Well, the Euro-market Honda Accord is nice - although actually we do get that one in the US, as an Acura. I remember seeing some Mazda models over there a few years ago (323F?) that looked interesting.
-- Mike Smith
It depends :) Hondas over here are somehow similar to VWs in the US :) The dealer network here is usually a bit thin, and there are lots of morons among them. Oh, and the quality of the cars is just average, certainly not stellar. So, if you happen to get hold of a car which is not perfect, then your experience could be no different from a frustrated VW owner in the US. And they are kinda expensive to own, as the price of the used car declines rapidly. Add cheap interrior materials, less than perfect noise insulation and you will think twice.
In this regard, Mazda is very "interesting" company :) They started this "sporty looking wheelchair" tradition with Mazda 626 Coupe back in
1988. This really heavy sports coupe was usually powered by 2.0i 90Hp engine :) The top version was 2.2i-12V 115Hp IIRC. It was much better in the US, as you at least got this car with a proper engine (2.5 V6, was it called MX6?).The 323F you mentioned was probably from the same time period (ca '90), as the later generations were less and less sporty. It looks sporty, handles ok, but isn't particularly quick or fun to drive.
And yes, Mazda does it again with Mazda3, the sister car of the Ford Focus. Once again, you americans are getting the better package, as the top european version is only 2.0 150Hp, which is not too much for a ~1350kg car. And not insanely cheap, 21k euros + some ~2-3k for extras, for a rather noisy car... And I am not sure about the long term reliability. The Ford Focus of previous generation is OK until new, but after couple of years the failure rate rapidly goes up. As the mazda3 is essentially the same car.... Oh, and I personally think, the design was shamelessly knocked off from the AlfaRomeo 147 (previous generation) :)
I almost always buy my cars new, but keep them for a very long time. My cars are a '95 Buick Roadmaster and an '88 VW Cabbie. They are both running just fine, so shopping for a replacement is not on the agenda just yet. When that time comes, I will first get the latest Edmunds new car guide to get some idea as to what to expect price-wise and option-wise.
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