Purely theoretical question... VW Rabbit or Mazda 3?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Right off the bat, let me say that this thread is purely theoretical only, a thought experiment if you will…

Lets say, for the sake of argument, that I decided I no longer like my '07 Saturn Ion and wished to trade out of it into a different vehicle, the two vehicles being considered would be a VW Rabbit, base model, 5 speed manual, 2 door hatch, and a Mazda 3, base model, 5 speed manual, 5 door hatch, both vehicles with A/C

the Mazda stickers at slightly more, is built in Japan, and has a rather good reliability record

the VW Rabbit is slightly less expensive, is built in Germany, and at least on paper/the Intertubes, has a slightly lower reliability record

which one is the better overall car, performance, handling, fuel economy?
I couldn’t care less about “gadgety” features, I’m a form-follows-function kinda’ guy, heck, the Ion has manual crank windows and a manual transmission and that’s the way i likes it, I even turn off the insipid “Traction Control” thingy because I don’t want or need any automated “helpers”, I want pure, unadulterated functionality, if it doesn’t improve fuel mileage, handling, or performance, it’s irrelevant

to reiterate, this is a thought experiment only, while I’m not in love with my Ion (it’s a good, basic, reliable car), I wouldn’t be heartbroken if I found a killer deal on a better vehicle, I can’t argue with the car payment on the Ion ($209/mo for 72 months, 0% interest), and I’ve had it for a year, and have yet to roll 10,000 miles (it’s got about 8600 on the odo…)

Not to mention, with the economy in a downward spiral, it would not be the best time to get into another loan, especially since I’d be carrying the balance of the Ion loan on top of the other car, even if the dealer “pays it off” (actually rolls it into the payments on the new car loan)

2

Interesting about price and reliability. From what I’ve heard and read from European sources, it’s the opposite to what you’ve found. The Golf (Rabbit, I hate them having different names in different markets) has received quite a few awards. The tests I’ve found give the lead in fuel economy to the Golf, with 35 mpg compared to the Mazda’s 30. This is for the 1.6l petrol models. However, according to Wikipedia, Mazda doesn’t sell any engine smaller than the 2.0 in the US, so that data may well be useless.

It’s also worth noting that there’s a new model coming for both cars in 2010-2011, so this year or next would be a good time to go for the present model.

3

The only thing that would induce me to trade out of the Ion would be;

1; Ready availability of Biodiesel in my area (Coastal Maine/New Hampshire)
2; AFFORDABLE Diesel vehicles

If VW, Honda, Subaru and others release clean Diesels next year, that may tempt me to trade in 2010/2011, as I never buy a “Rev. 1” vehicle, and there would be good deals on used diesels by then…

the benchmark fuel mileage for me would be anything above what the Ion’s currently getting (around 28-30 City)

4

[quote=“MacTech, post:1, topic:465909”]

Right off the bat, let me say that this thread is purely theoretical only, a thought experiment if you will…

Lets say, for the sake of argument, that I decided I no longer like my '07 Saturn Ion and wished to trade out of it into a different vehicle, the two vehicles being considered would be a VW Rabbit, base model, 5 speed manual, 2 door hatch, and a Mazda 3, base model, 5 speed manual, 5 door hatch, both vehicles with A/C

I choose the Mazda. Why? I’ve had two VWs in the last 39 years, & both were evil incarnate. Both were dog-awful colors by the time I got them, & what on earth is an automatic stickshift?

Love (but not for VW), Phil

5

Between those two? The Mazda, no question. VWs are very unreliable these days. And the 3 looks better.

6

I’d take the VW in a heartbeat. Not only does it look better and get better mileage, I’ve never had a VW die at less than 2, 300K miles, with very little maintenance required to get there, and I’ve owned a half dozen VWs in my life.

7

The reason I’m asking the question is that I’m having the front bumper skin on the Ion repainted (stupid parking-lot scuffs caused by inattentive drivers who don’t leave insurance info, GRRR!) and I’ve been driving a rental Mazda 3 for the past few days, apart from it being a sludgebox, I actually like it, if it was a manual, I’d like it better than the Ion

So, I’ve been contemplating trading out of the Ion and into one of the two cars in my OP, one of my co-workers has a '06 VW GTI that he loves and constantly raves about, he had a Mazda 6 previously (he was my co-worker who was hit head-on by a drunk driver, the Mazda was totalled, it saved his life) and when he had that car, IT was the best car in the world according to him, he gets obsessive about his vehicles and isn’t a good guide for automotive decisions, he derides the Mazda 3 as a “Rabbit-wannabe”, his current mindset is that if it isn’t VW, it’s crap :rolleyes:…

As i said before, this is simply a thought experiment, the economy is in the crapper, so getting into a different car loan would be inadvisable, I wouldn’t be able to beat 0% interest anyway, and the Ion has only about 8500 miles on it, and gets better city mileage than the 3, besides, I really want a diesel powered car anyway, yes the 3 is loads of fun, and feels better put together than the Ion, but if I’m eventually planning to get a diesel car, trading the Ion for a Mazda 3 or gasoline powered Rabbit makes no sense…

8

My experience has been that VW is the Mac of cars: it inspires duality in people, causing them to be either avid proponents (e.g., Weirddave) or fierce opponents (e.g., phil417).

Mazdas tend to just be pretty good cars. My ex-wife had one that we bought in 1993 and only got rid of 10 years later because we had inherited my dad’s pickup and didn’t need 3 cars. I’m a Toyota guy, but I enjoyed driving it and it was reliable as all get-out.

9

It always seemed to me that there is a high correlation between Mac users and people who like VW, Subaru, and Saturn. They seem to inspire the same aesthetic sense, or maybe I’ve just known too many Berkeley people.

10

Okay, got the Ion back, flawless repair job, can’t even tell there was damage (stupid parking lot scuffs…)

I still can’t shake the nagging desire to trade out of it though, towards either a Mazda 3 or VW Rabbit…

the advantages of the Ion;
so far, it’s been absolutely reliable, no mechanical failures
it gets about 28-30 MPG City
polymer body panels are just plain cool, it’s the Glock of cars
the spaceframe and superstructure of the car are seriously overbuilt, the thing’s a tank
0% financing on the loan

Disadvantages of the Ion;
Compared to the 3, the Ion’s handling just seems vaguely “dead” for lack of a better term, it’s not bad, but it’s not as sharp handling as the Mazda 3 or even my old Dodge Neon, it’s not as much fun as the Mazda 3

Other thoughts;
I’ve had the car about a year, and still have 5 years left to pay it off, thank Og for 0% interest
with the economy in the state it’s in, it’s probably not a good time to trade out of a perfectly serviceable, reliable car, just because it’s got less fun factor than I’d like
my payments would more than likely go up because the balance of my Ion loan would be added to the loan on the new car, if I understand the “we pay off your trade” thingy correctly
I can’t help shaking the feeling, however, that this car is somehow “cursed”, or otherwise affected by bad luck, this is the first car I’ve had an accident in, and I’ve been driving for 23 years, and then add to that the parking lot scuff on the bumper, it just seems that this car is bad-luck-on-wheels and part of me just wants to get out of it

Somebody talk me down here, my resistance to bailing on the Ion and getting a different car is waning

11

I have rented the 3 on business trips, and it is damn fun to drive. Handles like a dream, sharp acceleration, just a great car to drive. I am always psyched to see a 3, or a 6 for that matter, waiting for me at the car rental joint.