Review of the Mazda 6
Review of the Mazda 6
Well, I have been driving a Mazda 6 for the past 2 weeks (1700 km) while my car is in the paint shop (Did someone say 3 stage peral white?) and figured id share my two cents on this car.
I am driving the base i4 2.3 DOHC w/ variable valve timing, it pushes 160 hp @ 155 lb/ft of torque. Since its a rental its a 4 speed auto / tiptronic. There is a v6 version that pushes 220 hp w/ 3.0 but sadly the rental world is not inclined to provide that for me. The car is a wee bit slow in the lower rpms but once it gets in those high rpms, pump the gas pedel and the cars rocking
The car is needless to say an upgrade from my current non vtec 01 LX
so heres my review...
Driving it
Well the 6 is fun, Ive been driving it in tiptronic and well, beating the hell out of it. The tiptronic computer is very non restrictive. It allows you to fully redline (infact even over rev) the engine and will NOT force you to upshift to second. The car doesnt allow you to do dangerous down shifts like from 4th to 1st but has no problems dropping into 2nd as long as your below 110 km/h.
The car has either a 55 liter or 60 liter tank, im not sure what kind of fuel it recommends but its been getting the cheap stuff seeing as how its a rental and I wasnt told otherwise.
As far as gas mileage goes, I drive in the city, in grueling traffic and wherever there isnt traffic im in the high rpms well just because its a rental and I can The worst fuel mileage I got was about 400 km to the tank, the best Ive gotten is 470. Keep in mind thats tiptronic, TCS off, and drivinging aggressivly.
Downshifting this car gives you plenty of passing power and so far I have not found enough room on the highway to top it out. I hit 190 before commmon sense kicked in and decided to back down.
Handeling
Car handles great, if it wasnt running on these crappy stock 195/65R16 I would say it handles like a dream! I definatly had the feel of this car within the first 100km and can now say I drive it as good as my civic. Despite it being a wider and longer car Ive still been able to sneak through traffic.
However it does not U-Turn nearly as good as our civics. Takes about 3.5 lanes for a full swing u-turn. Parallel parking was obviosly not quite as good as our cars but I could still put it in some tiny spots.
Also the brakes on this car are fantastic, which ofcourse would be improved with better tires
Exterior
Pro's
I love the front end of this car, its aggressive mazda "smile" and projector head lights look really good when standing infront or viewing it from a rear view mirror. My only beef with it I suppose is it looks a little too similar to the mazda 3.
The version I had ofcourse did NOT have HID's but the light from the halogens was decent. It seems like there is an extra spot in the projectors for retrofitting hids in so thats a +. The highbeams are pretty bright and good for telling people to get the f*ck outta your way, that and warning people about speed traps.
This version of the 6 came equipped with the safety package including ABS and Traction control. Paired with the traction control is the traction control off button which helps you spin those rental rubbers (car wont spin its rubber off the line, need a bump or a good turn to make em chirp)
Cons
The rear could use a little work, its a bit conservative for my tastes but the dual tail pipes make up for that. As for the mirrors they are painted but they left this big black stripe around them, which from the inside makes them look unpainted.
Logical stuff that I loved!
The windows can fully roll up or down for about a minute after the vechile has been shut off. Awesome!
I had to pick up something that was oddsize and would not fit in the trunk, so conviently there are two fold down seat triggers in the back of the trunk. What makes the mazda special is that the rear seats are spring loaded or somsething beacuse as soon as you unlock the seats they automatically fold down. Saving you the trip to the back seat to fold em down!
Did I mention Six Cupholders! oh yeah! one in each door, and two in the center console. Two in the rear armrest. Havnt had the oppurtunity to see how coffee fits in there since its so damn hot but there very deep and I think they would fit fine.
Smokers would love this car, it has an ash tray in the center console (that can be easily removed and dumped) and even has a little LED illuminating it to make it easier and safer to ash. To top it off they also included a little ash tray that can be moved around perfect for rear smokers. There is also two sockets 1 for a lighter that I assume would fit a car charger too, and another 12v adapter in the armrest.
The vents are excellent as well, You can get a nice breeze going on your face or hands without taking your eyes of the road. The twist aim setup is far supieror to that in our vechiles.
Interior
Pros
Mazda did a good job with the interior. The entire center console is very well laid out, and can be easily reached from the drivers seat. I sit far from the wheel and usually have the back a little low and feel my vic (even with the HU in the lower pocket) is a bit just a bit of a reach. Every command is also followed by a confirmation chirp which is kind of cool. The version I had cloth seats and well, after sitting in leather for half a year, I dont think im going back to the cloth club anytime soon.
The people in the rear have a very comfortable ride and even have an armrest in the middle.
The car has almost like a small heads up unit on the top of the dash which politly says HELLO everytime you start the car. Paired with the nav it can caluclate the liters per 100 km but my versoin could not. It also displayed the outside temperature which was helpful.
In terms of daily storage
Locking glove compartment is key The car also has good spots for everything, sunglass holder folds down from the roof. There is a two stage armrest that makes storing things easy. Also there is a spot for an optional nav system on top of the dash board which of course was empty but a perfect spot to put rental car papers in assuming you have a reason for locking that glove compartment 
Cons
Well one thing I noticed early is that upon heavy down shifting the volume of the cd player lowers a bit. At first I thought it was my ears popping but definatly now noticed that the volume drops just a few clicks and it doesnt say it on the screen.
I dont see how you would put an aftermarket HU? Definatly no pocket for it. You would probably have to go custom.
Overall
This review is getting long so I am going to wrap it up. The mazda even in the i4 is peppy and fun to drive. The car is very roomy and extreamly comfortable to sit in. The three spoke steering wheel is comfy and sporty and even appeals to my one handed driving needs.
Would I consider buying the mazda 6? If it came in a 2 door version. YES otherwise since I dont plan on being a family guy anytime soon I would have to say no. Although it would be pricer I would definatly take a 2 door accord over this car (Particularly the v6 hybrid). However this 2 week test drive which ends next monday will definatly make me consider mazda in the future.
Now that Ive been talking about it so much Im going to go for a drive.
ZOOM ZOOM!
I am driving the base i4 2.3 DOHC w/ variable valve timing, it pushes 160 hp @ 155 lb/ft of torque. Since its a rental its a 4 speed auto / tiptronic. There is a v6 version that pushes 220 hp w/ 3.0 but sadly the rental world is not inclined to provide that for me. The car is a wee bit slow in the lower rpms but once it gets in those high rpms, pump the gas pedel and the cars rocking
The car is needless to say an upgrade from my current non vtec 01 LX
so heres my review...
Driving it
Well the 6 is fun, Ive been driving it in tiptronic and well, beating the hell out of it. The tiptronic computer is very non restrictive. It allows you to fully redline (infact even over rev) the engine and will NOT force you to upshift to second. The car doesnt allow you to do dangerous down shifts like from 4th to 1st but has no problems dropping into 2nd as long as your below 110 km/h.
The car has either a 55 liter or 60 liter tank, im not sure what kind of fuel it recommends but its been getting the cheap stuff seeing as how its a rental and I wasnt told otherwise.
As far as gas mileage goes, I drive in the city, in grueling traffic and wherever there isnt traffic im in the high rpms well just because its a rental and I can
The worst fuel mileage I got was about 400 km to the tank, the best Ive gotten is 470. Keep in mind thats tiptronic, TCS off, and drivinging aggressivly. Downshifting this car gives you plenty of passing power and so far I have not found enough room on the highway to top it out. I hit 190 before commmon sense kicked in and decided to back down.
Handeling
Car handles great, if it wasnt running on these crappy stock 195/65R16 I would say it handles like a dream! I definatly had the feel of this car within the first 100km and can now say I drive it as good as my civic. Despite it being a wider and longer car Ive still been able to sneak through traffic.
However it does not U-Turn nearly as good as our civics. Takes about 3.5 lanes for a full swing u-turn. Parallel parking was obviosly not quite as good as our cars but I could still put it in some tiny spots.
Also the brakes on this car are fantastic, which ofcourse would be improved with better tires
Exterior
Pro's
I love the front end of this car, its aggressive mazda "smile" and projector head lights look really good when standing infront or viewing it from a rear view mirror. My only beef with it I suppose is it looks a little too similar to the mazda 3.
The version I had ofcourse did NOT have HID's but the light from the halogens was decent. It seems like there is an extra spot in the projectors for retrofitting hids in so thats a +. The highbeams are pretty bright and good for telling people to get the f*ck outta your way, that and warning people about speed traps.
This version of the 6 came equipped with the safety package including ABS and Traction control. Paired with the traction control is the traction control off button which helps you spin those rental rubbers
(car wont spin its rubber off the line, need a bump or a good turn to make em chirp)Cons
The rear could use a little work, its a bit conservative for my tastes but the dual tail pipes make up for that. As for the mirrors they are painted but they left this big black stripe around them, which from the inside makes them look unpainted.
Logical stuff that I loved!
The windows can fully roll up or down for about a minute after the vechile has been shut off. Awesome!
I had to pick up something that was oddsize and would not fit in the trunk, so conviently there are two fold down seat triggers in the back of the trunk. What makes the mazda special is that the rear seats are spring loaded or somsething beacuse as soon as you unlock the seats they automatically fold down. Saving you the trip to the back seat to fold em down!
Did I mention Six Cupholders! oh yeah! one in each door, and two in the center console. Two in the rear armrest. Havnt had the oppurtunity to see how coffee fits in there since its so damn hot but there very deep and I think they would fit fine.
Smokers would love this car, it has an ash tray in the center console (that can be easily removed and dumped) and even has a little LED illuminating it to make it easier and safer to ash. To top it off they also included a little ash tray that can be moved around perfect for rear smokers. There is also two sockets 1 for a lighter that I assume would fit a car charger too, and another 12v adapter in the armrest.
The vents are excellent as well, You can get a nice breeze going on your face or hands without taking your eyes of the road. The twist aim setup is far supieror to that in our vechiles.
Interior
Pros
Mazda did a good job with the interior. The entire center console is very well laid out, and can be easily reached from the drivers seat. I sit far from the wheel and usually have the back a little low and feel my vic (even with the HU in the lower pocket) is a bit just a bit of a reach. Every command is also followed by a confirmation chirp which is kind of cool. The version I had cloth seats and well, after sitting in leather for half a year, I dont think im going back to the cloth club anytime soon.
The people in the rear have a very comfortable ride and even have an armrest in the middle.
The car has almost like a small heads up unit on the top of the dash which politly says HELLO everytime you start the car. Paired with the nav it can caluclate the liters per 100 km but my versoin could not. It also displayed the outside temperature which was helpful.
In terms of daily storage
Locking glove compartment is key
The car also has good spots for everything, sunglass holder folds down from the roof. There is a two stage armrest that makes storing things easy. Also there is a spot for an optional nav system on top of the dash board which of course was empty but a perfect spot to put rental car papers in assuming you have a reason for locking that glove compartment Cons
Well one thing I noticed early is that upon heavy down shifting the volume of the cd player lowers a bit. At first I thought it was my ears popping but definatly now noticed that the volume drops just a few clicks and it doesnt say it on the screen.
I dont see how you would put an aftermarket HU? Definatly no pocket for it. You would probably have to go custom.
Overall
This review is getting long so I am going to wrap it up. The mazda even in the i4 is peppy and fun to drive. The car is very roomy and extreamly comfortable to sit in. The three spoke steering wheel is comfy and sporty and even appeals to my one handed driving needs.
Would I consider buying the mazda 6? If it came in a 2 door version. YES otherwise since I dont plan on being a family guy anytime soon I would have to say no. Although it would be pricer I would definatly take a 2 door accord over this car (Particularly the v6 hybrid). However this 2 week test drive which ends next monday will definatly make me consider mazda in the future.
Now that Ive been talking about it so much Im going to go for a drive.
ZOOM ZOOM!
Last edited by AggressiveAdam; Jun 5, 2005 at 03:05 PM.
After reading that, I just want to test drive one... 
RESIDENT ROTOR HEAD
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 3,207
Likes: 0
From: , Other, ZEBRA
Rep Power: 328 
Hmmm...you know that V6 is from the Ford parts bin right?
Mazda needed a V6 version to compete in the American market so they called their buddies at Ford to donate an engine for it.
I'd stay with the all Mazda all Japanese 4 cylinders. Better for boost also. The MS6 is the car to get if you like the 6 design. FWD bias AWD with 270ish hp and direct injection turbo I-4. Too bad the 6 is pretty heavy, but it'll give Audi a run for its money.
Mazda needed a V6 version to compete in the American market so they called their buddies at Ford to donate an engine for it.
I'd stay with the all Mazda all Japanese 4 cylinders. Better for boost also. The MS6 is the car to get if you like the 6 design. FWD bias AWD with 270ish hp and direct injection turbo I-4. Too bad the 6 is pretty heavy, but it'll give Audi a run for its money.
Thread
Thread Starter
Honda Civic Forum
Replies
Last Post
solarpunk70
Mechanical Problems/Vehicle Issues and Fix-it Forum
6
Apr 12, 2016 11:43 AM
Zygrene
6th Generation Civic 1996 - 2000
1
Mar 22, 2016 12:36 PM
OptimisticWay
7th Generation Civic 2001 - 2005
4
Sep 18, 2015 09:37 PM
Bikergofast
Fuel, Oil, Cleaners & Other Maintenance
1
Sep 12, 2015 01:36 PM
