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Hi, we have a growing family & are looking at buying a small 7 seater: Toyota Spacio, Mazda Premacy or Honda Stream. I like the Premacy for size & $$$ value. But a dealer (selling only Spacios) insisted they are very unreliable. Is this true? Would we be better off with a spacio or stream? THANK YOU!

Apologies for the delay in returning your email.

Hardly an unexpected comment from a salesperson who only sells on particular brand of vehicle. I must say however, the Spacio is proving itself to be a very popular of late and while it’s a bit of an oddball in looks, it does seems to be an extremely practical vehicle. Engine size can vary between 1.6 and 1.8 litre so you would need to be careful and choose the one which best suited your needs.

Same for the Honda, they are becoming more and more a common sight on our roads of late, so they obviously fit the needs of those wanting that extra room. I would be a little careful with the Stream however as some are fitted with a Constant Variable Transmission and the used imports seem to fall into the age group where these transmissions were a problem for Honda.

I can’t say I have heard anything really bad about the Mazda, maybe you should ask the salesperson to be a little more specific re his comments on reliability.