CU2 vs Mazda6

[boleh]

A friend is asking for advice on the above. being a Euro owner (CL9), I'd be more than happy to recommend the CU2.. BUT.. little did I realize that the current Mazda6 in base form comes with:

:thumbsup: LEATHER seats
:thumbsup: Front & rear parking sensors
:thumbsup: Powered driver & front passenger seats with memory function
:thumbsup: Fog lights

The only win for the Euro is better audio system

I remember from the past, the Euro used to present much better value.. Now its hard to recommend it when Mazda6 is offering $33,990 driveaway for base auto. Could still negotiate as the Takeri-inspired 2013 Mazda6 is around the corner

[Fredoops]

^^^ you'd take a severe 2nd hand resale value hit since the new one is out.

[MR_LATE]

how long they plan to keep the car? and how much is service? cud be cheap car and exp on parts like hyundai..
if they really going to get a mazda6 then wait till new one comes out? surely thatll make it even cheaper

[antony]

The Mazda 6 is good value for money,but I suppose its which car does he prefer ???

When I bought the Euro,I fell in love with the styling,comfort,drive,and then went to look at the 6.

I did not like it nearly as much,as it was noisy,the ride was not as good,and did not feel as well made or finished.

So at the end of the day,its a very personal decision,although both cars are VERY VERY good.

[ChaosMaster]

Yeah, both are very good cars. I did look at the Mazda 6 before I purchased my CL9 (new that is). While the Mazda 6 looked nice, I thought the best looking one was a hatch, and a hatch isn't my thing. And the CL9 was a much better looker as well. Mazda 6 has sportier handling setup as well, but from memory (as with most Mazdas) have fairly bad NVH (CL9's not that good in this regard either, but was still better). I know the newer models have improved but by how much I'm not too sure.

[kristrifo]

when we bought our cl9 we went to mazda first to look at the 6

shitttttttttt customer service, so we walked into honda next door and bought the cl9 lol

[tonysalib]

148kW vs. 125kW - nuff said

[aaronng]

Tell your friend to test drive both. And also consider the new model that is coming out and that it would be worth waiting.

Both are good cars, and eventhough I own a CL9, I wouldn't recommend a CU2 over a Mazda6 without a test drive of both. They are very different cars now compared to back when the CL9 Euro and previous gen Mazda6 were released.

[praja6]

Its personal choice and can decide after the test drive. Mazda added luxuary features such as leather seats, parking sensors to base model to sell the current model as the new one is out soon. Same thing Subaru did for Gen 4 liberty in early 2009...
The new euro is out mid next year too.. so its a personal choice...

[ChaosMaster]

148kW vs. 125kW - nuff said

I tested the new Mazda 6, a lot more torquey than the Euro. More like the Euro doesn't feel like it pulls till 4k rpm. Don't like the red on the HVAC and dash though, on the Mazda, the Euro interior looks nicer IMO.

[Fredoops]

148kW vs. 125kW - nuff said
as chaos said, torque matters.

[DreadAngel]

Tell your friend to test drive both. And also consider the new model that is coming out and that it would be worth waiting.

Both are good cars, and eventhough I own a CL9, I wouldn't recommend a CU2 over a Mazda6 without a test drive of both. They are very different cars now compared to back when the CL9 Euro and previous gen Mazda6 were released.

Very very important!

Like Aaron said, the CL9 v GG... The GG was underpowered with the same engine as the BK [Mazda3 SP23 I believe], interior material quality/design is not close to Honda at all, the interior fit and finish nowhere near the Japanese made CL9 [I haven't tried a Thailand made one so can't comment...].

I've been inside the CU2 and it was gorgeous imo... I can't say the same for the GH...

[BigBen]

Mazda 6 cabin is noisy compared to the CU2 and the zoom zoom engine sounds trashy at high revs, ie does not like bouncing off the rev limiter. The CU2 on the other hand loves to rev, and revs smoothly to redline.

The Mazda 6 interior feels like its one notch down to the Honda.

The Mazda 6 has a bit of a drumming noise in the rear wagon / hatch at above 110km/h highway speeds.

[ChaosMaster]

I think I'll sum it up this way:

CU2: Better interior quality, better NVAH (Noise Vibration and Harshness), freer reving engine.
Mazda 6: Better value, more versitile body options, more low down torque, can run on ULP.

Mazda is better suited for city driving IMO due to it's low down torque. It's prob better for FWY driving as well, again due to the torque, but it's slightly louder. Having said that, CU2 could do with more sound deadening. CU2 has a much nicer interior and quality to it. So it's really drivetrain vs interior.

[Fredoops]

the Mazda 6 was just revealed
http://www.carpoint.com.au/news/2012/medium-passenger/mazda/mazda6/new-mazda6-raises-the-bar-32125


New 6: 2.5 ltr, 6 speed auto, 1410kg 141kW@5700rpm, 256Nm@3250rpm 6.4L/100km
Cu2: 2.4 ltr, 5 speed auto, 1570kg 148kw@7000rpm,230Nm@4200-4400rpm 8.5L/100km

im sorry but the new 6 sh*ts all over the Cu2 as far as daily driving is concerned. 26 extra NM as lower RPM's? yes please.

[tonysalib]

^ Yeah I agree too, sadly :( and it looks pretty sharp too

But then again the Euro is also due for an upgrade (GH and CU2 both came out in 2008) so we'll have to wait and see what Honda have in store for it

[Fredoops]

^ Yeah I agree too, sadly :( and it looks pretty sharp too

But then again the Euro is also due for an upgrade (GH and CU2 both came out in 2008) so we'll have to wait and see what Honda have in store for it
http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?166586-PREVIEW-of-the-next-generation-Honda-Euro-Drivetrain

same k24 with direct injection and Avtec, tuned for economy
CVT transmission.

They better put the next euro on a diet. like a 100kg+ diet.

[ChaosMaster]

I don't think there's any Honda 4 that has been considered torquey. Even if DI is meant to add 10% extra torque, which would bring it on par with the new 6, it would still peak at the 4k rpm. In fact, has there even been a Honda engine that has it's torque peak below 4k?

That and Honda renewal cycles are much longer than Mazdas from memory. Look at the CL9 and that went on for 7 years. The current Civic sedan is basically the same as the 2006 model with a major facelift.

[Fredoops]

I don't think there's any Honda 4 that has been considered torquey. Even if DI is meant to add 10% extra torque, which would bring it on par with the new 6, it would still peak at the 4k rpm. In fact, has there even been a Honda engine that has it's torque peak below 4k?

That and Honda renewal cycles are much longer than Mazdas from memory. Look at the CL9 and that went on for 7 years. The current Civic sedan is basically the same as the 2006 model with a major facelift.

agreed, i mean even if the torque figures are on par theres still 150+kg's worth of weight difference to throw around *shrugs*

[ChaosMaster]

To be honest, I've given up on current Honda. The company itself is now targetting US and China, and mainly China, and it's ignoring the rest of the world. For the Chinese market, VALUE is their top priority, meaning more kit for the price. They don't care about the build quality, and pretty much anything out of Honda's factory, even if QC went a dozen steps backwards, would still be better than anything the Chinese make, so Honda don't give a dam about quality in any sense of the word.

[kristrifo]

Cu2 is wayyy too heavy for its own good

Guessing the new 6 would have better fuel economy as well?

Personally I prefer build quality but damn Mazda have picked up their game

[I CU2]

For the Chinese market, VALUE is their top priority

I thought it was the Audi badge now days?

[MR_LATE]

I thought it was the Audi badge now days?
LOL so true.
my next car... hyundai please

[Fredoops]

LOL so true.
my next car... hyundai please

Hyundai is very popular in India/China, it's considered to be more reliable to the yota's....

lol how times change

[MR_LATE]

I want an accent as a work car. Ill try to keep euro as long as i can.. Then that'll be a project car 10 years from now

[ChaosMaster]

I thought it was the Audi badge now days?

Only for the Rich. It's more of a status thing. And even then, Audi, BMW and Merc sell more LWB models there, thus they introduced LWB models of even their lower ranged cars (e.g. S-Class only comes in LWB with the V8 models and above in Aus, but you can get it with the 4 cyl there in China). They tailor for the market. I mean look at VW. In Aus, the interior quality is very high these days, very close to Audi standard. If you look at in the US, the interior is below even that of our Skoda here. Just cheap hard plastics everywhere.

[HunterZero]

Yeah the engine is a peach in the CU2, but unfortunately the chassis gained too many kg over the CL9. I do feel that the Euro lost its edge as a 'sports sedan' as a result. There are no longer any fun cars to aspire to in the Honda range, after the Prelude, Integra and Civic Type R cars were discontinued. Honda seems to have been infected by the eco-bug.

Honda's interiors are still best of the Japanese cars short of luxury brands like Lexus, but they lag in the standard equipment toys/features deparment. Eg, Satnav and bluetooth should be standard these days.

I wonder if we'll get the 2.0 engine option for the Mazda 6 here. I drove a CX-5 with that high compression SKYACTIV-G 2.0 (200Nm @ 4000rpm, 114kW @ 6000rpm, 13:1 compression) engine in it and CVT, and it was a complete dog. The throttle response was so dull, like the car was saying "Are you sure? You sure? You really sure you want to do that? It'll use a lot of petrol, you know. You sure? Really? You... Oh, allright, just a little bit..."

If you drove it in manual mode, it was better, but still not great. Otherwise you had to bury the throttle to get it moving with any urgency. The issue seems to be that the engine is OK, but the CVT and electronic throttle is programmed for miserly fuel economy so they can claim those ridiculous fuel usage numbers.

Which is a shame, because the cabin quality, ride and steering were all fantastic.

- HZ