Looking at buying a wagon and I seem to be gettingconflicting views on whether the 2008 GLXhas curtain airbags. Some say yes (6 air bags). Some say no (4 airbags) Maybe there are 2 variants and everyone is right! Wanting to get as safer car as possible for the family and really like the Mazda. Anyone know the definite answer and what I need to look for! Am I right in that the seat airbags are the side impact and if they are in the pillar then they are the curtain air bags (and does the curtain do front and back!). Safety ratings seem to be for Aussie tests and Aussies only imported the GSX from what I gather. The budget might not stretch to the GSX model! Cheers
phillip.weston,
Oct 4, 9:19am
it should have curtain airbags. The previous shape had up to 8 airbags. Have a look at the plastics around the pillars, it will say 'SRS' on them if they have curtain air bags.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 4, 9:21am
If you want safe check out the VW Golf. It rungs rings around the Mazda in terms of power/economy because its engine and transmission are about 10 years ahead of what Mazda are using. The Golf has 8-12 Airbags from 2004 onwards (usually 10-12). Much more car for your money and still incredibly reliable and cheap for service despite the better technology. Go for the 2.0 version and you will more likely end up with 12, it also uses very little more fuel than the 1.6.
Also, safety isn't simply the sum of how many airbags a car has. The Mazda is only a 4 Star car which while O.K is not great for a 2008 car. The Golf is a 5 Star car from 2004 onwards.
mugenb20b,
Oct 4, 9:37am
No, they are not. Mazda is miles ahead of VW when it comes to power, economy, safety, technology and reliabilty. Mazda is made in Japan, and Japanese have the best cars in the world overall. They have looked at European engineering and asked themselves : 'How can we make this better and cheaper', and by sticking to that formula, they made the most reliable cars world wide. A single country of 125 000 000 people make more cars per annum than the whole of Europe.
trdbzr,
Oct 4, 10:35am
Mazda 6 is an incredibly reliable car. The only common problem it has is only for the US based 3L model in the older shape one, where a valve needed to be changed with every oil change (it cost $10 for the valve and changing it was a 10 min job) apart from that, they are very good cars. To answer your question, they have 6 airbags. And their fuel consumption rating is also pretty much spot on. Don't be swayed by anyone else's opinion. Its your choice and your money. And Jazz, try to actually ANSWER people's questions, rather than posting drivel in every thread.
mellisa2000,
Oct 4, 10:36am
Info not required or asked for Jazz. Leave it alone.
phillip.weston,
Oct 4, 11:37am
The Mazda6 has got to be one of if not THE most popular mid-sized car at the moment. There's a damn good reason for that. The demand for a few year old one far exceeds the supply and the prices are sitting quite firm. You can't say that for a Golf. The engine in the Mazda6 is shared with the Ford Mondeo although they have differences between the two. I do agree that the transmission may not be as advanced as the 7 speed DSG unit in the Golf, but the 5 or 6 speed they come with is perfectly adequate and contributes to its near impeccable reliability. Not to mention that the Golf is a smaller vehicle than the Mazda6 (of which its most commonly sold models is the 5 door liftback or the stationwagon) yet it is less expensive to purchase new than the Golf.
brett30,
Oct 7, 6:51am
Thanks guys for the slightly off topic debate!Appreciated.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 7, 9:41am
Funny thing is the Golf was the 4th most popular car in the world by volume last year, not sure where the Mazda ranked because it didn't make the top ten.
Got to love how weird this country is that anyone daring to suggest anything that isn't from Japan is jumped on quicker than a hooker on a cargo ship.
The OP was looking for as safe a car as possible for his family. Given the Mazda was not even close to the safest car available why on earth not recommend one thats much better for the same money!
BTW, I was especially impressed with mugenb20b just making stuff up and seeing if anyone notices. Apparently old technology becomes new technology when its made in Japan, you learn something every day!
trdbzr,
Oct 7, 2:00pm
First of all, its pretty obvious phillip was talking about the NZ market, not the international one. In the NZ market, Mazda 6 is pretty much the most popular mid sized car at the moment.
The new Mazda 6 actually has a 5 star Euro NCAP safety rating. From 2008 onwards, the Mazda 6 came in the new shape. So the one the OP is looking at is actually very safe. The older shape shape had a 4 star rating. But then again, even the mk4 golf had a 4 star rating but you have no problem raving on about that. The OP also stated that he/she wants a wagon, not a hatch.
The Golf has been available since 1974 but the Mazda 6 has only been available since 2002, and despite being a 'new' model, its been one of the most fastest selling Mazda's ever, on average about 650 per day has been sold since its inception. And that's quite a feat considering its a very new car compared to many others models that have been available for quite a few decades and have established a reputation.
You do actually seem to be quite good at making stuff up and cherry picking. Claiming the new Avensis comes with a 4 speed auto when it infact comes with a 7 speed CVT, and even the older model came with CVT. And cherry picking ReliabilityIndex and only referring to it when it favours you, and when it doesn't you run away from the thread.
You always talk about Euro cars being better value for money because they have more features for quite similar amount of money when compared to a similar Japanese car. Well lets compare. A new Golf R will set you back $73,500 whereas a very similar features and spec-wise Mazda 3 MPS will set you back $49,195. Thats a $24,305 difference. You can pick up a pretty decent car for that much. Ok now lets compare them 4 years down the track. Sure the Mazda 3 MPS and Golf GTI are similarly priced for a similar year and km model on the second hand market, but the Golf cost alot more to buy initially. So that means that the Golf depreciates like crazy, whereas the Mazda holds its value quite well and you lose far less money on it in the long run due to its far better resale value.
mugenb20b,
Oct 7, 7:28pm
There you go Jazz! All fixed.
rovercitroen,
Oct 7, 7:56pm
LOL. Great turn of phrase Jazz.
trdbzr,
Oct 9, 4:09am
Funny thing, the Golf also got rated as one of the least reliable cars by Consumer NZ.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 9, 7:03am
Thanks! I thought of that one all by myself too. it did take all day though.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 9, 7:04am
LOL! You know you are losing the battle when if you do score a weak point you have to spread it accross several threads. and even make a thread of its own about it.
trdbzr,
Oct 9, 7:17am
*Yawn* really! is that all you could come up with! You really NEED to pull your head out of the sand. Interesting how you ignored and ran from my previous comment above. Typical behavior of yours from other older threads.
trdbzr,
Oct 9, 7:18am
By the way, making one thread about it and commenting in another one that I was already making comments in hardly amount to 'several threads'. You're still full of shit as usual.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 9, 7:22am
Not running anywhere, I just don't feel the need to repeat myself in every thread. I am sorry VW's threaten you so much. I will go now before I upset you any more.
morrisman1,
Oct 9, 7:23am
BAHAHAHAHA that is the quote of the day! If it is true then why do you fill up each thread with garbage about passats golfs and puntos!
trdbzr,
Dec 19, 4:57pm
LMAO. More like run away with your tails between your legs.
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