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Hi,

I am looking to but either the Toyota Caldina or Mazda Atenza. Budget is going to be prob $12k-13k but may be able to go a bit higher. Having read through the forums it looks like both have decent reputation and aware may come down to personal preference.
Could you offer any advice on below questions to help me decide please?

1) I was initially going for the Mazda 6 due to the 6 airbags but don't seem to see any at my price range (all Atenza's with dual airbags). Would either car be considered particularly safer than the other?

2) I have heard that Mazda could be a bit heavier on gas? I usually commute approx 400kms over a week + longer trips at weekend. Would I notice a significant difference in fuel economy between the 2 cars?

3) Are all Caldina's and Mazda Atenza's cam chain driven?

4) What are the difference's between the Caldina X, Z, ZT and ZS models? Any preference?

5) I would ideally like a manual but doesn't look like any around. I see on the forums that CVT automatic can be problematic for some. Do either of these cars have this?

6) I see that the Caldina had a "facelift" in 2005. Is this just referring to the body shape or do I need to look at something from 2006 or newer?

If anyone could help with the above questions or give any other advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

The Caldina and Mazda6/Atenza are both good cars, and as you say, it ultimately comes down to personal preference. However, there are some considerations, such as those that you have raised, so in answer to your questions;
1) Any additional safety features are obviously preferable, so we'd definitely prefer the car with more airbags.
2) Yes, the Mazda6 is considered slightly thirstier, and has a claimed consumption figure of 7L/100km compared with Toyota's claim of 6.4L/100km for the Caldina. In real world terms, you're unlikely to achieve these figures, but the ratio is likely to be close, so the Mazda might use about 10% more fuel. In the big scheme of motoring costs, this is not a lot.
3) All chain driven.
4) The different designations are mostly spec differences. However, according to data available to us, the ZT is a 2.0 litre model. From what we can tell (and remember, the Caldina is a Japanese domestic model only, so our data could be a little sketchy), the ZS looks to be the highest spec. Still, the best advice would be to find the best, lowest mileage possible rather than one that may have slightly more equipment.
5) You're unlikely to find a Caldina manual, but could possibly find a NZ new Mazda6. Neither the Caldina 1.8 2WD or Mazda6/Atenza models have CVT transmissions.
6) From what we can tell, for 2005 the only technical difference is that the emission standard was lifted to meet the Euro 4 standard.
Good luck in your search, either of these models should prove to be good choices.

Hi,

Thats extremely helpful thank you very much.

It seems that there aren't any Mazda6's NZ new in my area in my price range so would most likely be an imported Atenza if I went with a Mazda. Therefore I am leaning towards the Toyota which overall seems a bit cheaper for lower K's (I understand that the Mazda holds its price well). I think I would also appreciate the better fuel economy even if it was not a massive difference. I'm assuming general reliability is probably similar?

Just to clarify if a Mazda only had dual airbags would it be similar in safety terms to the Toyota? I see that the Mazda has good safety ratings but can't find any ratings for the Caldina online. Why is this, should this be a concern?

I plan to test drive this week. Is there thought to be any major differences in handling between the models or not? I imagine it would again come down to personal preference but wondered if there is anything to look out for?

Thanks again.

It's always difficult to make comparisons with models that were not crash tested by ANCAP or NCAP, as is usually the case with Japanese domestic market models.
From what we can be sure about, is that the Mazda6 is either 4 or 5 star, depending on year, so has a good safety rating. Given that a similar era Corolla has a 4 star rating, there's a good chance the Caldina might have had a similar rating, but we can't jump to conclusions. However, there are no known safety concerns that we're aware of.
As we said earlier, both models would be good choices in our opinion, and both have good reputations for reliability.