Q: i want to buy one of these cars... mazda3 or skoda octavia mazda 3 has a 2.0 litre engine, does anyone know the capacity of the octavia's engine???
A: Mazda 3. Always. Better handling, better brakes, better built quality, better engines and way more reliable. Mind, Octavia's not bad, it's just that Mazda3 is much better car. Here are my arguments. According to German quality audit body TUV (It's the largest industrial audit company in the world), Mazda3 is the most reliable car in available in Europe. http://www.tuvamerica.com/tuvnews/hotnews/pressdetail.cfm?id=1391 Octavia came 35th..... check out the table - on a Czech site. http://news.auto.cz/aktuality/auto-bild-tuev-report-2008-vozy-stari-2-3-roky-lidove-mazdy-momentalne-vladnou.html National pride aside, there's no question, TUV 6 million inspections don't lie. The research uses official service data form minimum 10,000 cars of each and every model. Then there are engines, VW TDI diesels are too agricultural and unrefined, but more to the point, not very reliable. Petrol offerings are nothing to write home about. Mazda 3 is is available with petrol 1.4, 1.6, 2.0 liter normally aspirated engines, 2.3 liter turbo with 250+ horsepowers is available too. ALL engines have sequential/variable valve timing and variable intake. There are two diesels, 1.6 and 2.0, the latter with almost as much torque as 2.3 liter turbocharged engine. Skoda has too large a body for its Golf chassis, laws of physics cannot be fooled. Mazda3 has the best chassis in the class shared by Ford Focus and small Volvos. Octavia hanfling is awaful, it's just too much for the chassis. I have a Mazda3 1.6 automatic, I was born in Czechoslovakia, Skoda's homeland, Octavias are built few kilometres from my flat, but there was no point discussing Mazda3 vs. Octavia. I didn't even considered Skoda. The only advantage Octavia has is oversized boot/trunk, which, when fully filled, makes Octavia highly unstable - if you fit 400 pounds so much beyond the rear axle, it takes its toll. Last but not least... it's MUCH easier to steal Octavia than Mazda3 - their immobilisers work in very different ways. Also, in Czech republic, Skoda is offering only 2 year warranty. Mazda's guaranteed for three years. Hope it helps.