Mazda2 vs Ford Fiesta

How similar are the Mazda and Ford given their past relationship?

Here’s the summary from Mazda2 vs Ford Fiesta on carbuyersinfo car comparison site:

• The Mazda2 and Fiesta have a similar price range.
• They’re a similar size. There’s a difference in the claimed boot space.
• The Fiesta has a wider range of engines and an automatic option.
• The Mazda2 petrol engines are slightly quicker.
• Emissions are similar.
• There’s no significant difference in fuel consumption.
• Both cars are 5-star EuroNCAP rated.
• The Mazda2 has ESP as standard across the range.

The tip is when cars are similar, subject to your taste in style and comfort, buy the best deal.

You can see other small car comparisons from the Ford Fiesta Review and Mazda2 Review.

Regards
Ralph
carbuyersinfo Car Comparisons – Similarities and Differences Revealed.

How does the new Kia Sportage SUV compare?

The new Kia Sportage announced this year, is a compact crossover SUV available as a 1.6 petrol or 1.7 diesel with 2WD or 2.0 petrol or diesel, manual or automatic. Prices range from £16,645 to £26,170.

Here’s a summary of car comparisons reviews from carbuyersinfo.

Other compact SUV UK models include the BMW X1, Ford Kuga, Honda CR-V, Hyundai ix35, Mitsubishi ASX, Skoda Yeti, Toyota RAV4, VW Tiguan. They’re all about the same size and most – not the CRV or RAV4 – have 2WD options.

These compact SUVs differ in maximum load space which is an indicator of versatility. In this respect the Kia Sportage is similar to the X1, Kuga and ix35. The Sportage has more load space than the ASX  but less than the RAV4 and Tiguan. The Yeti is easily the class leader for load space.

In most cases there’s no significant difference in diesel fuel consumption and CO2s. The Sportage does better than the CRV and Tiguan but not as well as the Yeti. There’s an obvious difference between different size petrol engines.

The X1, Tiguan and Yeti have the option of higher performance models.

Safety wise the newer models are 5-star EuroNCAP. Some of the older models are 4. They all have ESP across the range bar the Yeti which has it optional on some models. That’s a disappointment because the Yeti has the lowest entry price and could have included ESP and charged accordingly.

Kia is known as a value brand and although it has a low entry price with 2WD and a 1.6 petrol engine, its top-end price is within 10% of BMW’s highest price. Kia appear to be competing  with equipment levels rather than price.

So in summary, they’re all about the same size with similar space, similar economy, emissions, performance, safety with the exception of those mentioned. There’s a huge variation in prices so it’s a good idea to set a budget to avoid being walked up the model ranges.

Regards
Ralph
carbuyersinfo Car Comparisons - Differences & Similarities Revealed

Car Insurance Companies Comments On Young Drivers

Yesterday young car drivers and their driving competence came in for some stick from the car insurance companies.

This may be a worry if you’re looking for car insurance for young drivers under £1,000. However there are safety issues that weren’t mentioned. They’re important and if understood by younger drivers might improve their driving.

According to Renault there are four aspects to car safety:

• Education
• Perception
• Prevention
• Protection

Education. Young drivers seem to be totally unaware of the shocking figures for car safety. Here are a few:

• 80% of accidents involve human error
• 70% of motorists have experienced emergency braking
• 66% of rear end collisions are caused by inattention
• 60% of fatal accidents are caused by side impact due to skidding
• 33% of accidents are caused by lane changes
• 30% of accidents happen at night
• 9% of accidents are caused by tailgating

Perception. Accidents can be prevented if the driver anticipates a hazard. Car manufacturers have made significant advances in visibility, lighting, mirrors, wipers, ergonomics and comfort. Note 30% of accidents happen at night but account for 50% of deaths.

All this equipment is of little use when awareness is focused on loud music and mobile devices. When we focus, we reduce the number of cues from the environment to concentrate on the object of focus. Any distraction further reduces the number of cues reducing awareness. But you still see motorists, especially the young, holding mobile phones.

Prevention. In 2005 only 50% of motorist knew what ABS does, only 18% identified it as an active safety system. Only 1% knew of ESP. My experience is the majority of motorists don’t even know whether or not these systems are fitted to their cars. Worse still, some regards them as enhancing performance rather than safety.

Protection. 89% of motorists are aware of airbags, 76% of seat belts. I’ve yet to meet a motorist who understands Euro NCAP ratings. Motorists, especially the young, seem to think they’re protected or can be repaired by the NHS. They forget immoveable objects like bridges, trees and lorries. And there’s another mistaken idea – people in SUVs and 4x4s thinking they’re safer when nothing could be farther from the truth.

From memory, the figures above were findings by Bosch who manufacture ABS and ESP and Mori on behalf of Euro NCAP.

I’m sorry to deliver such a gloomy message. However, I sold cars for over four decades and thoroughly enjoyed delivering something that improved peoples’ lifestyles, but working in garages all with body repair shops really drives the consequences of safety issues home.

Young drivers should be aware insurance premiums are a reflection of risk which means how safe they are. It’s common for young drivers to be quoted £1,500 to £2,000 by most car insurance companies – generally. To find car insurance for young drivers under £1,000 is going to take a lot of shopping around direct car insurance companies.

You can find car insurance for young drivers tips over on carbuyersinfo. For more information about ESP see the link at the bottom of carbuyersinfo home page.

Regards
Ralph