Passat vs Mazda 6 vs Octavia

[Dan_1981]

I have narrowed down my search to the above three wagons.

Budget is a max of £13k

All diesel, 2 litre (2.2 mazda) high spec - so VRS octavia, GT Passat, Skydrive Mazda. Estate spec.

So all in the 170 / 180 BHP and circa 280 lb

I do circa 30k per year mileage - almost all motorway.

Heated Leather, cruise, decent audio all essential.

Nav not important.

Performance & economy seems pretty even between them all.

I can probably get a slightly newer / lower mileage Mazda for the equivalent price of the other two.

Which would you go for? And what do I need to know?

[A900ss]

I have a Passat so I’m declaring my bias but for 30k motorway miles, standard adaptive cruise control on the Passat makes a very strong case for itself. I find it the most relaxing motorway car I’ve ever had. Good luck.

[ninjag]

If it were me and it had to be one of those three cars then due to your mileage I'd go with the one which has the most pleasing interior, the most comfortable seats and also the one which has the best sound proofing.

[zedx19]

I had a Mazda 2.2 diesel estate, the 150 version, a few years back. I've also had Passat's and Mondeo's as company cars, not Octavia's though. I found the 2.2 diesel great, it had massive torque, the regen system for powering batteries worked well and it returned 65mpg on a run. The ride was harsh though, very harsh I thought and the engine would rev high when you first started it, which was a bit annoying. It also felt a bit smaller than the Mondeo and Passat, both inside and in the boot. Overall though, a great car with some great tech. I'd go Mazda out those 3, but I'd throw in the Mondeo and test drive one. It rides much better than all 3, is full of kit and can be had cheap.

[MYOB]

I think Honest John suggests don't go for diesel Mazdas. Check out his website. I could be wrong though. Apologies if I am indeed wrong.

[SteBrown91]

MYOB said:

I think Honest John suggests don't go for diesel Mazdas. Check out his website. I could be wrong though. Apologies if I am indeed wrong.

You are wrong.

That relates to the era where they were ford diesels.

The 2.2 engine is a solid reliable engine with good mpg and good torque.

I’d go either Passat or Mazda. Octavia will be a bit noisy and cheap inside compared to the other 2.

[P700DEE]

I went for the Mazda. Good things, it goes well , comfy, cheaper than the others. No Ad Blue on Euro6 diesel. LED adaptive lights are awesome, Bad, the standard 19" wheels are poorly made, at 2 years and 20K miles the lacquer is flaking! The Sat-Nav is poor , not easy to use and difficult to look at where you are going as the system auto adjusts to map size. Don't pay a premium for it, a friend added Nav to hers by buying a genuine memory card upgrade and plugging it in , £60 on the bay. Fuel consumption, it's OK. If you drive like Miss daisy and follow the sort of driving you expect on the official tests you should get good figures. I spend a lot of time on motorways and notice that as soon as you go over 70 the fuel consumption greatly increases. I think the top gear is too low, my 520 gets much better consumption figues than the 6 on motorway runs. The Mazda is much better on A roads, the 40-50mph speeds

[flatso]

Consider a late model Citroen C5 with top level exclusive trim. It is head and shoulders above the other mentioned cars in terms of comfort and refinement...no comparison when it comes to mile munching.

[Dan_1981]

I did consider the 508 SW which I understand is the same car as the C5 - however the interior looked a little low rent in 90% of the pictures I saw. The one big selling point the 508 has is they all have a pan roof.

I think the passat can be got with pan roof but doesn't seem to be a common addition.

Not sure it's even an options on the Mazda.

[ZX10R NIN]

All three are good options,to get the Passat in 190bhp GT form you'll be nearer to 14k:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

The Mazda in Sport Tech is probably the one I'd go for out of the three:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...


https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Octavia VRS (you can land a low mileage one of these compared to the two above)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

My pick would not be any of the above it would be the Mondeo Titanium 180 they're hard to find amongst the sea of 150's but they're worth seeking out.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

210 Titanium

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[The Voice]

Another vote for the Mazda. The Bose sound system they come with is great.

2.2 Skyactiv diesel is great.

And the best looking interior (if you can get a post 2015 facelift with the new dash).

[SteBrown91]

Also if you have the later sound system (with the stickyup screen) for 300ish quid a dealer can do a software upgrade and retrofit Apple CarPlay/android auto

[Summit_Detailing]

I used to have an Octavia VRS wagon, sold after a couple of months as I found the ride unacceptable. It was almost like the dealer left the transport blocks in the springs (they hadn't, I checked). This was also on the standard 18" wheels.

Mazda 6 I found to be noisy on the motorway - road/tyre noise and maybe not having as much sound deadening as other brands, this was a dealer demo so not a used car on cheap tyres.

Passat was very good all round, designed for exactly what you are going to use it for!

I'd suggest trying to drive all 3 back2back if possible, this will show up which works best for you. Also a proper test drive for 20mins+ rather than 'round the block' - I didn't find the Mazda seat immediately comfortable, which wouldn't necessarily show up on a short drive.

Happy hunting.

Cheers

Chris

[blearyeyedboy]

Summit_Detailing said:

I used to have an Octavia VRS wagon, sold after a couple of months as I found the ride unacceptable. It was almost like the dealer left the transport blocks in the springs (they hadn't, I checked). This was also on the standard 18" wheels.

Alternative view: I've kept my petrol vRS wagon for over 2 years and won't be changing in a hurry. The ride is a little firm on 18s for a family car but nothing like, say, many of the current crop of hot hatches. The heated seats are comfortable for very long distances.

I haven't driven the Mazda 6 but I certainly have better spec for my money than the nearest Passat, and I don't feel that anything is notably cheaper. I will concede that the ride is worse on the Octavia but the seats (for the same money) were better.

I used to run a Mk2 Octavia and the step up in maturity of the Mk3 is considerable. It feels like the Octavia's grown up a bit.

[Mansilla]

I've had an Octavia 150 Elegance, and now have a Passat 4motion. Both estates, both DSG.

The Octavia had more hard plastics, and you could see where a couple of € had been saved by using lower quality materials. It also had more wind noise than the Passat does, and the stereo was weak. Having said that, it was also a lot cheaper than the Passat, so none of that is very surprising. It was a good car, and didn't get uncomfortable on long runs - I drove it 5-up from South of Paris to North Yorkshire in a day, no issues.

By comparison, the Passat is a bit better appointed, has a better stereo, and has much better seats than the Octavia. Both capable of munching miles, but the Passat is slightly better in enough ways that I'd probably take that, particularly for 30k/yr, when the seats will be a big deal. I'd look at a Superb, too.

[Djtemeka]

We have a 2.2l 2011 Mazda 6.
It’s been perfect for 3 years and a mix of short Ahmed hard driving. Basic servicing in the last 3 years and that’s main dealer after 50k.
Dull as fk though....

[Kawasicki]

There is a fair difference in noise level between an Octavia and a Passat, from my experience. I would take a Passat every time.

[Flumpo]

ha Ha. I’m looking for pretty much the exact same as you.

I’ve decided to stick with my current car for another year as I’m hoping for a Vignale to dip into this price bracket.

I would check the service requirements of the Mazda. From memory it had a much shorter service interval than the others. Not sure if that makes any differences to you.

[Gareth1974]

A900ss said:

I have a Passat so I’m declaring my bias but for 30k motorway miles, standard adaptive cruise control on the Passat makes a very strong case for itself. I find it the most relaxing motorway car I’ve ever had. Good luck.

Agree with this, I’ve got adaptive cruise on my Arteon, it’s really good.

[blearyeyedboy]

Context for my comments above: I tried a basic Passat and a vRS Octavia; I imagine posher VWs have better seats.