Mazda 6 estate - opinions?

[Shad]

I'm looking for a replacement tow car as my Volvo is getting on a bit now. I'd like something that's 2002 or newer, must be diesel, must have lots of space inside (ideally estate), must have lots of toys, leather is very much prefered

So far I've looked at a Mondeo ST (diesel, estate) which wasn't bad but felt quite cheap. Drove well and the figures are good, but I've heard people have problems with clutches and flywheels when towing.

I came across the Mazda 6 last night and it looks like a good proposition - they are amazingly cheap now, 2004 cars on around 80k miles go for around £5k. Reviews I've read also praise the car, it was even '2005 tow car of the year'.

Has anyone owned one? Any feedback?

Cheers

[eshrules]

I can't really comment on the Mazda specifically, but what sort of budget are you looking at?£5k? have you looked at any further alternatives?

my suggestion would be something like an octavia estate?

[Howard]

Surprised you thought the Mondeo felt cheap, it's supposed to feel pretty good, the Mk3 onward anyway. I expect the 6 will feel just as cheap if not more so.

Ignoring that, a 4WD Subaru Legacy should be an excellent tow car

[dave87]

Might be worth waiting a while and getting either a V70 d5 + remap or a 530d touring?

[Vimeous]

Mazda 6 - thoroughly sensible but FWD so it depends if you'll be towing through mud.
Scoobys - Legacy, Forester and Outback would all be great if they had diesels.
Omega - Quality might be an issue but there's alot of car there for tiny cash.
E300D - Older diesel but vast and self-leveling
A6 Avant/Allroad - Too expensive?

[Butuz]

Whatever else the Mazda may be it will be totally reliable if my 323 is anything to go by! (10 years old and 100,000 miles on original exhaust!)

Butuz

[Moby-Dick]

How about a Stagea RS4 ?

SXOC Bulletin Board

[Lowe]

Wildcard.

Alfa 156 Sportwagon 2.4 JTD.

[joshwa]

A friends got a Mazda 6 - 02 reg - and it's quick - and was surprisingly grippy round corners - the tracking was dodgy and wrecked two tyres which was a bit strange. But seems like a nice often ignored car...

[Tumble]

There was an article in Top Gear about Subaru developing a boxer Diesel... they seemed to think it was a viable production engine too. Might be worth looking out for.

[Vimeous]

There was an article in Top Gear about Subaru developing a boxer Diesel... they seemed to think it was a viable production engine too. Might be worth looking out for.

It's just been released in the Legacy and is supposedly brilliant.
There's a few reviews in last weeks Autocar and Auto Express.

Not £5k though! lol

[Shad]

I am loving the 156 suggestion! It hadn't crossed my mind at all, but I like the sound of that. The 2002-onwards cars were pretty good, 2.4 JTD was up to 150hp and they didn't fall apart [quite as much as they used to].

£5k isn't really the budget, I'll spend what I have to to get the right car, but obviously cheaper is better! I am impressed at the amount of car £5k can buy.

Thanks for all the input so far. My thoughts...

Legacy - looked at these before, horrid cars IMHO
Stagea RS4 - don't know what that is, link wants me to register
Omega - will look into it!
Mercs/BMWs - running costs would be too high I suspect
Audis - not great value it would seem, even used
V70 - good diesels look like they hold their money, still an option though

The Mondeo didn't have a particularly good sounding door close. You know, when you close the door, it sounds like it's made of the kind of aluminium where you need to measure thickness with an electron microscope. The Volvo and the Alfa both have solid, expensive, quality feeling door closes

Something that Parkers suggested was the Focus C-MAX - any thoughts? I dislike the fact it's a family MPV kind of car, but I quite like the kit and load space in the back (though I would rarely need all that space).

[joshwa]

Passat Estate TDI 4Motion? (or just the normal if you don't need 4wd)

[GavinS]

Mazda 6 - good car, not a town car - gear change is a bit heavy - but is a fabulously versatile car with very good ride and handling balance. The big thing is though try and get the facelift version - there's much more than just a facelift - refinement has been improved immeasurably, so you get significant less road roar and noise through the cabin, and well as suspension improvements.

The 156 isn't well built, and costs alot to maintain. I used to have one! It's also noisy and lacks refinement at high speed.

[Shad]

Passat TDI is also on the list, don't need the 4 wheel drive though. Good to know about the facelift on the Mazda!

I've just been very surprised - nay, shocked - at how cheap a 2003-2004 BMW 320d SE works out at

What are the 3 series diesels like on mileage, will they start to fall apart at any particular point?

[Moby-Dick]

Stagea RS4 - don't know what that is, link wants me to register

one of these....

Japanese Car Imports - AutoBMC