Mazda Problems

Stick to the well-proven Japanese brands, such as the Mazda 6, Honda Accord, and perhaps the Korean Kia Cerato. As a private sale your Mazda would be worth $11,000-$12,000, as a trade-in $8000-$10,000.

Your complaint about the suspension is quite a common one with one-tonne utes, not only with Mazdas, but many other brands as well. It's a message that should be heeded by anyone buying a one-tonne ute with the intention of putting it to work. Before you commit have it assessed by a suspension expert to establish if it really is up to the task you have in mind, or does it need upgrading. Your complaint about the company not reacting to your problem is not uncommon either, and it's not just from one company. There seems to be an industry wide reluctance to properly deal with customer concerns.

A 2008 Mazda 3 Neo would be a good choice, but I would be trying to get it for $8500-$9000, $10,000 is too much unless it is a very low mileage example. Others to consider would be the Honda Civic VTi, which would be my preference, and the Hyundai Elantra.

I’m not a fan of the CVT auto, so my pick would be the Mazda, which has a conventional automatic transmission.

We have contacted Mazda and we’re waiting for their response. We'll update you once we hear back from them.

You have clearly done your homework, from which you should be able to decide which is best for you. Without knowing what your needs and wants are all we can advice is that the three cars you have honed in on are good choices.

Sludge build-up is a turbocharger killer, but sludge won't build up if the car is regularly serviced and the oil is changed so it's always fresh. The problem is usually only with cars that haven't been serviced. Other seven-seaters you could look at are the Kia Sorrento, Hyundai Santa Fe, or Toyota Kluger.

Mazda's advice is that you shouldn’t use E10 fuel in your 323. Continue to use regular unleaded.

Both are good choices. The Mazda is more restrained, the Ford sportier. If you want a sporty drive I would go for the Focus.