Mazda CX-5, Honda CRV or Toyota Rav4

[difflock]

I had no plans to change, but the Skoda shit hersel for the last time, DSG problems, again, again, again.

Thoughts please?

I fancy sticking with the diesel Mazda, cos it can tow enought to be moderately useful, while the other 2 hybrids are limited to 750Kg ish.

Plus a reasonably local decent independant dealerfor the Mazda.

BUT are Mazda diesels still troublesome?

Thanks, in anticipation,

Marcus

The Rav4 is lovely to drive and the CRV is impressive to sit in, (no driving possble just yet, bloody Belfast dealers.)

[Moose McAlpine]

Were diesel Mazda's troublesome? I went to very few when i worked for the AA and for a few years Mazda was officially the most reliable car brand here. (Quite possibly still are.) The Mazda's the best-looking of the 3 by a country mile.

 

CRVs are boring and covered in typical over-the-top Honda design and also a hybrid like the RAV-4, which is a combination of 2 technologies done badly together. Always find Toyotas a bit plastic-y, almost cheap and nasty.

 

Of the 3 i'd have the diesel Mazda.

[difflock]

Thank you Moose, my criteria was "reliability" and a local dealership

(& having coerced Senior Management to accompany me to Belfast yesterday to look at the Honda was dear-bought, so local it shall be)

So that boiled down to reasonably local Toyota or Mazda, for reliability.

Yes the Honda is plushest, though I would be reluctant to describe the Toyota as plastic-y, and I found the Toyota fine to drive, during our rather short try-out.

Mazda's had, and may indeed, still have a problem with the interuppted DPF re-gen dumping diesel into the sump.

But stupidly they provide no clear tell-tale that a DPF is running!

The local dealer salesperson actually volunteered that they choose to change the engine oil more frequently, (guessing at not more than 5k, though I did not ask) which warmed me to his honesty, but more-so to the likelyhood and scale of the problem!

Our retired driving habits would probably suit petrol or hybrid better than a DPF equipped diesel I imagine.

2 other contenders are the Citroen C5 Aircross, or BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, both more local, but both  poorer for reliability and warranty.

thanks

marcus

[harvey b davison]

Thank you Moose, my criteria was "reliability" and a local dealership
(& having coerced Senior Management to accompany me to Belfast yesterday to look at the Honda was dear-bought, so local it shall be)
So that boiled down to reasonably local Toyota or Mazda, for reliability.
Yes the Honda is plushest, though I would be reluctant to describe the Toyota as plastic-y, and I found the Toyota fine to drive, during our rather short try-out.
Mazda's had, and may indeed, still have a problem with the interuppted DPF re-gen dumping diesel into the sump.
But stupidly they provide no clear tell-tale that a DPF is running!
The local dealer salesperson actually volunteered that they choose to change the engine oil more frequently, (guessing at not more than 5k, though I did not ask) which warmed me to his honesty, but more-so to the likelyhood and scale of the problem!
Our retired driving habits would probably suit petrol or hybrid better than a DPF equipped diesel I imagine.
2 other contenders are the Citroen C5 Aircross, or BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, both more local, but both  poorer for reliability and warranty.
thanks
marcus

I really like the citroen's, and at the moment me, and both my parents are running them. But I find they are brilliant upto a certain age / mileage then they fall off a cliff and anything and everything can go wrong with them. The c5 aircross does look a nice car, but I have heard many disgruntled people complain about the 1.5 d engine.

[difflock]

Thank you Harvey,

oddly I had decided this afternoon to go for the Rav4, due to both Toyota's enviable reliability record, backed up by our daughters faultless Yaris ownership over 10 years and 150,000 miles,  and the 5 year warranty, with 10 on the hybrid battery, and extendably up to 15 on the hybrid battery.

Just need to decide if we go for the 4WD to get the 1800Kg towing capacity, or no towbar and keep the Steyr Puch for the very occassional towing.

P.S.

Clive, an Ex workmate does a turn at vehicle recovery, recounted a very recent case of a hired Toyota, "broken down" at Carrick-a-reid rope bridge, because the hire company had went truely keyless, using a ph app instead, and where the people who hired the car had parked, had no ph signal, so when the car was switched off, it could not be restarted.

He had to skid it onto the transporter with all 4 tyres locked up, then drive to high ground, while looking for ph signal, whereapon it restarted faultlessly!

So some ideas are just too smart for their own good. 

thanks

Marcus

[Baldbloke]

Marcus, what about a VW Tiguan?

 

My dealer friends all recommend the VW/Skoda/ Seat DSG as indestructible; as long as its fluids are regularly renewed.

[difflock]

12 hours ago, Baldbloke said:

Marcus, what about a VW Tiguan?

 

My dealer friends all recommend the VW/Skoda/ Seat DSG as indestructible; as long as its fluids are regularly renewed.

That boat has sailed!

And yes, I apreciate the origonal "wet" DSG design was apparently indestructible, if correctly serviced.

But the VAG group, via Skoda, have shit in the nest big-time.

First the dealer we bought the car off new, made a complete balls of fitting the towbar, shoddily installed bypass relays, not the correct Skoda wiring kit, and I naievly paid up, extra over, to have it rectified, "to build a relationship", then when the wife took the car the 80 odd mile journey to first investigate the DSG issues, the left her sitting in a showroom, and ignored for several hours, then told her the found no fault(despite it throwing a fault code as I only later established)

Then the car was off the road for 5 calander months via another dealership, who replaced the clutch packs, then the mechatronic unit, then the entire transmission, all to no effect.(it turned out they were attempting to rectify a cunning VAG software "kludge" installed to protect the underspecced dry clutch packs, which caused these cars to both ignore the throttle pentiometer input and then drop out of gear, entirely without warning)

The wife argued without success that it would have been more cost effective to give us another new or very fresh car.

Then in months 59 and 60 of the extended 5 year warranty period the service manager lied to my face when I twice took the car up after limp mode and flashing lights(rightly suspecting the troublesome EGR was knackered)

No fault codes recorded Sir, he said.

The third time I took the car the 40 mile journey I had got a local indy to scan , log and copy the codes onto my laptop beforehand.

I got the same rebuff, but this time I produced the Laptop, and they rolled over.

Otherwise I would have been caught for paying the £1200.00 bill in month 61 onward.

Then later the mechatronic failed. I paid.

Now it appears she has lunched on, or otherwise digested one set of selectors.

In less than 140,000 miles.

Which will eaily render her "beyond economic repair"

Plus the dodgy "how-soon-not-if" failure guarenteed Siemens injectors.

Fornicaters!

So Toyota it is.

I must dig out and copy/ post on here my letter from Skoda UK detailing the deal I got after the 5 month repair hiatus.

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by difflock

[harvey b davison]

That boat has sailed!
And yes, I apreciate the origonal "wet" DSG design was apparently indestructible, if correctly serviced.
But the VAG group, via Skoda, have shit in the nest big-time.
First the dealer we bought the car off new, made a complete balls of fitting the towbar, shoddily installed bypass relays, not the correct Skoda wiring kit, and I naievly paid up, extra over, to have it rectified, "to build a relationship", then when the wife took the car the 80 odd mile journey to first investigate the DSG issues, the left her sitting in a showroom, and ignored for several hours, then told her the found no fault(despite it throwing a fault code as I only later established)
Then the car was off the road for 5 calander months via another dealership, who replaced the clutch packs, then the mechatronic unit, then the entire transmission, all to no effect.(it turned out they were attempting to rectify a cunning VAG software "kludge" installed to protect the underspecced dry clutch packs, which caused these cars to both ignore the throttle pentiometer input and then drop out of gear, entirely without warning)
The wife argued without success that it would have been more cost effective to give us another new or very fresh car.
Then in months 59 and 60 of the extended 5 year warranty period the service manager lied to my face when I twice took the car up after limp mode and flashing lights(rightly suspecting the troublesome EGR was knackered)
No fault codes recorded Sir, he said.
The third time I took the car the 40 mile journey I had got a local indy to scan , log and copy the codes onto my laptop beforehand.
I got the same rebuff, but this time I produced the Laptop, and they rolled over.
Otherwise I would have been caught for paying the £1200.00 bill in month 61 onward.
Then later the mechatronic failed. I paid.
Now it appears she has lunched on, or otherwise digested one set of selectors.
In less than 140,000 miles.
Which will eaily render her "beyond economic repair"
Plus the dodgy "how-soon-not-if" failure guarenteed Siemens injectors.
Fornicaters!
So Toyota it is.
I must dig out and copy/ post on here my letter from Skoda UK detailing the deal I got after the 5 month repair hiatus.
 

Bloody hell, that's bad. Shame because I keep looking at the skoda yeti, be a nice work van for me.

[difflock]

It was as much the diabolical decietful lying behavouir by VAG/Skoda(about the DQ200 dry 7 speed DSG) as the poor engineering that left the worst bad taste.

If I recall the VAG indy up at Monkstown who replaced the mechatronic told me that VAG asked their wet clutch DSG supplier to develop a more fuel efficient dry clutch version, presumably with cost/packaging/weight constraints, and were told after some study that it could not be done.

So VAG went to another supplier(Getrag perhaps?) who claimed they had it sussed.

They lied.

They also however sold it to Ford, marketed as the Powershift I believe.

This effort also failed and cost Ford a fortune in the US market.

Marcus

[difflock]

Picked up the Toyota on Tue, a dream to drive, especially the superb electric slow speed control and selectable and entirely automatic parking  brake function working purely off the foot brake,

or you can set it to creep instantly on release of the footbrake and take-off like a traditional TC automatic.

And it goes like stink when asked.

Mth

 

 

Edited July 2, 2021 by difflock