicle. I'm not knocking the car but it's definitely something that should be in the Civic Price range, not BMW price range.

I live close by and have been there 3 times. It's not a huge park but they have added some new recent attractions. They have one below average suspended coaster. I say below average, because there were no significant drops in the whole thing so the speed was kind of low. I think their new ride is called the Hurricane or something like that. I didn't get to ride it, lines were too long. 400ish baht sounds about right. I don't get what everybody is griping about prices for, we're talking $12 for all you can ride at a fun little theme park.

Nice looking stuff, I don't have any need for a graphic designer at the moment but will keep you in mind.

I was kind of taken aback the other day when I was checking out at Tesco Lotus and having the security guard lady checking my receipt. I noticed that her badge had an SS on it. Same double lightning bolts as Hitler's elite gaurds.

It's kind of sad when the most dedicated and ruthless Nazi warriors have to work security at Lotus.

"It's kind of sad when the most dedicated and ruthless Nazi warriors have to work security at Lotus."

Surely, it's kind of sad for you to compare a Thai person on minimum wages working as checkout security to "dedicated and ruthless Nazi warriors'" .

I mean, really, that's stretching the imagination a bit. Tell me she was wearing jackboots and other Nazi regalia like this complete with a Luger.

Most of the 'security" ladies/guys are quite harmless and unlikely to challenge a farang anyway.

ss.jpg

The SS was probably the initials of the company she worked for. Somchai Security.

I'm dumbfounded that my deeply ironic statement was lost on you.

Lets try this again.

Yes, I REAALLLLLLY think the little 95 pound Thai lady is a ruthless Nazi warrior. (EYEROLL) LOL, I am joking, I really am.

Let me know if you get it this time. If not, maybe you should run for office.

I was kind of taken aback the other day when I was checking out at Tesco Lotus and having the security guard lady checking my receipt. I noticed that her badge had an SS on it. Same double lightning bolts as Hitler's elite gaurds.

It's kind of sad when the most dedicated and ruthless Nazi warriors have to work security at Lotus.

Be careful of these Thai girls....especially around shopping malls...

Welcome to the forum!

I aquired my wife back in America, I should be good. And thanks!

When I first met my thai wife, we would meet on the weekends and have sex an average of once a week. After getting married, we've had sex on average of once a week. Don't assume that more alone time means more sexytime. If she doesn't have the sex drive to have it every time you guys hang out, it probably isn't there.

I joined the forum a while back but I finally made the permanent move with my Thai wife of 8 years and moved in with her parents in Pathum Thani. So you could say I'm new to Thailand.

Nice to meet you all.