Mazda 6: Zoom-Zoom

Good points: Value, ride, room, interior features, gas mileage, and shift linkage

Needs improvement: Heavy trunk lid, backseat room, power, turning radius, readouts, resale, and torque steer

When we review cars they usually fall into three categories. First, those instantly feel comfortable. Secondly, those vehicles that defy us to find something good to say about them. Finally, and this is where the Mazda 6 fits nicely, vehicles that slowly grow on you. The saddest part is that because it takes time for these cars to make their attributes known many people pass them by because they only have an opportunity to take a short ride. It is interesting that both the 6 and the Mazda RX-8 did not make initial good impressions on us, but ultimately both proved to be stellar values and enjoyable vehicles.

Essentially the bottom line is that the Mazda 6 is comfortable, roomy, and well priced but it does not overwhelming in any one area. Perhaps that is damning it with faint praise, but the Mazda is in a very competitive market where the Honda Accord, new Ford and Toyota Camry are active players. Somehow the Mazda 6 seems to split the differences among those cars by offering either room, performance, or pricing that they can not match in one way or the other.

Mom’s view: What grabbed my attention immediately was the spoiler on the rear deck. It gave the car a racer image that the engine could not back up so why bother? In addition, it weighs a lot which made it extremely difficult for me to raise the trunk lid with one hand. In other words, the Mazda 6 and I were not making friends. Adding to the negative image was a large turning radius that made getting into tight parking spots a difficult proposition. There was also the very long trunk and it lacked a cargo net. So when the grocery bags fell over the only way for me to retrieve them was to fold down the rear seat.

Things didn’t get any better when I could not read the HVAC readouts with my polarized sun glasses and got tired of having to decipher the barely legible dials. Even when the temperature was set at a comfortable level the system didn’t want to behave.

However, after a few days I had mastered the controls learned to park the Mazda without fuss and was becoming enamored with its quiet ride and effortless to shift five-speed manual transmission. The 6 was becoming very user friendly. Indeed, I was growing possessive of it making sure I had the keys safely hidden from the others after I was through with my evaluations.

Although the body lean of the Mazda was too much to make it a worthy canyon runner, the 6 was competent enough to make me at ease when mountain driving. The strong safety features augmented that feeling. Although the steering is fairly precise, when you accelerate strongly there is noticeable torque steer. In normal driving this is not experienced at all.

In terms of safety items the new Mazda S has four-wheel disc brakes, whiplash-reducing front seats, ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, and traction control with optional side airbags for front occupants and full-length side curtain airbags. The government test scores Mazda got mixed reviews with the best ratings coming in front impact crashes.

Overall, the 6 was more fun to drive than its competition, especially with the great shifting transmission and nice soft clutch.

Young working woman’s view: An ample supply of standard equipment on the base Mazda 6 makes it a noteworthy consideration. You get a tilt/telescoping steering wheel, air conditioning, six-speaker CD stereo, steering wheel redundant audio controls, cruise control and power windows, mirrors and locks. Stepping up to the smooth V6 brings with it the 220 horsepower engine, 17-inch alloy wheels, and automatic climate controls. I think that the base four-cylinder engine has enough power for me with 160 horsepower. The 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine moves 60 more horses under the hood. I found the five speed standard transmission painless to live with, but the four-speed automatic would probably be my first choice for daily commuting. The problem was that the larger engine carries with it a big premium.

The most interesting options are the luxury Package with leather upholstery, a power driver seat, very difficult to read reddish electro luminescent gauges, and heated seats and rear view mirrors. The Sport Package adds fog lights, an underbody kit, fake titanium interior trim and a very heavy rear spoiler.

We got around 24 mpg with the V6, but could have done better. The 18-gallon fuel tank makes for a 400-mile cruising radius. And, during those cruises the Mazda was very undemanding to live with. However, when you have to make high-speed transitions moves the chassis displays a need for more strength.

As a businesswoman I always am aware of the competition and with the Mazda 6 there is plenty. The best selling Ford Taurus, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, and our favorite, the Honda Accord are just some of the models priced similarly to the Mazda. And, the Mazda’s back seat is not as roomy as most of the others. 60/40-split rears seat folds down if you need additional space, but the trunk is very spacious with a 17.6-cubic-foot capacity.

So why buy the Mazda 6? The ride, handling, and unique look separate it from the others. The steering feel is about average, the suspension is accepting of large bumps and tries it best on curves, and the car is fairly quiet on highways. Add to that one of the better warranties, the Mazda comes with a four year, 50,000 mile package while most of the others have the more sedate three year, 36,000 offering.

I would buy this car because it fits into my price range, looks sharp, gets reasonable gas mileage, has good safety scores, and takes regular gas. I would buy the base "i" model and get them to throw in a cargo net.

Young unemployed male’s view: Yep, got laid off. Tell me again how great the recovery is when all the other guys around me are struggling to find work that pays more then minimum wages. Worse, the public colleges have all increased their tuition. And, to top that off, my singing group was performing at the House of Blues in Las Vegas when we were told that the next attraction wanted to come out and we were sent packing. Not even a complimentary room. Now you know what kind of mood I am in so keep that in mind when I tell you the Mazda wasn’t bad. The engine was peppy, gas mileage acceptable, room for plenty of items I can no longer afford to use such as my snow board, an agile feel, good brake touch, and it has good looks so when I park it in the Human Resources parking lot to get my unemployment check it doesn’t look like I’ve hit bottom.

Dad’s view: I could not stand the gauges. The red lighting was impossible to read with sunglasses on and at night the thin font make a quick check impossible for me. I also had a great deal of trouble reading the climate and radio controls where the words and the finish blended together in the same fashion as that on the Infiniti G35. I also questioned the dial placement so far ahead of the readout. Take a good look at the photo of the dash area and note how the temperature and station readouts are high on the dash and the controls knobs low. Very confusing and difficult to decipher.

I don’t have anything positive to say about the optional rear spoiler. It added a great deal of weight to the rear trunk lid and took away from the rear visibility. I didn’t think it added anything to the good looks of the Mazda.

In daily travels our 220 horsepower V6 was efficient and only when it was pushed did you notice its limitations at low speeds. The transmission shifter was exceptional. It was excellent and made heavy traffic situations easy although I wished the clutch had a little more feel to it. The car is practical, fairly inexpensive to maintain, and is nicely finished. There are some nice touches such as strut-type lid hinges that don't fold into the trunk space, uncomplicated to fold down rear seats, and lots of little storage spaces.

Living with the Mazda exposed some problems that we did not notice at first. The opening is too small for large items, the rear seats do not fold flat, the steering wheel does not have enough range of movements, and the rear doors don’t open wide enough for easy access. These are small issues, but they can be annoying.

Recently, Edmunds had a test of ten family sedans. They had everything from Korean cars to American and Japanese competitors and decided that the Accord was the best followed by the Mazda with the Camry in third. We could have saved them a lot of time since we arrived at that conclusion a long time ago. However, we are The Car Family and these vehicles are our specialty.

Family conference: The Mazda 6 is well done and deserving of attention. It offers that difficult combination of utility, ride, economy, and looks. If the more pedestrian looking sedans are boring to you, the Mazda should be experienced in both six and our cylinder models.

Written by The Car Family