GTP Cool Wall - First Generation Mazda Mazda6

[Perfect Balance]

The MazdaSpeed version is kind of fun to drive, but in the ed it's still just a FWD sedan.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

My aunt drove the wagon version of this. She said the engine was such a heap of misery that she moved on to the Corolla Verso. If you've come so far that you replace a Mazda6 with any Verso version in the Toyota line-up, then that car is seriously uncool.

Psst, April Fool's is over 4 months away. 👍

This. The only way the engine could be a "heap of misery" is if it was the 2.0 diseasel.

The 2.0 in the 3 and 2.3 in the 6 (Europe got a diseasel we didn't as well as the 2.0 in the 6) are both quite good sounding and reasonably strong motors.

I'd make a remark about these cars making a bit more sound under throttle than the average Toyota (as they do), but I've mostly forgotten what a 100% stock 6 sound like. Mine has a gutted airbox and removed intake resonator so it's more than a bit louder than average when on the throttle and would definitely scare off the NVH department.

The MazdaSpeed version is kind of fun to drive, but in the ed it's still just a FWD sedan.

Actually the MazdaSpeed version likes to understeer more than the normal 6. Something about being FWD until the fronts slip and all... I dunno.

 

[Gil]

First lets us address that "First Generation" misnomer.
The '6 has maintained virtually unchanged from '03 - '08.
I have driven a few sixes. And my wife and oldest son drive '08 SVE models (i model Sport Value Edition)

There are a number of things I do not like about the cars and I'll start with those.
1. Some idiot put the parking brake on the left side of the center console.
For those of us in the US, it encroaches some on the driver's space. This has been remedied in the '09.

2. AUX jack is not Standard. If you want MP3 player capability you must have a "pigtail" added for the cost of $325 and it's iPod compatible only. Also, the Pigtail is in the Glove box instead of the center console armrest, and while it gives you control of the iPod thru the head unit, it does not charge the iPod.

3. The fusebox is located by the "dead pedal". So, it gets kicked getting in and out of the car. The cover for my wife's car now lives in the door pocket cause she can't put it back on, and I spend minimal time in her car.

4. The suspension is tuned right at the edge of "harshness" It is comfy on the interstate, but is considerably "hard" in a bumpy environment. Yet with four people and their luggage aboard, the rear sags almost to the point of the tires rubbing on the bodywork.

That covers my "major" problems with the car. All tiny probs. Easily lived with.

I initially thought that the power was adequate. The 4-cyl is no road burner, but will sustain 80 MPH all day on the interstate while returning 30 mpg.
While it is sort of average looking, that factor keeps the Highway Patrol at bay. My wife has driven it back and forth to Colorado Springs, and she is not one to waste any time. She has made the drive in the under 8 hour range. She has been stopped only once. And parts of the drive are thick as flies on a horse turd with cops.

We test drove both the iTouring and Grand Touring. They both have twitchier response than the iSport, but the only "upgrade" I miss is the heated leather seats.
Yes the car has a fairly wide turning circle, but as I have learned with my truck, this makes the thing super stable and smooth to drive especially at higher speeds.

Back to my statement re: initially thinking the car had adequate power.
I thought that until the day I drove a MazdaSpeed version of the '6.
That car stole my heart from the Infiniti G35 that I have wanted for about the last 2 years.
Is it perfect? Nope. But it's about $1,000 dollars away from it. With the 'Speed6, the addition of a cold air intake would up the response in the higher RPM ranges. Replacing the rear engine mount with a sturdier one, would tighten up the shifter feel, and likely the clutch response. And to add to the shifter feel, the short-throw shifter.
BTW guys, All Speed6's are AWD, with 280HP/300lb/ft. And a pretty comfy "sleeper" of a ride.
I like the Speed6 because older, wiser drivers are driving them.
They are also not getting the LE attenion the guys in EVO's and WRX's are getting.
That fact alone is enough to keep me out of the EVO and the WRX.
invisatext->I get enough hassle for DWB, I don't need to drive a "hooligan-mobile to increase that!!!
The Speed3's are the FWD cars.
Granted, I'm old enough that I rarely hurry anywhere. But I still enjoy a fast vehicle.
(So for the guys bagging on us "old timers" THAT'S UNCOOL)
If I could only do one thing at a time, I'd start with the motor mount.

I've not driven a V-6 so I can't comment on it.

In conclusion, yes the Mazda6 is a very good car, with awesome potential.
It is IMHO a sin and a shame that the Mazdaspeed version was only offered for the '06 and '07 model years.

If the 2nd gen 6 was offered as a Speed6 with the AWD, turbo, and 6 spd I'd figure out a way to get one.
As it is, I'm trying to figure out how to get my grubby paws on a 1st Gen...

 

[homeforsummer]

1. Some idiot put the parking brake on the left side of the center console.

(Psst... the correct side for it's home market. It saves costs not creating a new centre console and cutting out a different hole for something that isn't that much of a biggie. They did exactly the same with the NA and NB Miatas AFAIK. Perhaps Mazda dislike compromising!)

 

[niky]

Some mitsu were like that, too... I remember driving a left-hand drive Mitsubishi with the parking brake and the AT labelling on the wrong side of the shifter.

-

The only way a Mazda6 engine would be dreadful is if it were the 1.8 4AT... the 2.0AT had just enough power, and from 2.3 onwards, it's officially "fun".

 

[homeforsummer]

The only way a Mazda6 engine would be dreadful is if it were the 1.8 4AT... the 2.0AT had just enough power, and from 2.3 onwards, it's officially "fun".

Very few 6s in the UK seem to be automatic, and the base engine we got with that generation 6 was the 1.8, and the press seemed to like it quite a bit - certainly over the 1.8 Mondeo, Laguna, Vectra etc of the time. 10-ish to 60mph and 120mph is more than enough for most people in this country I guess. The diesel was popular too (over 40mpg average and 229 lb/ft even in the basic diesel) but the ones in the current-gen 6 are supposed to be better.

Personally, my favourite would be the 2.3 Sport. As a saloon. In yellow.

That's if I couldn't get hold of an MPS (Mazdaspeed), anyway.

 

[niky]

Actually, the 2.3 is an excellent trim level. More punch than the lower 4 pots, and better balance than the V6. Would make a nice track rat another five to ten years in the future.

I'm kind of wary of the direct injection Mazdaspeeds... engine is difficult to tune, and the system is finicky. I like my gasoline engines with good old low pressure injector systems.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

10-ish to 60mph and 120mph is more than enough for most people in this country I guess..

Funny that 120mph figure... Considering they're all limited there and that my 2.3 ATX struggles badly past 110 I have to wonder where they actually tested that...

 

[JCE]

This. The only way the engine could be a "heap of misery" is if it was the 2.0 diseasel.

The 2.0 in the 3 and 2.3 in the 6 (Europe got a diseasel we didn't as well as the 2.0 in the 6) are both quite good sounding and reasonably strong motors.

+1 The D23 I4 and D30 V6 Duratec engines are quite good and make a very good tone under WOT. Anyone that calls them "misery" obviously hasn't driven them enough to form such an opinion, unless such opinion is of the diesel model.

 

[neanderthal]

Subzero

 

[niky]

Funny that 120mph figure... Considering they're all limited there and that my 2.3 ATX struggles badly past 110 I have to wonder where they actually tested that...

I can believe it. But I think the ATs may be limited to about 120 mph, as such cars typically are.

With an MT, no limiter, and the proper gearing, the Mazda6 should be able to hit 130 mph, at the very least... though Mazda gearing is typically very short on their sports models.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

I can believe it. But I think the ATs may be limited to about 120 mph, as such cars typically are.

With an MT, no limiter, and the proper gearing, the Mazda6 should be able to hit 130 mph, at the very least... though Mazda gearing is typically very short on their sports models.

Every Mazda6 in the US is stuck with a 120mph limiter though, even V6 MTX models. 130ish I can believe, it'll just take forever and a day for the autoboxes to get there. (30 seconds from 50 to 110 so...)

 

[:Ziggy:]

nothing really bad with, nothing really good with it. i give it a "meh...."

 

[homeforsummer]

Funny that 120mph figure... Considering they're all limited there and that my 2.3 ATX struggles badly past 110 I have to wonder where they actually tested that...

Limited where? Certainly not in the UK... the UK 2.3 does just over 130 and the MPS does about 150.

 

[Leonidae]

perhaps he meant that it's limited by a slushbox tranny?

 

[homeforsummer]

perhaps he meant that it's limited by a slushbox tranny?

Perhaps, but if that's what he meant then he worded it particularly badly.

 

[niky]

Damn... looking online... they really limited the top speed to 120 in the US? Sad. Not that you really need to go much faster, but sad.

 

[homeforsummer]

Damn... looking online... they really limited the top speed to 120 in the US? Sad. Not that you really need to go much faster, but sad.

That answers the question then. Surprising. I agree, you don't really need to go much faster, but if you're doing 120mph anyway then you're not going to get into any less trouble than if you were doing another ten or twenty on top of that...

 

[Bones Brigade]

it's cool.

It's an attractive yet unassuming car that is fun to drive. It's different enough to be a step above the Carmry/Accord. You step out of a 6 and no one will think "what a c***/douche etc." You may be a bit ignored, but therein lies the beauty. The car doesn't say anything about a person except, "I am a practical but not drab or uninteresting. I don't try hard. I don't need to try hard. Let me introduce myself, I am *name* and I am laid back and easy to get a long with. Nice to meet you."

 

[Tornado]

Its been deemed Uncool, just to make things official. Do continue discussion, though.

 

[niky]

Shame. Not entirely unexpected. It takes a whole lotta mojo to make a four-door cool, and the Mazda6 just doesn't have the same street cred as, say, an Evo. Besides... good =/= cool, unfortunately.

That answers the question then. Surprising. I agree, you don't really need to go much faster, but if you're doing 120mph anyway then you're not going to get into any less trouble than if you were doing another ten or twenty on top of that...

It'll cost less if you get caught, though...

 

[nolikerice]

by

 

[Rotary Junkie]

1. Affordability, nice looking car that won't create regret when maintainence time comes up.

Agreed.

2. Reliability, in this day of OBDII controlled vehicles, this make tends to visit the doctors office less often than most.

Actually the automatics like to nom on transmissions a bit but that's a Ford thing. Well, really, the programming sucks too and that much is Mazda's fault. Needs a tuning solution but that looks to be a ways away.

3. Did I mention that it doesn't "look" bad, for a daily driver what more can you honestly ask for?, in real life terms, not in PlayStation garage wish listings, lol.

Well, I could ask for base models to have proper aluminum wheels instead of steelies and extra support from the aftermarket... Oh and it would be nice if stock WOT air:fuel ratios weren't in the range of 11:1.

4. I am in no way shape or form a Mazda fan, but how do you fight it's good points?

You don't.

Cons:
1. It won't impress people that have never driven one, or better yet driven one of it's classmates.

The latter part of this is what's got me confused... Better yet driven one of its classmates as in it's worse than them? (I guarantee it's not) Or rather it won't impress anyone who hasn't driven something in the same class as it?

2. Comes stock with just enough horsepower to make it lively, not exactly awe inspiring.

I dunno about this, the V6 manuals like to run with Fox Mustangs

3. Won't make people jump for joy for it's good looks, but then again won't bring pain to the eye sockets now will it?

You need to see more that aren't stock.

4. Can't compete with other makes on even kiel, it doesen't have 100hp/ltr(close though), and most offensive is that it's not in Grand Turismo 4 where most of you probably get your "realism" from, like anyone could tell the difference, lol.

100hp/L is near as makes no difference nonexistant in this class of car. Even now, in 2010, the closest to it there is would be the Accord's 2.4 liter which makes, depending on trim, 177 or 190hp. Which works out to 73-79hp/L.

It actually is in GT4, you must have missed it in the Mazda dealer. In fact, there's two of them; the "production" model with the 5-speed manual and the concept with the 4-speed slushbox, both 4 cylinder models. That said, I think most of the people who will be reading this have for the most part moved well past GT; some may well still play it as a game, but the mentality of it being ZOMG PERFECT ABSOLUTELY REAL is pretty well MIA.

5. Doesn't have a V10/V8/Turbo/SuperCharger/ or factory Nitrous system, but does have affordability as standard equipment, lol.

Eh can't help it there. Although there IS a factory turbo 6... Which has AWD and a 6-speed manual.

 

[niky]

and most offensive is that it's not in Grand Turismo 4 where most of you probably get your "realism" from, like anyone could tell the difference, lol.

Au contraire... it is in Gran Turismo, both in Concept form and production form. We're talking about the Mazda6 here, not the Mazdaspeed6.

And yes, you can tell the difference. GT4 models it very nicely. Wonderfully benign handling, good response, and a horrible 4-speed gearbox.

 

[nolikerice]

by

 

[Rotary Junkie]

Fair enough mate.

 

[Bram Turismo]

+1 The D23 I4 and D30 V6 Duratec engines are quite good and make a very good tone under WOT. Anyone that calls them "misery" obviously hasn't driven them enough to form such an opinion, unless such opinion is of the diesel model.

Most of you seem to be confusing what I meant with "a heap of misery". What I meant was that it was incredibly unreliable, and it's not a surprise since the engines from the first gen 6's came from Mondeos, and '90s Mondeos were a total disaster. Engines that sound good and produce power don't make them "good" in my book. An engine that is reliable and strong at the same time makes a good engine.

 

[niky]

Most of you seem to be confusing what I meant with "a heap of misery". What I meant was that it was incredibly unreliable, and it's not a surprise since the engines from the first gen 6's came from Mondeos, and '90s Mondeos were a total disaster. Engines that sound good and produce power don't make them "good" in my book. An engine that is reliable and strong at the same time makes a good engine.

Define incredibly unreliable? While Mazdas of this generation had a number of electronic niggles, they weren't particularly notable for blowing up in the hands of old ladies. If we're talking about the suspension bushes and engine mounts... I'd believe that...

Which engine?

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

they weren't particularly notable for blowing up in the hands of old ladies.

Well, sometimes you just can't trust those old ladies.

 

[Tornado]

Okay. The Cool Wall is updated to this car, and a new poll will be up tomorrow.