I currently own a 2017 VW Jetta S with 5 speed manual. Drives and runs great. The fuel mileage is excellent and it only has 23k miles on it. I previously owned 2014 VW Jetta TDI with a 6 speed manual. (Wished i kept it and had it tuned) but VW offered me 6k more than I owed, so I sold it to them.
I been looking for a smaller suv to trade my VW for.. I looked at Honda HRV, Hyundai Kona and Mazda CX-5... Has anyone have any knowledge of the Kona ? I read reviews and it seem like a good vehicle.. Any advice would be appreciated.. oh yeah.. insurance on VW are crazy expensive..
Go with the 2017 Mazda CX-5 with the 2.5L naturally aspirated Skyactiv-G engine mated to the 6-speed automatic transmission. Starting in 2018 and newer, they included cylinder deactivation technology in those engines which is unproven and can potentially lead to wear/tear over time, so avoid those newer model years if you plan to keep the vehicle for as long as possible.
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You mentioned in your answer that the newer Mazda CX-5 have cylinder de activation. Is there a way to disconnect or overide that?
@nj-driver-5471 No, there is no way to disable it, yet, via the aftermarket. Realize the cylinder deactivation for Mazda’s has only been around since 2018 model year and there are not as many Mazda’s sold as the other big automakers so it could take some time for the aftermarket to figure out how to deactivate it.
@DayWalker is correct. You don’t want to buy something which has cylinder deactivation (or whatever fancy name they use) and then try to disable it.
Realistically, this is between the HR-V & CX-5. But if you’re considering the CX-5, you might as well include the CR-V & RAV4 into your search..
Test drive them all & check out which all suit your requirements.
All the best!
Definitely the Mazda CX-5 those are built to last longer then it’s competition, drive better and seem to be your best option.
On the topic of the Konda, Sadly the 2.0 Theta II is a new engine design so I do not know what to expect, but if the past is any indication of the future - I wouldn’t get that engine and neither I’d get the SmartStream.
The only acceptable configuration of the Kona is probably the Gamma 1.6L mated to a 6 speed automatic. As those are proven designs that seem to be about as mediocre as their competition from Ford and others (but at that point why not get a Ford Escape, it’s also quite unreliable but it drives a lot better.
The HR-V is new for 2021 and it seems to have a L15B engine, the exact same one from the older Civic with all of those issues although it self is based on the Honda Jazz.
The older HR-V is alright, the CVT isn’t that good, neither are the 1.5L engines great but it seemed to be better then most.
basically, if you really like this car and you configure it properly it can be somewhat reliable and long lasting but first try the other cars.
