I bought a new Mazda2, the current model, and am very happy with it. It's a great city car and doesn't use a lot of gas at all. It's fine on inter-city runs but if I was doing inter-city driving often, I'd be tempted by a Mazda3 which is a bit bigger and more powerful.

 

My Dad just bought a Honda Jazz a month ago. It's real nice and he is very happy with it.

 

I think you cannot go wrong with either a Mazda2 or a Honda Jazz. (I don't know anyone who has bought a Yaris, but being a Toyota, I bet that's just fine too.)

suzuki ciaz one year old with 10k km can be found at less than 350 000 at one2car.com. Very good car with very low noice while driving. 

My wife has a mazda 2 D by far the better of the three but cost 820,000 but i suppose you get what you pay for.

17 hours ago, Laza 45 said:

We looked at all those.. have a sit in each one and then try a Honda City.. bit roomier.. better features... I think anyway..

Actually got a 10 year old Honda City now which I hardly use any more and this will make way for whatever my wife ends up choosing.  I agree with you it's a nice car but wifey finds it a bit too big for her and is more comfortable with the smaller hatchbacks.

12 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

A Toyota car re-badged as a Mazda?

Do you have a source for that?

I wasn't aware that they cooperate.

 

Strange indeed but when I search for local Mazda dealers around Ban Chang area it keeps coming up with a Toyota dealer so maybe there is something in it.

1 minute ago, gmac said:

Strange indeed but when I search for local Mazda dealers around Ban Chang area it keeps coming up with a Toyota dealer so maybe there is something in it.

Perhaps they deal in a few makes..

2 minutes ago, transam said:

Perhaps they deal in a few makes..

Haven't been in but I don't think so, big Toyota sign outside and looks like any of the other  main dealers around who all seem to specialise in their own brands.

Thanks for all the replies, great info and my head will be buzzing for days. I'll have a look on zigwheels (thanks Lacessit). Still up to the wife for the final say but I will certainly try to guide her away from the MG3 (thanks thaiguzzi) and stick with one of her originals ideas. (Jazz, Yaris, Mazda 2)

14 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

A Toyota car re-badged as a Mazda?

Do you have a source for that?

I wasn't aware that they cooperate.

 

Actually a Mazda re-badged as a Toyota!

It's a story that's popped up a couple of times in my news feeds. I didn't save any links but apparently Toyota and Mazda are already in collaboration in the US and vaguely from what I remember a Toyota badged Mazda 2 was outselling the standard Toyota Yaris.

10 hours ago, gmac said:

Actually got a 10 year old Honda City now which I hardly use any more and this will make way for whatever my wife ends up choosing.  I agree with you it's a nice car but wifey finds it a bit too big for her and is more comfortable with the smaller hatchbacks.

Just phone the dealers and organise a test drive, preferably back-to-back. Some dealers may not immediately have a test car on hand, so it's best to phone ahead. Of the three I think I'd prefer the jazz (its large inside and has a flat loading area with the back seats down). The yaris is large inside too but it has a smaller engine (less power but more economical than the jazz). Both the petrol and diesel mazda get good fuel economy but are quite a bit smaller inside. 

There should be a new honda city/jazz out later this year with a 1.0 turbo engine (similar HP but better torque than the current jazz) but much better fuel economy. 

On 2/7/2019 at 2:05 PM, whimsy said:

The eco car simply means a max 1.2L engine. The rest of the car is exactly the same as offered in other markets with a 1.5 engine. Build quality = same

 

Being classified as an eco car means a lower rate of tax. That’s the main reason it is cheaper.

 

Speaking as an owner of an eco car, i can say this is completely untrue. Step into an eco car and then step into one that isn't, and you'll immediately see the difference.

22 hours ago, rixalex said:

Speaking as an owner of an eco car, i can say this is completely untrue. Step into an eco car and then step into one that isn't, and you'll immediately see the difference.

Hate to confess such ignorance but I have no idea what an ECO car is.  So what is the difference and which is better?

On 2/9/2019 at 10:19 AM, rixalex said:

Speaking as an owner of an eco car, i can say this is completely untrue. Step into an eco car and then step into one that isn't, and you'll immediately see the difference.

I found sound insulation to be one factor that is quite different between our swift and the civic we just sold. There is much more road noise in the swift, I'm assuming because the panels and glass are much thinner. It's cheap to run and handles and brakes quite well. You get what you pay for.  

Just updating, test drove a Yaris yesterday. Quite good, although I think the Mazda 2 still wins out as it has a six-speed automatic, not CVT. Plus a slightly bigger motor, 1.3 L vs 1.2 for the Jazz and Yaris. Depends on whether more grunt is needed in the mountains. IMHO Jazz is overpriced for what you get.

Just updating, test drove a Yaris yesterday. Quite good, although I think the Mazda 2 still wins out as it has a six-speed automatic, not CVT. Plus a slightly bigger motor, 1.3 L vs 1.2 for the Jazz and Yaris. Depends on whether more grunt is needed in the mountains. IMHO Jazz is overpriced for what you get.

I think Jazz is only available in 1.5 L ?

i like Mazda 2, but many of my thai friends like Jazz. 

I would buy a second hand Camry a few years old rather than a new smaller engine car. Much nicer to drive. 

18 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

I think Jazz is only available in 1.5 L ?

It's listed as 1.2 on Zigwheels. Perhaps you are talking about the top of the line version.

12 minutes ago, rannanella said:

i like Mazda 2, but many of my thai friends like Jazz. 

I'm not sure why; however, Honda in scooters and vehicles is regarded as a premium brand in Thailand. Possibly just good marketing. While I'm not knocking their products, I think they are overpriced.

It's listed as 1.2 on Zigwheels. Perhaps you are talking about the top of the line version.

Just went on Zigwheels and the cheapest (555,000) is 1.5 L

 

We are talking new, not used ?

8 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Just went on Zigwheels and the cheapest (555,000) is 1.5 L

 

We are talking new, not used ?

My mistake - i got the Brio and Jazz mixed up. Senior moment.

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

My mistake - i got the Brio and Jazz mixed up. Senior moment.

Now I am completely confused. When I logged onto Zigwheels, all the Yaris models were 1197 cc. The cheapest Yaris is 479,000, (sedan ). Are you sure you are not referring to a Vios?

23 hours ago, gmac said:

Hate to confess such ignorance but I have no idea what an ECO car is.  So what is the difference and which is better?

As Davis rightly says, one of the first things you notice about an eco-car is the extra road noise you get when on the move. It's not awful, but you will find that if you listen to music, you need a bit more volume, otherwise the music is battling with the road noise. Eco cars have engines smaller than 1500cc, generally 1200 or 1300. They benefit from a lower rate of tax and also have good fuel efficiency. On the downside, they aren't very powerful and if you buy an automatic version, you might even struggle getting up some steep inclines if you have four adults and luggage. The interior dash plastic and the body work all has that slightly cheap and hollow appearance about it.

 

City driving not heavily laden though, they come into their own. Being quite a bit cheaper than small non-Eco cars, they are definitely good value. But if you have the money and won't miss it terribly, i'd personally go for a non-Eco car. You'll pay more but then you'll get more back when it comes to selling. You pays your money as they say...

50 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Now I am completely confused. When I logged onto Zigwheels, all the Yaris models were 1197 cc. The cheapest Yaris is 479,000, (sedan ). Are you sure you are not referring to a Vios?

I think you are getting everyone confused. What are you talking about? The Yaris is 1.2. The Vios is 1.5. The Jazz is 1.5 too.

Hard to reply constructively. there are merits to all 3. Ideally id go Jazz, but having used all 3 there are bits off the other 2 you would like added. Same with trucks, your choise.

2 hours ago, rixalex said:

I think you are getting everyone confused. What are you talking about? The Yaris is 1.2. The Vios is 1.5. The Jazz is 1.5 too.

You're right. I'll have to think about staying off the Codiphen when I'm posting.

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

You're right. I'll have to think about staying off the Codiphen when I'm posting.

What Triton had a front bench seat as you said you replaced with Recaros?

20 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

I think Jazz is only available in 1.5 L ?

The city and jazz are 1.5 L and will be replaced in the next year or so with a 1.0 3 cyl turbo engine - more torque, similar HP. They use this engine in the civic overseas. It should propel the jazz quite well. 

The new MG 3 looks good for a small car. Since the badge was bought by and cars built in China MG have popped up all over Thailand and sell competitively against Japanese marques. Cheekily badged on the rear to suggest there is something British about it, I don't think there  is anything British about it now  except that badge! Haven't driven one yet though.

On 2/11/2019 at 6:16 PM, DavisH said:

The city and jazz are 1.5 L and will be replaced in the next year or so with a 1.0 3 cyl turbo engine - more torque, similar HP. They use this engine in the civic overseas. It should propel the jazz quite well. 

Wow. That's tiny. I'm curious to drive one next to ,say , a 2 L+ engine.

Expecting the smaller engine to be less spectacular than the reported specs though. And will it last 20 years for those thrifty ones that like to outlive their cars. The car surely will be light due to the smaller engine. A step towards flying cars maybe.