Mazda's sensible sport sedan, the 6S
Written: Mar 23 '04 (Updated May 16 '06)
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Pros: Value for money, zippy-ness factor, excellent lease incentives, good consumer and trade publication reviews.
Cons: You give up some materials quality with this much car for so good a price.
The Bottom Line: Test this sporty sedan in order to evaluate what you can get that is more car than a quality econobox, and not as expensive as the premium mid-size sedans.
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| NFP's Full Review: 2004 Mazda Mazda6 |
Update note on 5/16/06: Two years and 31,000 miles in, pretty much everything I wrote below almost 2 years ago still stands. The car has run very well, and there have been no ongoing problems of any consequence to speak of. The only major problem about a year-and-half in was a computer glitch in regulating the engine fan, which would occasionally come on whether it needed to or not, but never created a temperature problem for the engine. It was just a noisy inconvenience. This has apparently been a common problem, as the service dept. pinpointed it right away and had it fixed immediately. Overall this is a very good value for the money.
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Somewhere between sense and sensibility is an affordable sporty sedan that works for those us old enough to know we're not youngsters any more, yet remain young enough (in spirit, anyway) to still want vroooom under the hood (perhaps as compensation for our concerned looks over our shoulders at Viagra commercials.)
After four years of successful lease of a pleasant if somewhat stodgy 2000 Mazda 626 family sedan, the time had come to turn it in, walk away, and go forth with new wheels that fit new goals and a new personal life (though, hopefully, without exhibiting traits associated with embarrassing Middle Age Arrested Development Syndrome -- MADS.)
In a Honda, Toyota, and Nissan world, I had to go through the motions of questioning for a moment why this confirmed Japanese car buyer would even consider another Mazda. It was an exercise I felt I had to do as an informed consumer even though I was pleased with the performance of the good ol' reliable 626.
But despite their horrible "zoom, zoom, zoom" marketing, Mazda made it easy. All it took was one drive in a 2004 Mazda 6S, the zippy merger/replacement for the longstanding and reliable (but now defunct) 626 and Protege lines that ended with the 2003 model.
That test drive plus extensive online research via Edmunds.com and a careful reading of Consumer Reports convinced me that my gut was right -- the new lines of Mazdas (the awesome 3s and the peppy 6s) are underappreciated alternatives to the increasingly dull mid-size Honda Accord and Toyota Camry lines, and are better values for the money than the more expensive mid-size Nissan Altimas. In fact, the Mazda 3 and the 6 series seem to a fill void the Japanese Big Three don't address -- they're more car than a high-quality Civic or a Corolla or a Sentra economy sedan, and more fun and not quite as expensive as the larger but increasingly boat-like, premium-oriented Accord, Camry and Altima sedans.
THE MAZDA 3, OR THE 6?
I was initially set on the increasingly popular Mazda 3, but gave up after noting the a relatively high sticker price for the value. Three dealers told me the 3s were moving very quickly these days, especially among younger drivers, hence the higher relative cost. They look a bit like a lower end and more affordable BMW 3 class, and they always made my head turn when I saw them on the road around LA. That explained the lack of incentives.
But the heavily-incented 6, they said, was a relative steal given its initial sluggish sales when it came out in 2003, probably an unwarranted legacy of the 626's and Protege's workhorse image and dull styling. Since then, however, strong word-of-mouth, an exciting exterior makeover, and excellent consumer reviews are beginning to change that.
THE CAR:
My Mazda 6S comes with a 5-speed automatic transmission with manual shift capability, V6, ABS brake package including traction control, automatic climate control, power seats with lumbar adjustment for the driver, and 17-inch alloy wheels included, and non-factory soft gray leather interior as an option. MSRP was $23,900, but I got it as 4-year lease with 18,000 miles a year for about $21,100 after incentives and cap cost reduction. I selected the same elegant dark steel gray color I had on the 626, which wore very well and hid dust.
The 3.0 liter V6 engine in the 6S provides an adequate 220 horsepower and decent torque, and is quieter than comparable competitor models, if not quite as powerful. The car handles suprisingly well, with pleasantly responsive rack and pinion steering and suspension that is neither too mushy nor too stiff. It FEELS like more of a sports sedan than it is, and looks the part, as I am repeatedly told by others when they see it. And though the 6S does remind me in appearance of the Lexus IS 300 series in general category/concept, it has a MUCH sportier line and a much lower price tag.
The trunk has an ample 15.2 cubic feet of storage space that can be expanded by folding the back seats in a 60/40 split. (The 4-door 6 also comes in a wonderful limited edition hatchback, but it's much harder to find, is more expensive, and is not incented.)
One feature I like is having all key stereo controls on the steering wheel; it removes the danger of looking down to deal with sound system programming. And the steering column is easily adjustable, moving up and down and over, and telescoping in and out for maximum room and comfort.
Also, the Mazda 6 is reasonably safe by current standards. Front end crash tests rate them highly in head-on collisions. The highly-regarded independent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests on the Mazda 6 in 40 mph head-on crashes yielded "good" across all levels of crashworthiness testing, and "acceptable" ratings across all major categories of potential injuries.
However, just like the vast majority of mid-size sedans, when NOT equipped with side impact airbags the Mazda 6 did poorly on the IIHS side impact crash tests involving larger pickup trucks and SUVs.
Nits? A few. The cupholders suck, plain and simple, just as they did on the 626. They're one-size fits all and poorly located. As a corollary, easy-to-access surface or compartment storage space near the driver also sucks, as it did on my old 626. There's virtually no clever space on or in which to put stuff so you can get to it easily while at the wheel.
Mazda has inexplicably done away with the neat climate control feature that always got raves on the 626 -- oscillating air condition vents in the front dash that helped prevent brain freeze on hot days when the AC was on full blast.
Some people complain that the back seat legroom and shoulder room are not adequate for two adults, but I disagree. As one who is very sensitive to that I found that sliding the front seats up just a tad (not so much that it creates problems up front) leaves plenty of room behind. And even with the driver seat back full, I felt comfortable enough sitting in back for a while, even with my surgically-repaired right knee's lack of flexibility.
And the turning radius could be a bit better...for a small car, it's just not quite tight enough for tight squeeze U-turns.
Biggest nit of all has nothing to do with the car, and everything to do with the packaging. Mazda should do a better job of offering its options; it's very hard to get what you want without having to buy overpriced so-called luxury items that most of us don't want. That's why I didn't get a moonroof -- more spoiler and unstrippable weird "hot" accessory garbage attached to that than to a pork barrel bill in Congress.
The car has a clean, sleek look and feel that belies some of the cheaper materials used that allow it to cost less than a similarly-equipped Accord. And it's much sportier looking and feeling. A few weeks in and it's an absolute blast to drive, and gets lots of admiring looks from passersby and other drivers because the look is a bit more distinctive than other vehicles in its class. Time will tell if it holds up as well as my old 626 did.
The Mazda 6 is available in a 4-cylinder, 160 horsepower version as well, and in a stripped down i-class version lacking some of the S class features. If budget is an issue despite the S-class's competitive price, I still suggest you try the i. I took a cloth-seat 4-cylinder out for a spin and was pleasantly surprised at its performance.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 21,100
Condition: New
Model Year: 2004
Model and Options: 6S, power driver seat, 5speed automatic, ABS, leather
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Epinions.com ID:
NFP
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Location: Washington, DC
Reviews written: 129
Trusted by: 174 members
About Me:
Settled in DC and content. Starting up again...slowly.
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