The turbocharged all-wheel-drive MazdaSpeed6 has been a long time coming, and an even longer time coming to this space. It was delayed four or five months for some last minute tweaking, most notably a steeper final drive ratio to improve off-the-line grunt. Then, once dealers finally received a car, they treated it like a collector's item. In other words, because I wasn't going to say I was ready to buy "today" I couldn't initially obtain a test drive. So I had to wait for them to pile up on lots following middling reviews in the auto press before getting a crack at one.

But I've now taken two test drives, the second followed by a test drive in the V6-powered Mazda6s. Some people have been hoping that the MazdaSpeed6 would be a larger, slightly more mature Evo or STI. Others might have been seeking an alternative to the Subaru Legacy GT. Still others might already like the regular Mazda6, but simply want more thrust and sharper handling.

Who's going to get what they want?

On the Road

Every once in a while I reverse my typical order. This is one of those times, because I want to get the (mostly) good stuff out first.

The MazdaSpeed6's direct-injected turbocharged four (they opted not to turbocharge the older, less rugged V6) puts out 274 horsepower at 5500 RPM and 280 pounds-feet or torque at an accessible 3000 RPM. Both figures are about ten-percent higher than the larger 2.5 flat four in the Legacy GT. A higher state of tune is one possible reason, but direct injection no doubt also plays a role. Injecting fuel directly into the cylinder rather than into the intake port permits a higher compression ratio, 9.5:1 vs. 8.2:1.

Even more than peak power, the higher compression should benefit output before the turbo kicks in. However, the non-turbo version of this engine, while smooth, feels soft at lower RPM, and the turbo variant inherits this characteristic. Floor the accelerator at 2,000 RPM and the engine will respond smoothly, but not strongly. As in the Subaru, for best results you want to keep the tach needle north of 3,000. VW seems to do the direct-injected turbo thing better.

Once over 3,000 the engine pulls strongly if not quite ferociously to the redline. The experience is much more Legacy GT than WRX STI or Evo. As perhaps it should be. Response is fairly quick at high RPM, but not quite crisp. I blame the turbo, as even the best turbocharged engines never feel as crisp as a good normally aspirated engine.

Some professional reviews have criticized the sound of the engine. I noted nothing either untoward or desirable. The non-turbo version of this engine has a rather bland character, and this has carried over as well. The Subaru boxes has a more distinctive sound and feel.

I should note that this engine requires 93 octane for peak performance, and I doubt the dealer was putting the top shelf stuff in the tank. So a better fed engine might feel somewhat stronger and crisper.

Road & Track extracted some especially poor times from this car at higher speeds. Compared to Car and Driver, they report taking a full ten extra seconds to get to 100, 24.6 vs. 14.5. According to people on mazda6club.com, this was likely due to a limp-home mode the engine falls into, likely because of excess heat or pinging. Some owners have experienced this mode as well. Less than top quality gas seems the most likely culprit. Still, there's more than a little discussion concerning whether Mazda might end up having to buy back all of the cars.

I didn't experience this issue, but then I didn't drive the car hard for an extended period of the time or approach triple-digit speeds. And, who knows, maybe 93 was in the tank.

The shifter is a pretty good one, with moderate throws and a very precise feel. If I didn't know better I might think Honda had produced it. Problem is, I'm not as big a fan of Honda shifters as most people. I prefer something meatier, with shorter throws. The Legacy with the optional short-throw shifter is more my cup of tea. No doubt the aftermarket will provide solutions for the Mazda.

Looking over the technical specs, I notice the gear ratios:

1st: 3.538
2nd: 2.238
3rd: 1.535
4th: 1.171
5th: 1.085
6th: 0.853

I've always wanted a sixth ratio in my cars to reduce noise and improve efficiency on the highway. Mazda has given this car a sixth ratio--the regular Mazda6 continues to make do with a five-speed--but by spacing fourth and fifth so closely they've essentially wasted it. I want ratios tightly spaced in the lower gears, which I use when driving aggressively, but spread in the upper gears, which are just used to cruise down the road. Here we have the opposite, and a fairly short top gear to boot. (Even in five-speed manuals it's not uncommon to see a 0.70 top gear.)

Car and Driver about engine noise on the highway. I didn't note a major problem here, but then I'm used to a noisy car. The Subaru engine is certainly quieter when cruising at 70. Since many people spending roughly $40,000 for a sedan might also find engine noise an issue, Mazda should probably fix this.

I see a fairly easy one. Like most other front-wheel-drive six-speeds this one uses two separate final drive ratios. First through fourth share one final drive, and fifth, sixth, and reverse get the other. How about a taller final drive for the second set of gears?

As indicated by the Acura TL and a number of Nissan front-drive sedans, close to 300 pounds-feet of torque is a bit much to channel through the front wheels alone. So Mazda wisely fitted the MazdaSpeed6 with all-wheel-drive. This system normally sends all torque through the front wheels, but under hard acceleration will shift up to 50 percent to the rear wheels. In contrast, the Subaru's system starts at 50:50 and can send even more to the rear axle if warranted. Like Subaru, MazdaSpeed has fitted a limited-slip rear differential. But they haven't done as good a job of taking advantage of the LSD.

The Subaru also has a more balanced weight distribution, with only 56.7% rather than 59.7% of its weight up front. Still not 50-50, but much closer than most cars based on front-drive platforms.

What does this mean? Well, you're not going to use the throttle to kick the tail out in the Mazda. While safe, this gives the car a less dynamic feel than I would like. Hit the gas in a turn and all-wheel-drive pulls the car through without spinning a tire (don't try this in a powerful front-driver). But beyond a certain, not-so-high point the nose starts tracking wide. The solution is easy, but not fun: ease off the gas.

It doesn't help that the Mazda, like the roughly 150-pound lighter Subaru, relies on 215mm-wide tires to stick to the road. Though grippy, the high performance Bridgestones could use a larger contact patch. Well, at least the front ones could. If wider tires would fit up front--which isn't likely--Mazda might do well to adopt GM's solution with the Grand Prix GXP and fit wider tires there to curb understeer.

Aside from this understeer, handling tends to be better in the MazdaSpeed6 than in the Legacy GT. The car corners very flatly, and feels more taut. In comparison, the Subaru feels cushier. (The limited production Spec B likely feels closer to the Mazda, but the only ones I've seen have been inside showrooms.) The steering, though a bit light in both cars, feels a bit more direct in the Mazda.

And yet a feeling of agility escapes the MazdaSpeed. I drove the regular Mazda6 afterwards, and to me it felt more willing to change directions. Considerably soggier in the process, but more willing nonetheless. Its steering feel is also quite a bit different; also quick, but with both lower effort and more feedback. (Some of this additional feedback is likely channeled through the less rigid body structure to the steering column, so it isn't necessarily good feedback.) Overall the regular 6 feels less stiff (which isn't entirely a good thing) and more fluid.

Mazda knows how to make an agile car--the RX-8 sports car is astounding in this respect for a car with a usable back seat, and the Mazda3 and Miata also lead the competition in this area. But the MazdaSpeed6 isn't Mazda's best work in this regard. The car just didn't feel playful to me. And since this is my top priority in a car, it just didn't work for me.

One other thing that driving the regular Mazda6 highlighted is how much stiffer the MazdaSpeed version of the same basic car feels. Where the Mazda6 quivers over road imperfections, the more stiffly sprung MazdaSpeed6 feels solid. Mazda claims the Speed's modified body structure is 50 percent stiffer, and if anything the difference feels even greater. Between the steering and the structural rigidity, these feel like two totally different cars.

The press has been complaining about an overly firm ride. I didn't feel it. The MazdaSpeed6's suspension is certainly stiff, and noticeably stiffer than that of the Legacy GT or regular Mazda6, but to me at least it never felt harsh, much less punishing. An STI or Evo is magnitudes less comfortable. Similarly, it's not a quiet car, but it's not a noisy one, either.

Personally, I'd gladly live with the ride quality and noise levels if the car had the frisky personality of an Evo or STI, or even the agile, balanced feel of a BMW 3-Series. But it doesn't. The problem isn't the cost; it's the payoff.

Accommodations

The driving position is moderately high, and thus affords good visibility. Room is good up front, just okay in back. A Subaru Legacy is tighter back there, but other Japanese midsize sedans are roomier.

The last time I reviewed the Mazda6 it was based on an extended trip in a rental. The seats, which I'd never liked the appearance of, simply killed my lower back. The seats have been revised for 2006. The changes improve their appearance and might slightly improve lateral support, but said support could be better still given the performance capabilities of this sedan and the seatback's shape seems unchanged. I'd try to drive one for as many miles as possible before buying one. Maybe get a regular Mazda6 from Hertz--it uses the same seats.

Because lateral support in these supposed "sport seats" is marginal, I found the highly textured cloth in the second car preferable to the somewhat slippery leather in the first.

Trunk volume is down a few cubes in the MazdaSpeed, to 12 from 15, because of the need to squeeze a rear differential beneath the floor. This is below the midsize average, but about par for a compact. A larger issue is that reinforcing the body required that the rear seat no longer fold to extend the trunk. For the record, the seat doesn't fold in the Subaru, either, but that car at least includes a passthrough for skis and such. The MazdaSpeed doesn't even include this feature, so the skis will have to go on the roof.

Styling

Though I don't care to admit it, how a car looks can affect how much I enjoy driving it. And the MazdaSpeed took quite a few hits in this area.

Some aspects of the exterior styling are simply unattractive. A bump in the hood to clear the intercooler adds some extraneous creases to the hood. And the enlarged lower grille opening, though similar in shape to that of the RX-8, looks out of proportion and downright out of place beneath the smaller upper grille on this front end. Seems someone wasn't paying attention when everyone looked away from the similarly mis-styled mid-1990s Maxima in disgust.

Still, the major issue with the Speed's styling isn't that it's ugly, but that it's barely there. The regular Mazda6, though never as striking as a Nissan Altima, has a restrained sportiness to it. MazdaSpeed's appearance changes, though intended to make the car look sportier, take it in the other direction. The regular Mazda6's thin bodyside moldings are gone, and the regular car;s scalloped side skirts and front air dam are tossed in favor of shearer, blockier bits. They've even added small strips of cladding to the lower doors. Finally, tasteful five-spoke wheels have been replaced by busily-styled 15-spoke wheels. Add the changes up, and the MazdaSpeed6 looks at once bulkier and homelier than the regular Mazda6. Any edginess the regular car possesses has been successfully extracted.

The MazdaSpeed6 would have looked better and more distinctive if it had been based on the hatch or wagon. Though also somewhat bland, these would at least lack the sedan's utterly innocuous rear roofline. However, MazdaSpeed clearly put a high priority on structural stiffness, and the other bodystyles just aren't going to be as stiff as a sedan. Especially not when the folding rear seat has been deleted from the latter.

Inside the issue is much the same--though the styling is clean, there's just nothing special to look at. The door panels in particular need to be upgraded to play in this price range. Shallow fingerholds for door pulls and an overly narrow, insufficiently padded armrest just don't cut it.

For 2006 Mazda has substituted faux carbon fiber for the faux aluminum finish (that was hot five years ago) on the center stack and console. While faux carbon fiber is the new trend--you'll also find it inside the 2006 Accord EX V6, among others--it yields a darker interior. Strips of chrome that race down the sides of the center stack onto the sides of the console help, but the overall ambiance is still dour. A high-contrast white-and-black interior is a no-cost option on the Grand Touring trim, but...no. Some people like this interior, but I find it almost tacky. Maybe even more than almost.

The 2006 trimplates have one odd consequence. With a single trimplate running from top to bottom, the center stack used to have a very clean appearance. This year, though, the audio head unit has its own, piano black faceplate. A step backward, this breaks up the aesthetic flow of the center stack and cheapens the appearance of the instrument panel. I just don't get it.

MazdaSpeed6 Price Comparisons and Pricing

Mazda has yet to offer rebates on this car. Don't worry, with inventories rising they're coming. (Update: They've now arrived.) Right now the MazdaSpeed costs nearly $6,000 more than the regular Mazda6, and adjusting for the former's additional equipment--most notably all-wheel-drive, xenon headlights, and stability control--only cuts this in half. The regular 6's $2,500 in incentives accounts for nearly all of this remaining difference.

Compared to the regular Legacy GT, which has a $1,000 rebate, the MazdaSpeed6 is about $2,000 more expensive, though adjusting for feature differences (the Subaru lacks xenons and stability control) cuts this disadvantage to about $800. Not a large gap.

Given the powerful engine and all-wheel drivetrain, the MazdaSpeed's price seems just a bit high. Even a $1,000 rebate would bring it well within reason.

Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, www.truedelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)

TrueDelta's page for the Mazda6 and MazdaSpeed6:

http://www.truedelta.com/models/Mazda6.php

Last Words

While I'd appreciate more agile handling, the overall performance of the MazdaSpeed6 is very good. It's quick, it leans very little in hard turns, and feels much more solid than the regular Mazda6. I didn't have the same issues with ride quality, noise levels, and overall refinement that the magazines have had.

Instead, I was more disappointed with the appearance and driving feel of the car. Both lack character. And since the car neither looks nor feels special, I just couldn't get excited about it. For reasons I cannot quite put my finger on, though aesthetics certainly play a role, I'm much more attracted to the Legacy GT.

On the other hand, those more focused on stats and capability and less concerned with aesthetics will find much to like. Even without rebates the price isn't bad, and even a small incentive will make it quite reasonable. So, for these people, I recommend the car.

A Note on Mazda MazdaSpeed6 Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.

Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a Speed6 rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in Mazda MazdaSpeed6 reliability comparisons.

Before I can report results, I need data on all cars--not just the Speed6--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. For non-participants, this access will cost $24.95.

For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.

A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.

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Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
Acura TL review
Acura TSX review
Audi A4 2.0T review
BMW 3-Series review
Infiniti G35 review
Saab 9-3 review
Subaru Legacy GT review
VW Jetta GLI review
Volvo S60 R review