Mitsubishi Ex Vs Chevy Cruze

[thaicruze]

.I have todays price in front of me. From the Lancer Ex Box i quote. 1.8 GLX, A/T.794.000..That being the base Ex. There are 6 Ex Types in the Ex Range, the top one being the 2.0 G.T @1,061,000.in white. So i think for one who just pootles about and doesnt need hi speed aids, the base Mitsu aint bad value.:jap:

The OP already has a Ford Focus 2.0 S , which was the top model, a base Ex seams to be going downhill.

Yes he does. Then he comes back to say he can't afford a CRUZE or a Mitsubishi to he wants to get a cheap car.

He want to sell his "top focus" to go get a cheap car.

This thread is no longer about the CRUZE or Mitsubishi, this is now about the City and the Mazda 2.

Edited September 25, 2011 by thaicruze

[thaicruze]

And let's not forget, whoever brought up the Cruze's JD powers rating, that the Mitsubishi Lancer gets the same rating as the CRUZE, a 3.

[ignis]

Yes he does. Then he comes back to say he can't afford a CRUZE or a Mitsubishi to he wants to get a cheap car.

He want to sell his "top focus" to go get a cheap car.

This thread is no longer about the CRUZE or Mitsubishi, this is now about the City and the Mazda 2.

Maybe a Chery A1 /J1 1.3 lt... Brand New March 2011 has ABS, 2 Airbags, Full leather, CD MP3, could sell his Focus buy the A1 and have money in pocket + no payments..

DFM/Sokon + 2 models runs on LPG or NGV, also just over 400k, lots on the road

[wandrinstar]

Not much difference in price from a top City and manuall Civic. Thais for some reason bring me their new rides, that coupled with im on the road most days and can call in for a test drive anywhere gives me quite an opinion on new stuff.. Yes the O.P. stated he wanted to trade down, hence his choise of a Cruze n Mitsu. I dont take any notice of U.S. opinions,Yanks only build Muscle Cars good. All the main ones mentioned here ive tried, and to be honest all have merrits,even the Snooze , so i tend to think who built it, and service centres, im strickly dealer service, so i fall back on Honda and Toyo. Ford with this New Wine in Old Bottles puts me off at any price. We had a hired Focus around,who dreams up the undertakers parlour look for Ford interiors, and that Bumble Bee Arse End, its that good i took the City out the car pool,.So if i must Choose, City and Vios get my vote for practicall motoring. Yeh , a yawn fest,but i admire the Realistic O.P. not trying to impress other Teachers.

[katabeachbum]

what doors open when you click the button?

The non-poor version of the cruze unlocks automatically when you walk by, no button.

Funny

Nice try.

I don't think 900,000 baht is "poor version". The LT and the LS are the same car. Why should i pay more to walk by and have the doors open? Are you telling me you're that lazy you can't push a button?

All the doors open when you push the button. As I said, you can set this up how you want to.

Rain sensing and auto lights are another useless feature. You can lift your finger and turn on the wipers? You can't move your arm 12 inches to turn on the lights at night?

If the LT had any real features i would've gone for it, but the only one to buy other than the LS is the diesel one because it has a diesel engine. For what you get for another 100,000 baht is not worth it for the LT and LTZ.

The only other thing I can thing of is if you have a family and require 4 airbags. I drive alone mostly, except in the afternoon where there is 1 other person with me. This person sits so far back, a passenger airbag would be useless, so, the LS is the one to get.

As I said before, if you're willing to shell out over 1,000,000 baht (which is what the LT AND LTZ will be when you're done paying them, then you should be looking at other cars.

if you v ever used a car for a year with rainsensor and keyless and reverse sensor, you will always miss it. I have missed on several cars since I had it first time in 1999

and the day you are T boned, you will indeed miss the side bag and curtains even when single in car

If I couldnt afford the LTZ, I would move down to a City

[thaiIand]

rain sensors are the biggest advancement of mankind in the last 20years..

how annoying is it to change the speed of your shields every goddamn 5 secs? with them you dont need to.

[thaicruze]

rain sensors are the biggest advancement of mankind in the last 20years..

how annoying is it to change the speed of your shields every goddamn 5 secs? with them you dont need to.

Why would you do that? The CRUZE has 5 different intermittent speeds the windshields can go. When it rains, I just turn it on. That's it.

[thaicruze]

Not much difference in price from a top City and manuall Civic. Thais for some reason bring me their new rides, that coupled with im on the road most days and can call in for a test drive anywhere gives me quite an opinion on new stuff.. Yes the O.P. stated he wanted to trade down, hence his choise of a Cruze n Mitsu. I dont take any notice of U.S. opinions,Yanks only build Muscle Cars good. All the main ones mentioned here ive tried, and to be honest all have merrits,even the Snooze , so i tend to think who built it, and service centres, im strickly dealer service, so i fall back on Honda and Toyo. Ford with this New Wine in Old Bottles puts me off at any price. We had a hired Focus around,who dreams up the undertakers parlour look for Ford interiors, and that Bumble Bee Arse End, its that good i took the City out the car pool,.So if i must Choose, City and Vios get my vote for practicall motoring. Yeh , a yawn fest,but i admire the Realistic O.P. not trying to impress other Teachers.

City and VIOS are terrible for anything other than stop and go city driving. It's an uncomfortable loud ride.

Edited September 26, 2011 by thaicruze

[thaicruze]

Not much difference in price from a top City and manuall Civic. Thais for some reason bring me their new rides, that coupled with im on the road most days and can call in for a test drive anywhere gives me quite an opinion on new stuff.. Yes the O.P. stated he wanted to trade down, hence his choise of a Cruze n Mitsu.

You have it all backwards.

He wanted a CRUZE or a Mitsubishi. He can't afford them, so he wanted to go down and get a City or a Mazda 2.

Question is, if he has a relatively new Focus 2.0, why does he want to get a Mazda 2? Ridiculous.

[thaicruze]

what doors open when you click the button?

The non-poor version of the cruze unlocks automatically when you walk by, no button.

Funny

Nice try.

I don't think 900,000 baht is "poor version". The LT and the LS are the same car. Why should i pay more to walk by and have the doors open? Are you telling me you're that lazy you can't push a button?

All the doors open when you push the button. As I said, you can set this up how you want to.

Rain sensing and auto lights are another useless feature. You can lift your finger and turn on the wipers? You can't move your arm 12 inches to turn on the lights at night?

If the LT had any real features i would've gone for it, but the only one to buy other than the LS is the diesel one because it has a diesel engine. For what you get for another 100,000 baht is not worth it for the LT and LTZ.

The only other thing I can thing of is if you have a family and require 4 airbags. I drive alone mostly, except in the afternoon where there is 1 other person with me. This person sits so far back, a passenger airbag would be useless, so, the LS is the one to get.

As I said before, if you're willing to shell out over 1,000,000 baht (which is what the LT AND LTZ will be when you're done paying them, then you should be looking at other cars.

if you v ever used a car for a year with rainsensor and keyless and reverse sensor, you will always miss it. I have missed on several cars since I had it first time in 1999

and the day you are T boned, you will indeed miss the side bag and curtains even when single in car

If I couldnt afford the LTZ, I would move down to a City

An LS CRUZE is miles better than a City. What I am saying is, other than the Diesel Cruze, the LS, LT and LTZ petrol are exactly the same car. Same technology. Same ride quality. The other things are just options that do not add anything to the quality of the car, such as keyless, or rain sensors.

Parking sensor I can add to mine. That's in the extras manual. I can also add fog lamps for an extra 6,000 baht.

Cruise control is useless in my commute.

It only rains here a couple of months a year and the rest is 150 degrees. Rain sensing; useless. Nice feature but not necessary. It's been raining here for the last month and I haven't had to switch my wiper speed every 5 seconds. I turn it on. I leave it on. Sometimes it rains hard and then half way trough my commute (nit 5 seconds later) it starts to drizzle. So I life up my finger and I turn the dial a couple of notches and I keep on driving. Rain sensing us nice, but not a necessity.

More chrome accents? I don't need it.

Trading down to a city is getting an inferior car, inferior quality and inferior ride to the LS.

As for the Airbag argument, the CRUZE is a tough car. The structure of the car is the same in Thailand, USA, India, Australia and everywhere the car is built.

If you have ever opened and closed a Cruze's door you would know is a tough heavy door with a huge impact beam going through the middle of it.

Let's compare a "T-Bone" accident CRUZE vs Mazda 2 (both with side airbags)

Here is the Mazda 2. Check out the warping of the entire side of the car. The driver is pushed all the way to the passenger side and the car ends up almost half the car it was. It's like it is made of paper.

Also, notice how the cabin loses its integrity. The roof warps and bends at impact

Now let's look at the CRUZE. Same hit

Notice first of all how the car's roof and cabin remain untouched. No warping. Then as you see inside you can see the door took the hit 100 times better and the driver is not really pushed that much.

Airbags on the side or not, the CRUZE is obviously a better tougher built car than the Mazda 2, so even with airbags the Mazda 2 puts you at a greater risk than the CRUZE.

Airbags or not, the CRUZE is the safer car. I'd rather be t-boned in a cruze with no side airbags than a Mazda 2 with side airbags.

What happens when you're riding on your Mazda2 and for some reason the airbags don't deploy when someone tbones your car? Would you rather be in a CRUZE or Mazda 2 in this situation (of course you're going to say youd rather be in a tin can than a TH Daewoo crap. I understand the trolling)

Also; you mentioned curtain airbags. The CRUZE doesn't have curtain airbags here, only side. Small ones that pop out next to your seat.

Anyway you slice it, the CRUZE LS is a very safe tough built car even with 1 airbag.

Edited September 26, 2011 by thaicruze

[katabeachbum]

Not much difference in price from a top City and manuall Civic. Thais for some reason bring me their new rides, that coupled with im on the road most days and can call in for a test drive anywhere gives me quite an opinion on new stuff.. Yes the O.P. stated he wanted to trade down, hence his choise of a Cruze n Mitsu. I dont take any notice of U.S. opinions,Yanks only build Muscle Cars good. All the main ones mentioned here ive tried, and to be honest all have merrits,even the Snooze , so i tend to think who built it, and service centres, im strickly dealer service, so i fall back on Honda and Toyo. Ford with this New Wine in Old Bottles puts me off at any price. We had a hired Focus around,who dreams up the undertakers parlour look for Ford interiors, and that Bumble Bee Arse End, its that good i took the City out the car pool,.So if i must Choose, City and Vios get my vote for practicall motoring. Yeh , a yawn fest,but i admire the Realistic O.P. not trying to impress other Teachers.

City and VIOS are terrible for anything other than stop and go city driving. It's an uncomfortable loud ride.

and both have better rearseat legroom than Cruze, and in 5 years they have cost approx half of a Cruze. Cruze below 1,8LTZ, I take the City

[katabeachbum]

what doors open when you click the button?

The non-poor version of the cruze unlocks automatically when you walk by, no button.

Funny

Nice try.

I don't think 900,000 baht is "poor version". The LT and the LS are the same car. Why should i pay more to walk by and have the doors open? Are you telling me you're that lazy you can't push a button?

All the doors open when you push the button. As I said, you can set this up how you want to.

Rain sensing and auto lights are another useless feature. You can lift your finger and turn on the wipers? You can't move your arm 12 inches to turn on the lights at night?

If the LT had any real features i would've gone for it, but the only one to buy other than the LS is the diesel one because it has a diesel engine. For what you get for another 100,000 baht is not worth it for the LT and LTZ.

The only other thing I can thing of is if you have a family and require 4 airbags. I drive alone mostly, except in the afternoon where there is 1 other person with me. This person sits so far back, a passenger airbag would be useless, so, the LS is the one to get.

As I said before, if you're willing to shell out over 1,000,000 baht (which is what the LT AND LTZ will be when you're done paying them, then you should be looking at other cars.

if you v ever used a car for a year with rainsensor and keyless and reverse sensor, you will always miss it. I have missed on several cars since I had it first time in 1999

and the day you are T boned, you will indeed miss the side bag and curtains even when single in car

If I couldnt afford the LTZ, I would move down to a City

An LS CRUZE is miles better than a City. What I am saying is, other than the Diesel Cruze, the LS, LT and LTZ petrol are exactly the same car. Same technology. Same ride quality. The other things are just options that do not add anything to the quality of the car, such as keyless, or rain sensors.

Parking sensor I can add to mine. That's in the extras manual. I can also add fog lamps for an extra 6,000 baht.

Cruise control is useless in my commute.

It only rains here a couple of months a year and the rest is 150 degrees. Rain sensing; useless. Nice feature but not necessary. It's been raining here for the last month and I haven't had to switch my wiper speed every 5 seconds. I turn it on. I leave it on. Sometimes it rains hard and then half way trough my commute (nit 5 seconds later) it starts to drizzle. So I life up my finger and I turn the dial a couple of notches and I keep on driving. Rain sensing us nice, but not a necessity.

More chrome accents? I don't need it.

Trading down to a city is getting an inferior car, inferior quality and inferior ride to the LS.

As for the Airbag argument, the CRUZE is a tough car. The structure of the car is the same in Thailand, USA, India, Australia and everywhere the car is built.

If you have ever opened and closed a Cruze's door you would know is a tough heavy door with a huge impact beam going through the middle of it.

Let's compare a "T-Bone" accident CRUZE vs Mazda 2 (both with side airbags)

Here is the Mazda 2. Check out the warping of the entire side of the car. The driver is pushed all the way to the passenger side and the car ends up almost half the car it was. It's like it is made of paper.

Also, notice how the cabin loses its integrity. The roof warps and bends at impact

Now let's look at the CRUZE. Same hit

Notice first of all how the car's roof and cabin remain untouched. No warping. Then as you see inside you can see the door took the hit 100 times better and the driver is not really pushed that much.

Airbags on the side or not, the CRUZE is obviously a better tougher built car than the Mazda 2, so even with airbags the Mazda 2 puts you at a greater risk than the CRUZE.

Airbags or not, the CRUZE is the safer car. I'd rather be t-boned in a cruze with no side airbags than a Mazda 2 with side airbags.

What happens when you're riding on your Mazda2 and for some reason the airbags don't deploy when someone tbones your car? Would you rather be in a CRUZE or Mazda 2 in this situation (of course you're going to say youd rather be in a tin can than a TH Daewoo crap. I understand the trolling)

Also; you mentioned curtain airbags. The CRUZE doesn't have curtain airbags here, only side. Small ones that pop out next to your seat.

Anyway you slice it, the CRUZE LS is a very safe tough built car even with 1 airbag.

comparing a 550k baht mazda 2 crash safety with 880k baht cruze is like comparing cruze with Accord. Makes Cruze one airbag very unsafe.

[thaicruze]

comparing a 550k baht mazda 2 crash safety with 880k baht cruze is like comparing cruze with Accord. Makes Cruze one airbag very unsafe.

I didn't say that. YOU said that. He said "rather than getting a CRUZE LS you would downgrade to a City".

I was responding to that. You made the statement a cheap city is safer (or as safe) than an LS.

So yes. There is a big difference between an LS with 1 airbag and a City/Mazda 2 with 2 airbags. There are many other things that make a car safe. Not just how many airbags it has.

Wake up.

and if you compare the CRUZE to Accord (if you're looking into 1.2 or more million, then you would compare it to the LTZ, not the LS. Still, LS is a much safer car than its competitors with 2.

Let's comapre the 2 here. You're just luring me into another flame.

Here is the Lancer

No side airbag, but curtains. This car performs well also. You can say the CRUZE did a bit better in maintaining its overall shape and integrity in the cockpit.

As you can see, from inside, in this lancer even without the curtain airbags this person would survive. The door didn't cave in all the way into the driver. The CRUZE did even better, so even if I was in a side collision, my LS would perform WAY better than a City or Mazda 2.

That was your argument after all. Now you're changing it into "well, let's compare the CRUZE to a Lexus LS" or whatever. Nonsense.

Edited September 27, 2011 by thaicruze

[katabeachbum]

comparing a 550k baht mazda 2 crash safety with 880k baht cruze is like comparing cruze with Accord. Makes Cruze one airbag very unsafe.

I didn't say that. YOU said that. He said "rather than getting a CRUZE LS you would downgrade to a City".

I was responding to that. You made the statement a cheap city is safer (or as safe) than an LS.

So yes. There is a big difference between an LS with 1 airbag and a City/Mazda 2 with 2 airbags. There are many other things that make a car safe. Not just how many airbags it has.

Wake up.

Woke up 0530, had a wonderful morning on the beach as usual, but the length and content of your post made me feel asleep again. You where comparing T-bone safetey in a small Mazda 2 with a larger Cruze, and we still dont know if the TH Cruze is safer, as there are no crash tests for this low spec version.

There are no crash tests for City either, but one can assume it fares similar to its sister Jazz/Fit, which scores good in crash tests with 2 airbags.

I agree ther are other safety aspects than airbags, so what we really should do is to crash your low end Cruze with a Vigo

[thaicruze]

comparing a 550k baht mazda 2 crash safety with 880k baht cruze is like comparing cruze with Accord. Makes Cruze one airbag very unsafe.

I didn't say that. YOU said that. He said "rather than getting a CRUZE LS you would downgrade to a City".

I was responding to that. You made the statement a cheap city is safer (or as safe) than an LS.

So yes. There is a big difference between an LS with 1 airbag and a City/Mazda 2 with 2 airbags. There are many other things that make a car safe. Not just how many airbags it has.

Wake up.

Woke up 0530, had a wonderful morning on the beach as usual, but the length and content of your post made me feel asleep again. You where comparing T-bone safetey in a small Mazda 2 with a larger Cruze, and we still dont know if the TH Cruze is safer, as there are no crash tests for this low spec version.

There are no crash tests for City either, but one can assume it fares similar to its sister Jazz/Fit, which scores good in crash tests with 2 airbags.

I agree ther are other safety aspects than airbags, so what we really should do is to crash your low end Cruze with a Vigo

It doesn't matter if the CRUZE tested is the LTZ. The LS and the LTZ are the same car. They have the exact same frame

This one

What specs a car has or doesn't have or how many airbags they install is irrelevant. It is still the same frame in all chevy CRUZE models.

Edited September 27, 2011 by thaicruze

[thaicruze]

About the City, yet again you're talking out of your ass.

The Jazz and the City are basically the same car.

Jazz faired well you said?

Let's compare. Look again at the CRUZE side impact.

Now, let's look at the Jazz T-Bone steak.

These people inside the Jazz were almost thrown out the other window. The curtain airbags saved them from glass in their face. Good. At least they can have an open casket at their funeral.

[thaicruze]

Not sure why you hate the Cruze so much. It is just a car. just leave it be. You are never going to buy one, so what do you car how shitty or not the car is? This thread is about the NEW City or the Mazda 2. Just talk about those.

I'd rather get the Mazda 2. Never liked the look of the new City.

[katabeachbum]

Not sure why you hate the Cruze so much. It is just a car. just leave it be. You are never going to buy one, so what do you car how shitty or not the car is? This thread is about the NEW City or the Mazda 2. Just talk about those.

I'd rather get the Mazda 2. Never liked the look of the new City.

I do not hate the Cruze. the LTZ 1,8 is a reasonable car, good in some areas, not on par with competition in some areas. 80k baht overprised and lousy dealerships/aftermarket and seconghand value. So not worth the money, unless you qualify for government fleet deal at zero down and zero interest, which I did not, so you r right I am not going to buy it.

Actually owning an Accord 2,0 costs the same in 3-5 years

What I do not like, is you gloryfying this car with half truths or lies about competition

[ignis]

lousy dealerships/aftermarket and seconghand value

Have both dealership not far from me

EX demo 6 month old Cruze LTZ 1,8.. 60k less then brand new

EX demo 6 month old Accord 2.0i V-Tec.. 180k less then brand new

No idea about cost of owning for 3 - 5 years

I have looked at 3-5 year old pickup values very little difference between them all except for Tata which drops a lot in the 1st year.

[Jim's_a_Thai_Fox]

Hi chaps,

I am delighted to see my thread continues to thrive and the banter does not let up!

I test drove (albeit a meager one) the Mazda 2 MT 4 door. I was OK, and I liked driving the MT... I love driving and live in a small town so the MT is fun :-) (that said, I drove an M5 in Dubai, must have one of the only people in that town with a manual, but again, great car, great fun and it was a good work out for the left leg!)

Many thanks to the poster who reported on the City vs. Mazda 2, very insightful. As you might have seen, I have posted my car on several English speaking classified sites, but not a sniff as yet. So, the trade in option at a dealer is helpful to say the least, and unfortunately, Honda simply don't trade in older cars.

My Ford Focus was the top of the range model, costing over a million Baht when new. Now it is 5 years old, and still runs well... but around town, the 2.0 isn't very economical and I am concerned about ever being able to sell it in the future with it getting simply 'too old'. (for those interested, Thai buyers couldn't give a hoot about mileage, they only care about the age and number of owners - I first found that out to my chagrin when selling my 3year old 2nd hand Honda Civic with barely 30,000km on the clock).

Why am I looking to downgrade? Well, I would love to upgrade, but as mentioned, my pathetic salary prohibits anything too costly (thanks all for such compassion - a teacher's salary in north, what can I say? a six figure annual salary Sydney or London just wasn't worth the stress!)

As cars get older, things start to go wrong, so would like that peace of mind of a new car. A smaller car (engine size) is more economical. The tax rebate of 100k would be a nice thing to have next year (use that as a down payment on the rice paddy up here in the north and later sell it to you rich Bangkok folk looking to escape the floods and pollution :-). As I said, 95% town driving, the monthly trip to Chiang Mai (100km away) and maybe an annual trip 'down south'... Also, I am pretty impulsive and shallow and have never had a new car and would like to get one :-P

Sometimes, I am tempted to say '<deleted> it' and get indebted with the Mitsu, but that would be foolish. A City would be OK, but no bugger will buy my car... so a Mazda 2 makes economical sense and with the MT would keep an aspect of 'sanook'. At 545k, I would pay 145k over 5 years and get 100k back in cash. Effectively 45k payment (plus a bit of interest).

If this sounds a silly prospect, please go ahead and be honest.

cheers

[WarpSpeed]

Nothing wrong with being sensible and living with in your means even as some would suggest otherwise.

[br12stol]

I have a 2010 Audi TTS convertible which has a gullwing door conversion was a bit of fun when I first had it, now I find it a pain, I bought a Mazda 2 manual 6 weeks ago and drive it everyday in favour of the Audi, it is great fun and you will not regret it one bit if you enjoy driving, a quick google search will confirm to you it is a great little drivers car.

Much better for nipping down the shops than the larger cars and very capable for regular journeys from BKK to sattahip (when there are more than two of us)

Must say the 5 door is much prettier than the 4 door though imho

[Chonburiram]

... Cruise control is useless in my commute...

Out of interest, I would like to know does the "CRUZE" actually have this feature?

[wandrinstar]

It will have at least 5 on a Snooze. Ive only had a C.C stay on for 10 Mins Max ever since they came out, they can foreget them for me. My Fav Gizmo is the Can Holder that chills..

[Jim's_a_Thai_Fox]

The Cruze 1.8 LS did not have CC... the Mitsu 1.8 GLS did. My old Civic 2.0 had it and it was used a bit, but not a huge asset to have in this country where you are almost always 'covering the brake'..!

[thaicruze]

... Cruise control is useless in my commute...

Out of interest, I would like to know does the "CRUZE" actually have this feature?

Yes. LT and LTZ.

Another useless feature in Thailand I don't need.

Mine has a blank space there

As you can see, the CRUZE is the superior design

Edited September 28, 2011 by thaicruze

[thaicruze]

If you want to know what each of them have, go here

http://en.chevrolet.co.th/vehicles/view-all-vehicles/cars/cruze/options-and-specs/index.html

Don't ask these people.

[kartman]

... Cruise control is useless in my commute...

Out of interest, I would like to know does the "CRUZE" actually have this feature?

Yes. LT and LTZ.

Another useless feature in Thailand I don't need.

Mine has a blank space there

As you can see, the CRUZE is the superior design

Your obviously talking/comparing the rubbish bin.

[thaiIand]

the leather interior is so ugly.. A+ for blue cloth though.

your wheel looks really weird with only 1 side of button used.

[culicine]

Hi chaps,

I am delighted to see my thread continues to thrive and the banter does not let up!

I test drove (albeit a meager one) the Mazda 2 MT 4 door. I was OK, and I liked driving the MT... I love driving and live in a small town so the MT is fun :-) (that said, I drove an M5 in Dubai, must have one of the only people in that town with a manual, but again, great car, great fun and it was a good work out for the left leg!)

Many thanks to the poster who reported on the City vs. Mazda 2, very insightful. As you might have seen, I have posted my car on several English speaking classified sites, but not a sniff as yet. So, the trade in option at a dealer is helpful to say the least, and unfortunately, Honda simply don't trade in older cars.

My Ford Focus was the top of the range model, costing over a million Baht when new. Now it is 5 years old, and still runs well... but around town, the 2.0 isn't very economical and I am concerned about ever being able to sell it in the future with it getting simply 'too old'. (for those interested, Thai buyers couldn't give a hoot about mileage, they only care about the age and number of owners - I first found that out to my chagrin when selling my 3year old 2nd hand Honda Civic with barely 30,000km on the clock).

Why am I looking to downgrade? Well, I would love to upgrade, but as mentioned, my pathetic salary prohibits anything too costly (thanks all for such compassion - a teacher's salary in north, what can I say? a six figure annual salary Sydney or London just wasn't worth the stress!)

As cars get older, things start to go wrong, so would like that peace of mind of a new car. A smaller car (engine size) is more economical. The tax rebate of 100k would be a nice thing to have next year (use that as a down payment on the rice paddy up here in the north and later sell it to you rich Bangkok folk looking to escape the floods and pollution :-). As I said, 95% town driving, the monthly trip to Chiang Mai (100km away) and maybe an annual trip 'down south'... Also, I am pretty impulsive and shallow and have never had a new car and would like to get one :-P

Sometimes, I am tempted to say '<deleted> it' and get indebted with the Mitsu, but that would be foolish. A City would be OK, but no bugger will buy my car... so a Mazda 2 makes economical sense and with the MT would keep an aspect of 'sanook'. At 545k, I would pay 145k over 5 years and get 100k back in cash. Effectively 45k payment (plus a bit of interest).

If this sounds a silly prospect, please go ahead and be honest.

cheers

At this price point, the mazda 2 is the go. I'm at this point also - I've narrowed my choice to either mazda 2 groover MT or AT compared to the nissan march (top or near top model). Does anyone know if nissan give free first class insurance for the first year? If not, then my choice would be the mazda 2, as the auto version would work out to a similarly priced march. I'd live the MT, but will need to test the auto first to see it performs well enough. If it's dog slow I'll go with the MT and save a few baht for accessories.

Edited September 28, 2011 by culicine