Mazda6 Sedan

ashutoshsm

17" wheels ARE available as an add-on accessory from many dealers, including some with online Shopping Carts, for around $120 each. Not too bad a price!

The Appearance Package rocks! I like it more everytime I see it on my car, or any other, but I may be biased. I actually compared it to someone's Sport Package Blue parked close to mine, and the add-on look is definitely *less* subtle. Don't know if I would have got it (or the Sport Package) at all originally, but I like it better now

chikoo

the app pkg really looks great, especially from the rear with the round chrome tips, which is what matters anyways, since most other drivers will be subjected to view that end anyway.....zooom zooom!!!

justin

in my area, DC, add on spoilers, sidesills, coffee-can mufflers, etc, are always on slammed Civics.

i don't want anyone to mistake my nice car for that.

robr2

You never know about that kind of stuff. I saw a BMW 318 Type R No Fear Giant Picnic Basket Handle Wing Special Edition the other day!!

chikoo

u r right.

And the Mz6s will not be mistaken for a souped up car. It looks as if it were REQUIRED to complete the car.

seaf

Filled up my new car for the second time, the first tank from the dealership got about 27mpg avg, and the second one 29mpg with some more hwy cruising about 90% of the time with A/C on intermittently (tires were 32psi). Not too bad. I'm not too aggressive of a driver, I ease off the gas when approaching red lights, and don't follow too closely in traffic...etc (saves on brake wear and dust). I was concerned when I read some of the low mileage some people have posted here before, but I realize that it has a lot to do with driving style, and it's easy to drive the Mazda6 aggressively like a sports car, not that I do, but it's very easy to, even in the 6i AT.

maltb

Everyone knows that 318 will smoke an Enzo. Be fearful.

livaudais

is, of course, in the eye of the beholder. Some say the add-ons are required to complete the 6, others feel that such appendages on a sedan are inherently silly. To each his or her own. At least we can agree that the car itself is a looker.

CL, who owns a non-sport Sepang Green 6s MT w/ beige leather and loves the understated (boring? :-)) look.

fowler3

when I see a sports package 6 on the street I wonder what happened to the NAPA, Budwiser, and Winston signs on it, maybe they blew off? LOL!

That's another reason I like beige, the titanium stack color blends with it. A change in surface texture rather than a high contrast change in color.

There's a dealer here out in the sticks between two metro areas just off 1-40. They sell Lexus, Honda, and BMW. About 10 miles from either city, doesn't seem a problem.

fowler3

metenuzero

Just curious about what other 6s Manual people are getting for gas mileage. Assuming that each mark on the gas gauge represents a quarter of a tank, I average at 280 Miles a tank or 15.5 MPG. I rarely shift above 4000 RPM, and am about 50/50 Highway/City Driving. I'm wondering if the gauge is miscalibrated or if there is a problem. I got those figures by clocking a quarter of a tank at 70 Miles, multiplying it by 4 and dividing that number by 18 (The capacity of the gas tank). Thanks.

ian2

I was pulling out of a parking lot when a guy flew down a curved road. Neither my friend and I saw it coming. All I heard was tire skidding for many seconds. I tried to pull away, but he still caught my rear fender, denting the trunk lining as well. The police said the skid mark was over 84 feet long, but the driver said he was doing 40. Do I have a case if the guy was speeding?

Picture of the damages

anonymousposts

Hate to say it but if you turned out in front of him more than likely the insurance company will say it was your fault. Speeding or not, he had the right of way. Was anyone issued a ticket?

qddave

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Hey, just a word of advice, take a couple pics of the skid marks too. If it ever goes to court, you have some good evidence. Maybe you can take the guy to Judge Judy, I'm sure she'd be on your side! :0

mazdafun

I'd reset the tripmeter at your next fill-up. At subsequent fill-ups, note the number of gallons it took to fill up your tank and the tripmeter reading (reset the tripmeter again afterwards).

I wouldn't go by the fuel gauge. They're not even close to accurate or being linear.

wongpres

The Canadian Mazda6 option packaging has nothing to do with the US ones. The Canadian '04 models are really equivalent to the US '03 ones (the Mazda6 came so late to Canada, the marketers decided to call it an '04).

In fact, the disadvantage is for Canada, because the US '04 changes (e.g. new skirts and possibly NAV), will NOT come to Canada until the '05 model year (so more than a year away). But again, if any US people want Speed Yellow, come to Canada!

microrepair

ian2:

The police should be able to come up with a rough estimate of the other guys speed prior to the collision. Don't assume you will get assigned the blame for this accident. Some years ago, I made a left turn across a city street (divided with a left turn break in the island) after looking and not seeing any vehicles coming. When I was in the middle of the 2 lane road I heard horrendous tire screeching and a horn blaring. Some guy had come around the corner that was about 200 feet away and got me broadside. He had to be doing at least 50 in a 30 zone. At first the Registry of Motor Vehicles was going to assign the blame to me but when I appealed based upon the length of his skid marks and the speed estimtes from the police, they assigned the blame to him.. Sometimes life is fair.! Sometimes.....

metenuzero:
As mazdafun suggested, don't even try to use the gas guage to compute your mpg. Do as mazdafun suggested for 3 or 4 tankfuls and then compute you mpg based upon all tankfuls and total miles traveled. That will get you a fairly accurate number.

microrepair

After looking at the Canadian website, it appears that the Sepang Green will not be available in Canada for the 2004 model year. Will that be true in the US too? Can it be so ???? That is the color I would want if I like the hatchback or wagon coming out in January. Thay are still planning on January for their intro aren't they ??

carguy58

If Mazda dumps that color in the US they would be thinking wrong even though I don't like the green color on the 6. I have seen a few green 6's around. I doubt Mazda would drop the green color in the US though.

chikoo

the sepang green is a very unique and elegant color, especially with the beige interior. In my opinion,

1. a sepang green would look funny(?) with the app pkg.

2. The onyx black can do without the app pkg.

3. All other colors, namely red, blue, yellow and silver look incomplete and docile(let alone elegant) w/o the app pkg.

again, that is me.

Me, who was against all add ons on any street car till date until I saw the MZ6, that is.

carguy58

good like somebody said before must have a spoiler. Car don't look good without it.

I saw a girl driving an silver MZ6 yesterday. The more look at a 6 the better it looks all the time. I probably never own one but definately one of my favorite cars to come out in the last 5-10 years.

justin

yellow and that bright blue are what is going to make the 6 not have the resale value that the Accord has.

those colors scream MODIFY AND RACE ME PLEASE.

i KNEW Mazda would do away with the Sepang Green. car companies always get rid of the classy colors in favor of flashy.

what do we know about this JATCO 5 speed auto? who is JATCO? are they a good manufacturer? anyone forsee problems? what about the Duratec? isn't that a Taurus engine too? not a bad thing, at least it is proven in the real world, right?

robr2

According to this:

http://www.fhi.co.jp/english/news/press/2003/03_01_15_4e.htm

JATCO is a large automatic transmission and CVT manufacturer who maufactures said for car companies around the world.

Perhaps JATCO is an acronym for Japan Automatic Transmission Co.??

newcar31

"good like somebody said before must have a spoiler. Car don't look good without it."

Or the car don't look good WITH it. When I bought my 2001 Protege ES, it came standard with a spoiler and I tried to get the dealer to swap trunk lids with a non-spoiler car but they wouldn't do it because of the third brake light. Good thing you can get a Mazda6 with 4 wheel disk brakes and NO spoiler, unlike the Protege.

robr2

"Or the car don't look good WITH it.

Or the car DOESN'T look good with it.

ashutoshsm

... the car doesn't look good WITHOUT it?



Seriously, if these are the most serious nits we can pick - be happy. I've seen more non-SP cars around here, and seriously think some colors look crappy or at least plain without the spoiler (blue, red, yellow) and some look as elegant (silver, black, titanium). Sepang is a color I thoroughly abhor anyway - so lets not even go there (OK - next flame^H^H^H^H^Htopic of discussion)

newcar31

I used the same grammar as the post I was responding to. I know it wasn't correct.

ashutoshsm

I know it wasn't correct.

So you also admit the 6 looks nicer WITH the spoiler, then? Good.

Next!

newcar31

"So you also admit the 6 looks nicer WITH the spoiler, then?"

No, robr was nitpicking the grammar of my post, not the subject of spoiler or no spoiler.....and if I thought the 6 looked better with the spoiler, I would have purchased one with a spoiler.

This isn't a case of "I don't like the spoiler because I don't have one". I could have bought a car with the spoiler, or just bought the spoiler as an add on, but a spoiler spoils the looks of the 6 IMO.

justin

a spoiler can make something look better perhaps. not arguing that point. i am saying that i do not want to be associated with that stereotype, that is all.

robr2

No I was not picking nits with your grammer - I was taking your criticism of grammer a bit further. Was not intended towards you - I'm anal about grammer.

newcar31

I don't think the 6 looks awful with the spoiler, unlike many other cars (Jettas, BMWs, Audis, etc) it's just that I prefer no spoiler with ANY car except for one....the fox body hatchback Mustangs. Those really don't look right without a spoiler.

seaf

Ian2, sorry to hear about your accident, the length of the skidmarks definitely suggest the other driver was speeding. However, you said you were backing out of a parking lot onto a curved road? By the picture, you were hit from the left, that means you must've backed out across one lane and into the right lane (assuming where the other car was driving). The police or insurance company may use this to put the blame on you.

I wish people would realize speeding is not going to save them time getting from one point to another, they'll just get to the next traffic light quicker and then wait. Plus there are too many things going on beside roads that the faster you go the less time you have to react to something unexpected. I always smirk when I see a car weeving in and out of lanes trying to get to the next stoplight a few seconds earlier, or when they try so hard, only to get stuck behind a slow vehicle ahead and I pass them by in my original lane.

dinu01

I think the M6 is one car where the colour of the car's exterior dictates if it looks best with or without one, all these in my not-so-humble opinion

White: Can go both ways
Black: MUST-have it
Red: Helps a bit
Blue: MUST-have
silver: Can go both ways, although I'd go for the wing on it
Yellow: MUST-have
Sepang: DEFINITELY not!!!
Grey: Can go both ways

Dinu

fowler3

opinionated today! Some like it hot, some like it cold -- either way it's good. That goes for tea and cars.

HOT: With ground effects and spoiler

COLD: Without ground effects and spoiler

Not really cold, just conservative, as the owner wants a more sophisticated car with no "Look at ME!" eye-grabbers.

Even with the Sports special effects, modest as they are, it is obvious the 6 is not intended for racing. May I suggest a NASCAR crash helmet to complete the look? LOL!

Some people would put ground effects and a spoiler on a hearse. What would that say about the undertaker -- "We're the end of the rat race!"

fowler3

dinu01

Sorry to hear about your mishap.

It doesn't look too bad (could have been worse if there was a 1-2 sec difference) and the car is driveable.

Hopefully your insurance Co. will help out.

Good luck!

Dinu

chikoo

u got it right!

except for the black.

Black looks great w/o the spoiler and even better with the spoiler. So given a choice on black, i'll go w/o one.

Silver: trunk looks like a vast expanse of plain ground and certainly needs a spoiler.

All colors need the rear bumper skirt. Mazda should make it mandatory. Without that, it looks like marilyn monroe standing on top of the sewer fan.

fowler3

White: Can go both ways
Black: Sophisticated color not suitable GFX & spoiler
Red: Bright enough, doesn't need it
Blue: Can go either way
Silver: Sophisticated color not suitable for GFX and spoiler
Yellow: Yeah, it might help, it sure needs something
Sepang: DEFINITELY not!!!
Dark Grey:Sophisticated color not suitable for GFX and spoiler

fowler3

ian2

I was pulling out of a parking lot, not backing out. After a further review, the damages seem extensive. The side panel was bent inward, protrusion into the trunk and obviously the bumper is trashed. After 84 feet of braking on a dry road, the guy still did this much damage to my car. It has to be 20mph when he hit me. It could've been worse though.

chikoo

while I am horrified to see ur darling mz6 get damaged, I am unable to grasp how it actually happened.

u were pulling out from a parking lot onto the main road. which side were u going. Left or Right turn after/during pulling out?

from which side did the perp's car come? left or right?

ian2

I was turning left onto a main road when the guy came from the left. He braked, I slammed on the gas but the rear-left end was still hit. To my left the road curves to the left, so I was not able to see all the way down the road, but it's still 2-300 feet. This is what the road looks like on my left.

mazda6s

In some states, a driver loses their right-of-way when they're speeding (I don't know about CA). However, it can be difficult to show that the other driver was speeding, while it's a fact that you pulled out in front of the other car. Since there were no personal injuries and the damage was relatively small, it's probably better just to chalk it up to experience. You could go to court and argue that the other driver was speeding, but without an unbiased witness or some other "proof" that they were really speeding you're probably just wasting your time. From the photo it's easy to see how this collision could happen if the other driver was speeding.

  

dinu01

I noticed the link is from U of Waterloo. Do you study there? Are you American (going by your flag) and did you buy a US or Canadian-spec M6?

Dinu

seaf

That turn does look nasty, I hope there are signs like 'blind driveways' or something similar. I don't know how they could argue the long skid marks though. No way can someone create 84 ft skid marks going 40 mph. They'd have to be burning rubber stepping on the GAS on a high-powered car to do that...but then in that case it's their fault too for driving wrecklessly.

So what kind of vehicle were they driving? was the person a man/woman? how old?

ian2

The 84 feet of skid marks before hitting me has to indicate something, right? Plus, I have $1000 deductibles, not to mention 8 years of spotless record wiped out in an instance. Saving $50 off insurance suddenly cost me $500 more. *sigh*

dinu: I just graduated from UW and moved down to San Diego to work. Nice place, but the drivers here are of a different specie.

mazda6s

You could have something with the 84ft skid marks. Did you get a ticket? If so, you could go to court and plead your case to the judge, maybe he (she) would drop it. That would help with the insurance rates. Were there any witnesses that could testify to the speeding?

You could also get a lawyer to help with the case, but it would probably cost a lot more than the repairs and insurance rate increase.

chikoo

based upon a % of the reward. get hold of one of them. nothing to lose.

ian2

I did not get a ticket and neither did the other driver. The police officer said it was not up to him to determine the speed he was travelling. My friend was in my car with me and he said he didn't see the car coming around the turn either. By the time he saw the car, it was gunning for my side.

chikoo: What's the reward here? My deductibles?

robr2

The M6 tested by Mazda took 183' to stop from 70 mph. I am using that number for reference.

A skidding car will actually take longer to stop than one that is under a threshold braking condition. So that car may have been going at a slower speed than you may think.

Using the M6 again as a reference - it is 15'-6" long. So that other car stopped in about 5.5 M6 lengths.

Not trying to belittle your incident - just shedding a different view on it. I know it's a pain to be involved in an accident. I just got my car back after 7 weeks in the bodyshop and through no fault of mine I'm out almost $1000 out of pocket not counting diminished value.

And a left turn across traffic lanes is a very dangerous situation. An old piece of advice on that type of manuever: look left, right, left as the vehicles from the left come upon you quicker.

Best of luck fixing your car.

mazda6s

Since you didn't get a ticket your insurance may not increase that much. Some insurance companies distinguish between "at fault" accidents and others, based on who got the ticket. Also, if you stay with the same insurance company sometimes they cut you some slack.

ian2

Don't forget the stopping distance increases as the square of the speed. Using the M6 as a reference, if he was going at 40 like he said he was, he would've stopped in 45 feet or so, instead of skidding 84 feet and slamming into the back of my car at 20mph or so.

One thing though, if he had ABS, he would've been able to stay in his own lane, instead of cross over into the other lane and hit me.