New Car for Retirement

[holy cow cm]

6 minutes ago, pattayapip said:

It is a nice looking Car, Plus the Misses likes it too which helps ????

Yes they are very nice. Go sit in one. I did and is exquisite but had already bought the Civic RS as is smaller and easier for the little Missses to drive. Cost from 1.5 - 1.8. With the RS or Accord you can't go wrong. 

[holy cow cm]

3 hours ago, JAS21 said:

Looks nice and is quick ... NVH is quite bad and it's bumpy ... how do I know ...had one for two years and just sold it ...plus is that the RS has a full set of air bags and the 4-door has a huge boot

You must be talking about the old RS before it flipped to the new design. Not bumpy at all and nice ride. I have had mine for 1 year now.

[KhunKenAP]

Nissan March, but get the electronic model. Lowest price I could find and meets all my needs now. Can buy around 500,000 Baht.

[fredob43]

23 minutes ago, pattayapip said:

Very true, have not driven one, know you have had multiple Tunas as i have, was hoping a new generation might help, but seems nothing in the pipeline as yet

They should be bringing out a new update soon. Cant see them having a whole new design for quite some time though.

[fredob43]

22 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Maybe the OP's fed up being a bus driver.

 

My 68 year-old mate was a serial 'lump' driver in a 2-car family but economies kicked in and he downsized the sedan to a Suzuki Swift. They live on the dark side and his wife uses the pickup as she has a business to run over there and she does the longer-distance school runs. Meanwhile, his part-time office is off the Naklua Road, just past the Dolphin jing-a-ring and he's really happy with the common sense and overwhelming practicality of the Suzuki when it comes to his Mon-Fri commute and any other Pattaya visits.

 

Parking in Pattaya is a breeze. When I visit Pattaya, I park my sports lorry at either Tukcom, Wat Chai, Royal Garden, The Avenue, Central Festival or Central Marina and resort to Shank's Pony, baht bus and the occasional motocy taxi. I do recall when meeting up with my mate for lunch at the Queen Vic several times and he nearly always managed to find a space on Soi 6.

I agree with you about the Swift great town car.

 

But have to still disagree with you about parking in Patts. Yes you can get in at Central car park+++ and lots of supermarkets but that's about it (Some you have to pay to park) Your then left as you say with Shanks Pony or Bht bus. I never venture to Soi 6 so cant comment on that. 

[JAS21]

1 hour ago, holy cow cm said:

You must be talking about the old RS before it flipped to the new design. Not bumpy at all and nice ride. I have had mine for 1 year now.

It was 10th generation ... now the 9th was a real dog.   Bought March 2017 and nice on a good road, suspension just a little firm for most Thai roads. Honda have always been bad for NVH and the RS was not an exception ...

 

Could be though that we have a small difference of opinion of ride quality

Edited June 26, 2019 by JAS21

[br12stol]

3 hours ago, JAS21 said:

It was 10th generation ... now the 9th was a real dog.   Bought March 2017 and nice on a good road, suspension just a little firm for most Thai roads. Honda have always been bad for NVH and the RS was not an exception ...

 

Could be though that we have a small difference of opinion of ride quality

What car have you replaced it with?

[JAS21]

5 minutes ago, br12stol said:

What car have you replaced it with?

E350e

[DavisH]

Better riding that any PPV - try the honda crv, mazda cx-5, nissan x-trail. These are heavy and solidly built vehicles and not so big to be a problem driving on small sois. 1.3 to 1.8m baht. Or just save the money and get an eco car - less comfortable though. New honda city/jazz coming this year with a 1.0 turbo + plenty of others to choose from. No need to spend 2M baht for a car you will hardly drive. 

[Andyfez]

I'm putting off for a couple of years hoping electric will become more popular.

If the charging becomes easier I'd like to give it a try.

Already 400+ Kms are possible. With more reliable charging points it could be viable.

Not interested in 6 seater station wagons or minis. Some thing medium size and comfortable.

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by Andyfez

[xtrnuno41]

WHy buy another one? the one you have now is fortuner and still working.

OK unless you have the itch to spend and having a new car.

Toyota CHR hybrid? Your fuel will get old , not driving the car then, maybe get in problems not driving, as they have low fuel consumption.

[peterb17]

I totally love my CHR - the Hybrid gives you very good mileage , has all the gadgets you need - and Toyota reliability.

[natway09]

I really am sure you can sort this one yourself.

You are a big boy now.

I still enjoy driving my Honda Accord (4 years old with 70,000 KM on it.

Still feels & smells like a new car & servicing is great

[asiamaster]

It depends on how much you will driving in town vs upcountry. If more in town than a slightly smaller car would be more convenient. I see a lot of people recommending Honda's here. I used to be a big Honda fan but Honda has lost the plot design-wise and also their engines are outdated and gas guzzlers. From that point of view Mazda would be a better choice (my wife has a CX3 and it is more thrifty than the Mazda 2 she had before. I'm not to pleased with the Mazda service centers though perhaps the Toyota CHR would be the better choice.

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by asiamaster

[PJPom]

Nobody has mentioned the Nissan Teana, coming from Oz I have a Nissan Maxima ( in Australia ) and rate it as good as my mates C class. Is the Teana a non starter here ?.

[Mansell]

As you have the big bahts to spend you might look at the Subaru Forester or the station wagon. They have all wheel drive for those nasty flooding rains etc. they have a horizontally opposed engine which gives a lower center of gravity, and one very efficient engine. I've had a few of them and they never let me down......just keep on ticking. I did a price check between here and California and they are ten thousand dollars more here....why? I have no idea. They are made by Fuji Heavy Industries which sounds reassuring. In a heavy rain in a canyon around LA I watched two BMW's spin separately, while my AWD allowed me to drive happily and safely.

[Muzarella]

On 6/25/2019 at 7:48 AM, mahjongguy said:

If you go just slightly smaller to a Honda CRV you get a real car suspension instead of a truck's leaf springs.

 

Spend 1.6 mil and get more comfort than a Fortuner.

A new Honda Jazz is coming. A small car with a lot of space...and goes forever! Any Honda, Toyota or Nissan small SUV will be the best and smarter choice in Thailand.

[ballbreaker]

Since you have been driving Fortuner for many years I don't think you will be happy with a lower riding car model.  I suggest you take a look at Mazda CX 5 which is what they a call crossover SUV.  It will provide a higher ride height that you are accustomed to and will handle like of a car.  For you proposed use I would go with one of 2.0 liter versions and stay away from the diesel.

 

I currently have CX 5 I've owned almost 4 years without any problems in 50k+ km of driving.

 

 

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, PJPom said:

Nobody has mentioned the Nissan Teana, coming from Oz I have a Nissan Maxima ( in Australia ) and rate it as good as my mates C class. Is the Teana a non starter here ?.

Nissan Maxima with the V6 is a very good car. Not so sure about the Teana here, apparently it is only available with a 4-cylinder engine.

[DavisH]

5 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Nissan Maxima with the V6 is a very good car. Not so sure about the Teana here, apparently it is only available with a 4-cylinder engine.

The current model is a 4 cylinder. It has been updated recently but still sells poorly compared to the camry and accord. It sells so poorly I understand there are no plans for nissan to introduce the new model here.

[Lacessit]

1 minute ago, DavisH said:

The current model is a 4 cylinder. It has been updated recently but still sells poorly compared to the camry and accord. It sells so poorly I understand there are no plans for nissan to introduce the new model here.

Sometimes it's all about marketing and brand image. Thais seem to have taken on Toyota and Honda in that role. 6-cylinder cars are out of favour here, presumably due to higher fuel consumption. Slightly off topic, Honda is the premium brand here in scooters, although Yamaha is just as good.

The basic platforms for the Camry and Accord have not changed for quite a few years. The changes are in cosmetic styling.

I tend to buy my cars on the basis of the engineering and technical specifications. Plus reputation for reliability. While the Camry and Honda fill the latter part of that requirement, IMHO they have fallen behind Mazda, Kia and Hyundai for the first part.

[mahjongguy]

15 hours ago, Muzarella said:

A new Honda Jazz is coming. A small car with a lot of space...and goes forever! Any Honda, Toyota or Nissan small SUV will be the best and smarter choice in Thailand.

When I moved to Pattaya I bought a used Jazz. Terrific car, great for Pattaya except that 2006 model was too low to the ground. Murder on potholes. The later models are raised up just the right amount. Highly recommended unless you drive a lot on the highway.

[PJPom]

My current car is an old Ford Focus made in the Phillipines, cheap, cheerful, reliable and extremely economical. My wife wants an upgrade so currently looking at Honda CRV or Nissan X Trail, possibly the two best medium SUV available. In Australia both of these are eclipsed by the latest Hyundai but unfortunately not available here. Good luck with your choice, remember it’s you who drives it , not the biased knockers.

[Postmaster]

The new Tuna still has the old 2 rear seat hook up format which is an out-of-date design if I am not mistaken