Hi are these good wee cars? Do they have any gremlins ? That's in advance,
Other car wife likes are the Toyota Avenis, and Toyota Caldinas. both 2005.
vtecintegra,
Oct 23, 5:22am
Only thing I don't like about mine is how thin the paint is - gets stone chips much easier than other cars I've owned (especially on the roof for some reason)
Also not the most refined if vehicles - you can expect the odd squeak or rattle.
stevo2,
Oct 23, 5:56am
Excellent car apart from the road noise.
tamarillo,
Oct 23, 6:52am
Great cars, nippy. I was warned of the avensis 2 litre engine by Kas, who knows what he's on about. Test drove one (for freind) and was hugely. horrified. 4speed auto and gutless engine! Must have been made as budget special.
toysky,
Oct 23, 10:48am
What about the 2.4 toyota avenis .
nesta129,
Oct 23, 11:19am
Get a pre inspection check done for whichever car you are keen on.I have seen the roof liner on a few avenis hanging off.Google them D4 engines and yes there has been a few posts about them on here. Check the mazda thoroughly for rust,I have seen some with shocking rust for sale!But I love driving the Mazda more than the Avensis.
_peas,
Oct 23, 6:25pm
The Mazda interior feels cheap to me when compared to even a Toyota who aren't know for amazing interiors. Too much plastic and square corners like a guy with a ruler designed it. The 3/Axela had an upgrade in 2007 so try to get one of these which addressed the road noise and revised the suspension. We got a 1.5 auto for the wifey's commute as she loves the look of it (and it had to be black!) and I was surprised how peppy it was. It's no rocket ship but for what it is, very capable motorway commuter (she's North Shore to AKL Airport each day). I have a friends wife who has the 2.0 and complained about the fuel usage compared to her friends 2.3. As stated stay away from the Toyota D-4 engines found in both Avensis and Caldina in 2.0L form.
vtecintegra,
Oct 23, 6:40pm
I agree the materials feel cheap, but the design has held up pretty well IMO
grangies,
Oct 23, 7:45pm
Maybe I am just a pussy and getting too old LOL. But I found the SP23 to be a bit over the top (I'd hate to see what the Turbo model is like LOL).
To me it felt like Mazda has simply taken a budget little run of the mill 3 series Mazda and thrown a larger cars engine in it and forgotten to refine all the other necessary components that are required for the extra performance.
Not the kind of vehicle I'd be letting my teenage son take away with out me there to supervise.
I'd honestly feel more confident with a young person driving a big Falcon or Maxima etc.
The SP23 are future death traps once young fools can get there hands on them for about $1500-$2000 .
dingo011,
Oct 23, 7:57pm
What a lot of tosh! Thank god Toyota didn't stupidly put a 3.5 litre V6 in a Corolla. oh hang on a minute!
grangies,
Oct 23, 11:43pm
I've never driven a Blade, but can just imagine how ridiculous they are LOL.
tamarillo,
Oct 23, 11:49pm
I believe it's a different engine, certainly it was the 2 litre singled out to avoid. But if the 2.4 has same 4 speed box that's still not a good recipe. The Mazda isn't overpowered, ignore that, they had a top turbo model MPS for the hot hatch brigade.
delerium1,
Oct 24, 12:14am
Mazda 2.3 doesn't have much more power than the 2.0. Quite a bit more torque though
ianab,
Oct 24, 7:41am
Yes.
Don't worry about a SP23 being over powered. I mean it's a decent car, and has enough pep for any sane driver.
The Boy Racers wont wont Blades as the traction control can't be turned off.
slacker8,
Oct 24, 8:12am
With the right start up procedure the traction control can be turned off, on the blade.
ianab,
Oct 24, 8:22am
Great, there goes the last of the tread on the Front tires.
vtecintegra,
Oct 24, 9:01pm
What other 'necessary components' is it missing?
As others have said the SP23 is hardly had a high performance engine, and the chassis/brakes etc are all well up to what power it does have
inkapuka,
Oct 25, 12:00am
I myself drive a 07 axela mazdaspeed3 mps it's a quick little car keeps up with a lot of different performance cars. Went and brought a 2005 axela 2.3 sport for the mrs and it's quite peppy for an auto tiptronic , only downside it sits at 3000 rpm at 100 kph compared to mine at 2500, but has 2 less gears than mine so probably normal. Other than that it was a cheap buy and wil be a good car.
saki,
Oct 26, 7:51am
Good car ours has a cold air box uprated suspension 4 speed tip tronic goes rearly well not rusty as some say. Wheel spins a bit easy if you nail it from a stop.
trogedon,
Oct 26, 8:19am
"Kas" knows nothing. Kaz on the other hand.
jmma,
Oct 26, 8:33am
You forgot to mention (freind) as well (o:
trogedon,
Oct 26, 8:39am
You're right. I was aiming for a humorous dig with a bit of leniency thrown in.
jmma,
Oct 26, 8:44am
I like that lennine umm leneni umm going soft bit (o:
trogedon,
Dec 29, 1:07am
I am. Teaching is now a distant memory.
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