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Comments
Let's try to keep this conversation mostly focused on the 6 and take extended comparisons over there, okay?
Thanks.
But, Pat has a point, so I'll delete the rest of this post...
6 vs. Accord and 6 vs. Altima conversations are already underway there. Anyone is free to start up any other appropriate comparisons.
Definitely a must for all looking to buy this type of driver....
Thanks, Jack
I would rather drive something that has more horses.
However, I would expect the WRX to do better, given the same tires on both cars, just not that much different.
TB
Who makes his 87 LeSabre do 70+ on exit ramps with a recommended 40, with the right wheels and tires.
Very nice, but they could have used the Protege version of the "Zoom-Zoom" song - the one played was too slow for the image the 6 needs to portray.
Dinu
The other one was cooler. A tachometer (no doubt with the red Sport Pkg. lighting) revving over and over again, with an engine noise in the backround. The tach needle then stopped on the 6 mark, and they showed the name of the car.
These were the debut commercials here I think, because they both said "coming soon". I haven't seen any commercials for the 6 since its introduction, but I also have been too busy with the holidays and work to watch much television.
and of course they have that annoying little kid whispering 'zoom zoom' in the commercial as well...
Build date is currently sometime during the first week of February.
Simply put, it's an every-option S model with A/T in Speed Yellow. Can't wait.
And I would much rather go WOT (or as close to it as possible) on a regular basis on public roads versus cornering at levels that would be enjoyable, and in fact I do. Lot less things can go wrong in a straight line versus in a curve.
Getting back to the topic. Checked out a 6 in person over the weekend. Nice car, like the fact the A pillars aren't in your face like the new Accord. Nice low cowl and it felt well put together. Like the seating position and view from the Protege5 a bit better though, there was one sitting right beside it in the showroom.
-B
-B
Beanboy, where do we send flowers when you lose control and hit a tree? Which reminds me,why is it when people lose control they always hit trees? You hear about it all the time on the news. Isn't there enough open space to go between trees?
fowler3
On a different point, am I the only one who thinks the WRX is an ugly little car? Forget the way it drives for a minute- what about the way it looks?
PS - when someone loses control and doesn't hit anything, nobody gets hurt or dead and therefore it is not newsworthy. It happens a lot more often than people hitting trees.
As for straight lines, anyone can stomp the loud pedal and hold a wheel straight. After about the third time above 100 mph, it got boring for me, so I started looking for turns. Then it got fun and stayed that way.
And PLENTY can go wrong at high-speeds in a straight line. Don't kid yourself thinking that it's "safer". That's not the least bit true.
Accelleration on the other hand...
TB
Bigger rear bar on his SVT Contour
3 wheel motion boyyyyy! :-D
And where can I get a big, far rear bar for my car? Hey, I'm a poet and don't know it.
very fun to watch
you get 2 tires pulling the car instead of 1.5 when the inside front tire gets less weight
Also the brochure had 1 fuzzy picture of a 6 without the gfx package which I find tacky for my advanced age of 34.(the lip spoiler is as far as I want to go) Guess I'll have to wait for it to arrive in the showroom. If Mazda are pinning their sales hopes on the boy racer segment for their midsize sedans (remember it is a 4 door sedan) then they are in big trouble because there are a lot cheaper cars that demographic will go for like a Protege).
While I'm here one last question is there a difference between 215\55R16 or R17 (assuming both H-rated) in the snow? My buddy has a 2000 Maxima with 215\55HR16 and he says they are fine in winter. I'm also looking at an 3.5 Altima and they have 215\55H\r17.
yes
"having major problems with the 50's in winter?"
no - well, at least not I
Read and interpret at your own risk:
I live in the Colorado front range. My '02 Protege's 195/50R16 Dunlop SP5000s aren't great in the snow, but aren't terrible either. Common sense driving has taken care of it thus far (knock on wood).
The interior: The doors close firmly and with little fuss. They're far too light though and the door lacks detents to keep it in place when open. The dash, door materials felt good everywhere except for the goofy plastic covering the auto-climate control/cd player/radio controls. The cupholder had a nice opening function but cupholders are useless to me so that doesn't really make or break a car. The middle console box's two-tiered Nissan-style design worked nicely. I'm baffled by the assertion that the hole in the top tier is for one to run a power cord up for a cell phone. Why is it on the opposite side of the outlet's position then? Weird.
All switchgear worked smoothly and felt much better than any mazda before it. It's still not at VW levels but it's a far cry from the garbage in the altima. and the central command center atop the dashboard is screaming for problems later on. Not a design I like. Keep all my readouts seperate please and let me change out the stereo without removing the whole dash! On the bright side at least Mazda made the steering wheel tilt and telescoping.
The steering wheel felt fine, if a little cold and thin. The steering wheel controls all worked with little effort but I'm not fond of their placement...I like them below the hub.
The plastic covered shift knob is a bit cringe inducing. Um, either use metal or don't but please spare us the aluminum-like plastics.
Another annoying bit about the interior controls. The driver's window has auto-down. That's it. No auto-up and nothing for the other windows. Maybe I'm used to VW but I do not want to take my hand off the wheel for more than a split second to lower or raise the windows.
The leather felt quite nice. Far better than any Mazda in a long while - and much better than the vinyl stuff in the altima. All the seat controls moved me to and fro with ease.
Once on the glowing gauges were nice, if not a little bit wasteful. I don't see why they have lit ones if the cluster isn't electro-luminescent. At least the red looks good.
A turn of the key brings to life Ford's 220 hp powerplant. It's a bit beefier than the Tribute's but not so much that one would really notice without revving it hard. Around town it seemed quiet and when press the engine growled some. It's not a very exciting engine and it does little to compliment that car's exceptional (for this class) interior. Once on the move the engine doesn't exhibit the kind of power a car needs today for my tastes but it will be more than enough for the people who consider 70 on the freeway speeding.
The clutch and five speed are downright horrible. The clutch offers very little feedback and the shifter's vague to a degree I haven't felt since I suffered through the CTS. Shifts are not sharp and sure but rather slow and filled with guessing. It's totally unlike Mazda's sublime Miata tranny. What a shame.
Around town driving felt fine. The indie-suspension and 17s soaked up road irregularities nicely and the sound wasn't too loud coming from the tires and suspension. The steering, unfortunately, felt nothing like Mazda's sporty zoom-zoom quality that one gets in a Miata. Slow to respond, the car when pushed eventually follows the path directed, with quite a bit of understeer. The 6 takes so long to act on inputs that it made me wonder a few times if entering a corner at 75 would get me into the bushes. The lean of the car on fast corners also made the ride a bit unnerving. It may be better than a Camry by leaps and better than a Passat by a bit but Mazda should shut the heck up about benchmarking a 3 series, cause it ain't even in the same stratosphere.
Furthermore, the 6 must not have speed sensitive steering or it's overboosted because the steering wheel felt much too light at 70+. Again, perhaps I'm used to German designs but above 60 I want the wheel tight, requiring some muscle to wrench the car one way or the other. On the 6 the sloppy wheel could be flung back and forth but because the reaction times were so slow, the car would never follow through on my physical commands. I'd hate to attempt an emergency maneuver in this car.
Brake feel was okay but in mazda's usual fashion it didn't inspire confidence or make me feel as if the vehicle would rip my teeth out with a hard stop.
All in all it's a pretty package (lose the cheesey spoiler and lame side sills), the interior's pretty great and the engine's got a nice enough amount of power. Easily the most refined and sporting Mazda in a long while. But the car's not really that much fun, the clutch/5 speed can only be termed vague and weak and the car's steering/handling isn't nearly at the level of the altima or the supposed banchmark 3 series.
They sure can, but I wasn't talking about high speed runs on the highway.
My comments are in response to the
"How often do you get the chance to take advantage of a car that hugs curves, of a car that gives you superb control, versus a car that can take off like a bat out of hades? Unless you're 16 (chronologically or mentally), you're probably not flooring the car on a daily basis." comments that appear from time-to-time on internet forums.
My response is that one can certainly take more advantage of the acceleration ability of a vehicle versus its curve hugging ability on a daily basis.
Much less can go wrong when you are trying to get maximum acceleration to go from 0-legal speed from a stoplight, or passing somebody with the pedal to the floor, or entering the highway and flooring it as you merge versus taking the off-ramp near the edge of limit.
Getting back on topic, it seems as if the Mazda6 will have the ability to apply G forces equally well in all directions for what it is, a trait that I think most driving enthusiasts agree on.
-B
I got Avid Touring tires in 195/60/15 in August and they are better in wet/snow, but if I had to do it all over again, I would shell some $200 more for X-Ones. I don't regret getting them as they were really cheap.
Call Tire Depot (Yonge, north of Steeles, make a right, they're on Doncaster Ave) at 905-882-8473 and get some quotes... They have decent prices, better than Green and Ross or the like.
As for the spoiler and body kit, I like the pics with it - but I'm 22 so I think that has something to do with it, although I don't like those "supped-down Civics"
Dinu
I'm sorry but it's just not true!!!!!
I'm sorry but it's just not true!!!!!
You mean subjectively it's not true to you. For my driving style the altima's leaps better for handling (and for acceleration). Of course the 6 is better in terms of fit and finish, style, interior comfort/features and the 6's clutch/5 speed is much better than nissan's.
BTW, one more thing..where the blazes are the Xenon lights on the 6? That's a $500 option that's well worth it.
Put the altima engine and suspension in a 6 and you'd have a pretty darn nice FWD sports sedan.
Wouldn;t it be better to get a set of aftermarket foglights?
Dinu
sounds like almost an undrivable piece of crap or something...
damn, I almost thought you're talking about the Taurus or something
From the brochure IMO the dark grey looks really sleek. Us older guys like more neutral colours. Geez I don't even like sun roofs anymore, must have something to do with getting sunburn on my thinning scalp. Sad isn't it, and to think 12 years ago I bought a fire red MX6 and the colour now makes me wince. How the mighty have fallen. I'm surprised I'm not shopping for a Accord or Camry.(Yuck)
Anywhere I can get detials?
Makes me wonder what the heck I'm thinking trading in a perfectly good BMW 3 series on a woefully inadequate Mazda.
I think you have mistaken the 626 for a 6. Please feel free to go back to the dealership and correct your mistakes. ;-)
Sarcasm aside, Mazda HAS developed a car that CAN be said in the same breath as "Bimmer". My opinion is that the 6 and my 323 would post similar lap times and carry virtually identical amenities.
Hopefully the 6 will require far fewer trips to the service department than my bavarian princess did.