Kia Rio vs. Honda Jazz vs. Mazda 3

[jkaizer]

galing ng advice ni sir orly.

kulas, madami ka talaga ma-pi-pick up sa mga experts dito sa tsikot.

add ko lang na if there is a way for you to test drive lahat ng choices mo, that will help you decide too, after carefull consideration ng mga pro's and con's of each of your choices.

[the one]

5 star Kia Rio
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2PNr0Rd3RQ"]YouTube - kia rio/pride frontal crash test[/ame]


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTJfdwhJiNg"]YouTube - Honda Fit-1[/ame]


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHMN4wH9a6w"]YouTube - Crash Test of Mazda 3[/ame]

[niky]

Ask around about the release date for the new jazz, the dicker with the dealerships for discounts on the current one. If you can get a Jazz for just 50k more than a Rio, i suggest you go for it.

[kiakulas1]

Thanks sir Orly! Your posts are exactly what I've been looking for!

Ok, so that makes me think Mazda 3 is perhaps not for me... Maybe next time! (hayyz)

About fuel efficiency, Ive been hearing a lot about Jazz'. Perhaps the main thing that kinda steps me back from actually picking Jazz is its looks. Rio appears to be more refined and sportier..

But now you've mentioned the soon to be released new Jazz.. hmmm.. to be honest the looks isn't quite impressing (siguro sa pictures lang, ibang-iba pag totoong buhay e) but quite neat nonetheless. Maybe I can wait to know what features it has to offer.

Orly's computations gives me a good picture of how much I'll spend for daily fueling. Maintenance siguro I can worry about it at least after 3 years pa.

So, as I understand it (please correct me if im wrong by all means) that Rio and Jazz are (almost) at par with each other on economy, maintenance and quality (?).. should I then decide now by merely how it looks? Rio seems to be more feature-packed. Both fits my budget..

How about performance and driving satisfaction?

Thanks the_one for the visual-aided comparisons.. Really appreciate that effort! Thanks for all your replies!

[excitecar]

Hmm... Mazda 3

[niky]

The Rio handles surprisingly well, but it's just no match for the Jazz in on-the-limits driving satisfaction. But for those used to older cars, the light electric steering rack of the Jazz might be a turn-off. The one big issue with the Rio is suspension quality. It's okay in the city, but big heaves and bumps can really upset its composure. The stiff Jazz also reacts to bumps, but it feels more controlled in the way it goes over them.

Interior space isn't very far off... the Rio is surprisingly roomy for a car with a regular roof, but the Jazz is much more flexible in terms of cargo space. Both cars suffer from low seat cushions... this means some knee pain if you're arthritic (like me), but they're unobjectionable, otherwise. Some people complain that the Jazz seats are too hard, but I don't find anything wrong with them.

As for fuel economy... the Rio 1.4 MT is good, but I'd wager a 1.3 Jazz would be much better. Whether it's 90k pesos better (based on fuel consumption alone... in terms of quality, yes, it's probably worth at least that much...), I don't know... but like I said, if they discount it even more before the new Jazz comes in, snap it up. A manual-transmission Jazz 1.3 is like the 21st century version of the VW Beetle... it's the first and last car you'll ever need. The Rio, on the other hand, feels a lot like the old Honda City. a nice, playful little commuter car, with no major drawbacks. I did a long test-drve last year, but we haven't published it yet.

But if you have the budget, the Mazda3 is a virtual luxury car compared to these small cars. Legroom in the rear isn't much better than the Jazz, but it's plusher and better appointed than most other common cars, and it makes you feel like a lucky sunuvagun driving it...



Fuel economy isn't terrible out on the highway (between 10-12 km/l... maybe up to 14-16 on the NLEX), and it seems that they've reprogrammed the engine for better fuel consumption, but it's nowhere near the Jazz's league in city traffic... 7-8 km/l might be the best you can expect.

[Type 100]

If you still have doubts about Kia, I suggest you erase them. They've gotten much, much better over the late 1990s in terms of mechanical reliability---the Kias sold back then were really unsung heroes. Take good care of them and be religious with your tune-ups and they will just keep on running.

The only things Hyundai and Kia need work on nowadays are proper suspension tuning and improvement of interior build quality. Korean cars tend to wallow and be floaty over roads with lots of seqeuential bumps, IMO. There's not much point in having a multi-link rear suspension over a cheap torsion beam axle if you can't tune it properly.

[Lucius]

Sus Mazda3 syempre... Hahaha basta 2.0!

[orly_andico]

*kulas,

re: next time: if you're gonna be paying for your new car for the next 3, 4, or 5 years, then "next time" is gonna be a long time from now... since a car is an emotional purchase, sometimes you just gotta go with your emotions.

picture this: you save 6k/month by not getting a mazda3, then a year later you get a 10k/month raise.. so you can now afford the mazda3, but you're still paying off your Jazz or Rio, so you can't.. (and you can't sell off the existing car because the bank has the title -- besides first owner always takes a huge hit on resale so talo talaga)

then you realize that you should've gotten the mazda3 in the first place.

of course, only you can say whether the increased up-front costs are worthwhile. a car is a MAJOR purchase and getting a car more expensive than you can afford will crimp all your future financial decisions for the next several years.

other side of the coin: it's always better to err on the side of financial conservatism. Better to have more money, than less money, right? a car is just transportation anyway and the cheapest transport that can get you there is the best (think: Toyota Vios 1.3J)

so you have to think ahead a few years... money decisions you make now, will affect you in ways you can't imagine, down the road. to be VERY safe, since it's your first car, get the cheapest one. I would go for the Vios.

[CVT]

We own a 1.3L iDSI CVT Jazz and are very satisfied with it. However, my recommendation is to go with the Mazda3......

Jazz is 2nd and Rio is distant 3rd....

5303:burp: