If you’ve to choose between the two, which would be your preference ? And why ?
I would easily go for the Mazda 6. Mazda holds its price better, Mazda rides better, the Mazda’s a much more modern design, the Mazda looks better, the Mazda will be slightly more economical. That’s an easy one.
The Nissan Cefiro is larger however and is very quiet. They are cheaper to purchase and can be found with KTV options and massage seats.
[quote=“sulavaca”]
The Nissan Cefiro is larger however and is very quiet. They are cheaper to purchase and can be found with KTV options and massage seats.[/quote]
Not to mention the baseball bats under the seats, dead bodies in the trunks and a roadmap showing every betelnut stand in the country. 
Why is the Camry not on this list? Much less of a punk / wannabe Merc owner’s choice.
[quote=“sulavaca”]I would easily go for the Mazda 6. Mazda holds its price better, Mazda rides better, the Mazda’s a much more modern design, the Mazda looks better, the Mazda will be slightly more economical. That’s an easy one.
The Nissan Cefiro is larger however and is very quiet. They are cheaper to purchase and can be found with KTV options and massage seats.[/quote]
Now what you were to insert a Ford Mondeo into the equation ?
I believe Ford is also a Mazda in disguise. Does that mean Ford shares the same Japanese reliability ?
[quote=“redwagon”]
Why is the Camry not on this list? Much less of a punk / wannabe Merc owner’s choice.[/quote]
It’s due to price consideration. Camry(s) by and large are more expensive.
[quote=“mezziahmac”]
It’s due to price consideration. Camry(s) by and large are more expensive.[/quote]
True, but not without reason. Better build quality, better residual value. I am generalizing here, but I do tend to see the Camry getting better care a few years in, compared to the Cefiro, which would also help prop the value up in the used market. Camry is boring but competent car. When you sit in a Cefiro you are impressed with how plush the interior feels and the engine is great. However, when you put the car on the rack and look at the underpinnings it is very underwhelming. The Toyota has a much more even build quality. Nissan have thrown almost all of the budget at the powertrain and interior, and cut corners everywhere else. Maybe let some other chime in before deciding. I haven’t personally owned either car, and neither push any buttons for me.
Since the Cefiro is such a Mercedes clone, it’s the kind of car that just looks really shabby when the paint fades, has a few bumps or scratches on it, and isn’t perfectly washed and polished. A Toyota, not so much. If you can put up with that, a Cefiro is probably a very good deal.
As to Fords, well, build quality does vary quite a bit by model and market. Mazda seems to be more consistent in this regard. I would probably choose a Ford that has a common platform with Mazda over a European one, and a Taiwan-build last of all. What I most dislike about Ford is their marketing-driven tactic of adding bling-bling widgets over quality… pointless features over useful function. You end up with a car with flashy gadgets that don’t work after warranty and are too expensive or even impossible to fix. Used prices definitely reflect this!
To add, disregarding the price difference and as a matter of convenience I would take the Cefiro over a Merc saloon of the same year. As Redwagon says though the Nissan is weak in some areas. They are prone to steering rack oil leaks and they have the thinnest suspension strut stanchions of any car I have ever seen which makes them wear out quickly. Almost any Cefiro I ever check needs a new suspension. For the size of them, they have fairly slender components which limits them to any type of performance use or upgrades. They are what they are though and that’s a very comfortable car already that’s acceptably reliable, more so than a typical Eurocar containing as much in terms of luxury if you ask me.
A Camry would make the better investment as a new or nearly new car as it wouldn’t depreciate anywhere nearly as quickly as a Nissan, although at around four to five years old the Nissan could be a more attractive option to me as year for year and km for km, you can get just as large and more luxury for a lot less money in a Nissan. I’m still not saying its better though. I would say as USED cars the Camry and the Cefiro are evenly matched in advantages versus disadvantages if it simply came to checking boxes. It just comes down to which suits you.
Fords…Yeach! The only Ford I would think about considering if I had a really low budget would be a Ford-Mazda and that’s only if I couldn’t just get the Mazda first. In my opinion Fords are always built right down to a price and a set number of check boxes, i.e. must provide the right buttons and switches for passengers and driver, cost effective performance and boyracerbility . I will say though in its defence that the Focus did manage to bring in a useful suspension set-up for a very low price because of its new factory stamping techniques, which have been carried across to Mazda too and they are better cars because of it. No doubt we’ll see cheaper independent suspensions on other future cars because of this type of production.
[quote=“redwagon”][quote=“mezziahmac”]
It’s due to price consideration. Camry(s) by and large are more expensive.[/quote]
True, but not without reason. Better build quality, better residual value. I am generalizing here, but I do tend to see the Camry getting better care a few years in, compared to the Cefiro, which would also help prop the value up in the used market. Camry is boring but competent car. When you sit in a Cefiro you are impressed with how plush the interior feels and the engine is great. However, when you put the car on the rack and look at the underpinnings it is very underwhelming. The Toyota has a much more even build quality. Nissan have thrown almost all of the budget at the powertrain and interior, and cut corners everywhere else. Maybe let some other chime in before deciding. I haven’t personally owned either car, and neither push any buttons for me.
Since the Cefiro is such a Mercedes clone, it’s the kind of car that just looks really shabby when the paint fades, has a few bumps or scratches on it, and isn’t perfectly washed and polished. A Toyota, not so much. If you can put up with that, a Cefiro is probably a very good deal.
As to Fords, well, build quality does vary quite a bit by model and market. Mazda seems to be more consistent in this regard. I would probably choose a Ford that has a common platform with Mazda over a European one, and a Taiwan-build last of all. What I most dislike about Ford is their marketing-driven tactic of adding bling-bling widgets over quality… pointless features over useful function. You end up with a car with flashy gadgets that don’t work after warranty and are too expensive or even impossible to fix. Used prices definitely reflect this![/quote]
ohhh i drove a camry when i first got here, the 3.5.
It was a pile of crap handling wise and it had a horrible snatchy response from a standstill, i steped out of it and got straight into an altis (new model) and that car felt better in almost everyway BUT power…
I would choose a late model 3.5 cefiro, they are still in top condition and are super reliable while staying very understated.
I believe the problem you had with the Camry was because of its power. That engine will show off all of the faults there are to find with its run of the mill design. Its highlights are not its performance, but then neither are any of the cars that are popular in Taiwan. The Altis is an altogether different package. Much smaller than a Camry and so of course more responsive to drive, yet underpowered. If you had a big enough engine in that then you would also feel that the rest of design was inadequate. The Altis is fine, but then for the price of a new one I would go for a shorter hatchback with more room and a great deal more practicality. As a used vehicle the Altis still holds its ground however as hatches are still out pricing the older styled Toyota.
i do find it bonkers how they dont do many hatches here.
Those saloon designs are useless for storage!.
Anyway you might be right, but the electronic throttle the camry had was just HORRIBLE, the worst i have ever had in town.
I would say facelift 2001+ bmw E39, i had one for years and it was wonderful without a single fault but all the taiwan models are… well… yeah. :ohreally:
[quote=“smellybumlove”]I do find it bonkers how they dont do many hatches here.
Those saloon designs are useless for storage!.
Anyway you might be right, but the electronic throttle the camry had was just HORRIBLE, the worst I have ever had in town.
I would say facelift 2001+ bmw E39, I had one for years and it was wonderful without a single fault but all the taiwan models are… well… yeah. :ohreally:[/quote]
They are all imported here. Built to the same standards as abroad.
[quote=“sulavaca”][quote=“smellybumlove”]I do find it bonkers how they dont do many hatches here.
Those saloon designs are useless for storage!.
Anyway you might be right, but the electronic throttle the camry had was just HORRIBLE, the worst I have ever had in town.
I would say facelift 2001+ bmw E39, I had one for years and it was wonderful without a single fault but all the taiwan models are… well… yeah. :ohreally:[/quote]
They are all imported here. Built to the same standards as abroad.[/quote]
Its the general condition of them, plus the spec is sh*t.
No sport models, no 3 spoke steering wheels, wood trim only, no sport seats, chrome trim…
The pick of the bunch is the 530i sport, awesome do it all car, if you find a genuine one i would snap it up and cherish it forever.
On a side note, isnt the cefiro a rebadged infiniti I20?.
Camry is a rebadged lexus ES too right?.
[quote=“smellybumlove”]On a side note, isnt the cefiro a rebadged infiniti I20?.
Camry is a rebadged lexus ES too right?.[/quote]
The Infinity is a rebadged Nissan.
Toyota no longer shares nearly as much with Lexus as it used to. If you look at the ES and Camry closely you will realise that they have done a remarkable thing, to make each and every panel different for each car yet maintain such an alike appearance. I think it was a bit of a marketing error for Lexus personally, but you can trust that they are both very different anyway.
If there is this 2 options only in your mind, go for the mazda 6. Looks better and treated better. But beware of flooded ones 
I drive an ancient cefiro.
It’s a good drive. A bit soft suspension, however stiffer springs and coils and that’s OK.
Mine has gone 210,000km, and is quite reliable. Not too many noises taken its age into consideration. I would buy a nissan again.
Also, it’s cheap, comfortable and has lots of room. I do not see it as a mercedes wannabe car, as they are in a completely different bracket. Moreover, I would not buy any older second hand mercedes in Taiwan due to service issues.
For a car my age, parts pricing becomes an issue. It has been fairly cheap in parts so far.
What does ‘soft suspension’ mean ? Does it mean the car cannot tackle humps ? Or that the ride is comfortable ?
Comfortable, however I prefer it a bit harder, as it makes for a bit better feel when driving on winding roads.
The Cefiro is designed to tackle the lumps at low speeds, but around corners and on twisty, undulating roads it can become unsettled. I would recommend that if it wasn’t for simple city or highway driving, then have the suspension stiffened slightly on a Cefiro.
Stiffer shocks help a lot. On the concrete paved corners on the Suhua highway, it still feels a bit unsettled when going at speed, however it steers in the right direction all right.
On freeways at 120km/h it is in its right element. I do a lot of that.
I too have too many “waiving” when cruise on the freeway…how to stiffen the suspension? replace the shock absorber + spring or just the absorber is enough? what brand?