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Mazda6 Hatchback

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Comments

  • johnclineiijohnclineii Member Posts: 2,287
    Yeah, something is coming up the end of next month that may keep me from buying a Mazda6 hatch or wagon, as I had been considering.

    260 horsepower, nearly 300 pounds of torque, auto locks, satellite radio, slightly larger inside, and available in a month or so, not a year or so.

    I am seriously considering a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP with the new competition group. Had a 98 GTP and loved it...we will see. No Sirius and no hatch or wagon may mean no sale for Mazda to me, yet again. We will just have to see.
  • mazda6smazda6s Member Posts: 1,901
    You're really a guy just pretending to be a woman, right?

    How could a woman want exactly what I want in a car? Oh no, wait a minute, maybe I'm really a woman!
  • civicwcivicw Member Posts: 135
    I'm speculating that Mazda will formally intro the hatch and the wagon at the NY Auto Show in April, with availability to start in early summer. Although lately the rumors are about Nov/Dec availability, I believe that Mazda won't delay the hatch beyond the peak summer selling season. Looking forward to getting an i-hatch in Sepang Green.
  • mazdamarlamazdamarla Member Posts: 350
    Here's the Important Stuff from the reply I received last night (from Staci Brock, Specialist, Customer Assistance E-Business)(bolding mine for emphasis):

    "...I am pleased that you took the time to bring your suggestions regarding the 2003 MAZDA6 to our attention. Consumer feedback is very important to Mazda. Certainly, we want to offer exciting vehicles, and comments such as yours help us to achieve that goal.

    Please check our website www.mazdausa.com towards the end of the month. Certain packages and combinations may change and can be ordered for March production. I know that the moonroof will be offered on the MAZDA6s manual transmission as a stand alone feature. In addition, the most recent information I can tell you about the hatchback, is that it will be available the first quarter of 2004. This is subject to change as the vehicle gets closer to production.

    Your suggestions have been documented for our corporate record. These records are continuously being reviewed by our Product Planning Department in an effort to provide only the highest quality products and services to our customers."

    Here are the things I specifically asked about in my email to them:

    I really really wish that there were more flexible Package/Options choices when configuring a new Mazda6.

    1. Why can I not get the Moonroof WITHOUT the Leather/Heated Seats? I want the moonroof, but not necessarily the leather.

    2. If I did want leather, I wish there were more color options. For instance, if I wanted the Steel Gray color car, I'd have to get Black
    leather. Why not a choice of Black, Grey, or Beige? Any of those colors would look good. I don't care for Black. Yech.

    3. Make the ground effects optional. I like the look of the Spoiler and Moonroof, but not necessarily the side sills and ground effects on the car. I am NOT a 17-year-old boy trying to pick up chicks. I'm a 35-year-old woman who wants a 4-door car in a sporty style that is pleasing to the eye and fun to drive.

    Please don't make me pick and choose options in the aftermarket or dealer-installed. This will just make me spend more money in the long run because I can't get exactly what I want directly from Mazda. When my husband ordered a new truck a couple years ago from GM he was able to pick every option individually and get exactly what he wanted. That is the experience I would like to get from Mazda.

    Also - please release the Hatchback version sooner rather than later. I am waiting for the Hatch so I can compare it to the sedan side-by-side before making my final decision. I know a lot of other people are doing the same thing. And a lot of people will not wait a whole year before buying a new car - they'll just go to Honda or Toyota or Nissan and get something because they have it NOW. Or their taste will change and they'll fancy another car by the time the Hatch is released.

    Now, mazda6, would a guy really use the term "Yech" in an email to Mazda? ;)
  • mazda6smazda6s Member Posts: 1,901
    Good point. OK, you convinced me. And, it's a big relief to know that I'm probably not a woman. That was a close one, as I was thinking of going to get my nails done today! :)

    For everyone interested in the hatchback, it's important to realize that what we have heard about hatch availability December and then "first quarter of 2004" isn't all that different. After all, January is first quarter 2004. We should remember that the 6 sedan was due in December and we saw it on dealer lots in November.

    Has anyone noticed that fully-loaded 6s-AT models (MSRP $25-26K) seem to sit unsold on dealer lots? Hopefully Mazda will get a hint from this.
  • badtranny999badtranny999 Member Posts: 27
    Mazdamarla, regardless of your gender, your email to Mazda re: the hatchback delay was eloquent and perfectly consistent with my feelings. I believe the 6 hatchback is already available in Europe--so why do we have to wait a whole year?? It's silly and I'm already looking elsewhere. I'm now seriously eyeing the Honda Accord 4cyl coupe. Sure, it ain't a h-back, but I'd rather get the Accord than the 6, assuming no hatchback is available. Mazda is missing a huge opportunity here. There is a huge pent-up demand for hatchbacks; from dog owners, to anti-SUVers, to Saab-castaways who have been crying in their Mueslix ever since Saab dumped its hatches--we want the hatchback NOW!!
  • mazdamarlamazdamarla Member Posts: 350
    From the special AUTO SHOW PREVIEW section in the Sunday, January 26 Grand Rapids Press (bolding mine):

    The mid-sized Mazda6 sedan/wagon/hatchback, replacements for the long-standing 626 and Millenia, will be available beginning later in the year in three separate versions: four-door sedan (first to arrive); five-door hatchback (spring); and five-door wagon (about a year away). The new "6" is noticeably larger and more aggressive looking than the outgoing 626, while the use of front and rear double-wishbone suspensions is designed to provide a sporty posture. Once inside, you'll find titanium trim and chrome accents surrounding the dials and gauges. Wagon and hatchback will arrive with a 60/40 split rear seat back that will fold to leave a completely flat loading floor. A 160-horsepower four-cylinder and a 220-horsepower 3.0-liter V6 will provide forward motivation.

    This was written by a Jason Stein from WHEELBASE COMMUNICATIONS. It is in preparation for the Michigan International Auto Show to be held in Grand Rapids January 30-February 2 at the Grand Center.

    Hmmmmmmm....wonder how accurate his info is? Hopefully VERY - then I won't have to wait a year for the hatchback!!
  • mazdamarlamazdamarla Member Posts: 350
    jstein@wheelbasecom.com

    Asked him Can you tell me how accurate this information is? Everything I've seen or heard so far about the Hatchback is either Fall or Winter release in the States - about a year from now.

    I'll report back if/when he responds.
  • badtranny999badtranny999 Member Posts: 27
    Please be Spring!! Please be Spring!!
  • orangelebaronorangelebaron Member Posts: 435
    Yes... if it came down to it and had to make a decision right now... I would get the Accord sedan... if I could not get the Mazda 6 hatch. At least the side mirrors fold on the Accord. I want a hatch or sporty affordable wagon... and car companies keep bombarding us with either sedans or gas guzzling SUV's.
    I've looked at every available hatch, wagon, small SUV and there are enough things about each one that I don't like to keep me from buying. Ask me and I will tell you! Hopefully the Mazda 6 hatch will be perfect!
  • sdattasdatta Member Posts: 24
    Nissan, Honda, and Toyota don't offer hatchbacks or wagons any more (I wonder why?). They know that most people who want one of these versions rather than a sadan will wait for it.
  • vjoe_udovjoe_udo Member Posts: 30
    Does anyone know how the cargo area compare to the
    protege5? It seems the hatch will cost only a little more than the pro5.
  • kenokakenoka Member Posts: 218
    The cargo area of the "trunk" of the hatch is 14.8 cu.ft. That is .2cu.ft. less than the sedan. Obviously much larger with the karakuri seats folded down.
  • mazda6smazda6s Member Posts: 1,901
    I just spoke to somebody Mazda NA Operations about availability of the hatchback. They're still saying "1st quarter 2004".
  • vjoe_udovjoe_udo Member Posts: 30
    I was comparing the Protege hatchback to the 6 hatchback. I looked around on the Mazda australia and canada site and found that they are about he same.
  • badtranny999badtranny999 Member Posts: 27
    Yeah, sure, i'm gonna wait a whole year for the 6 hatchback. That's ludicrous. If I don't see the h-back by summer 2003, I'm buying Honda.......Mazda better wake up. The 6 sedan isn't selling as hoped. A h-back could really spike up sales.
  • mazda6smazda6s Member Posts: 1,901
    When is the Accord hatchback coming out?
  • boxfanboxfan Member Posts: 180
    Honda could probably decide today to come out with a US Accord hatchback, design it and put it into production, and have it in showrooms before Mazda even establishes a firm date of when they'll start selling the 6 hatchback here.

    Can you tell I'm getting annoyed at the wait?
  • mazda6smazda6s Member Posts: 1,901
    I'd love to have the hatchback, but I don't think I want to wait a year for it. Actually, there have been maybe only 3 or 4 times in the last 17 years of owning sedans that I really wished I had a hatchback. The hatch does look pretty cool, though.
  • orangelebaronorangelebaron Member Posts: 435
    A hatch is a lot more versatile than a sedan can ever be...
    regardless if the sedan has a folding rear seat.
    It's just so much easier to put big stuff in a hatch.
    I don't know why Mazda doesn't just ship some of the 6 hatches made for Europe over here. There really wouldn't be that many changes to be made. The steering wheel is on the same side. Plus we would get Euro spec vehicles that include more goodies like real rear seat head restraints, foldaway mirrors, repeat turn signals, etc. Maybe they would only have to change the emissions controls?
  • johnclineiijohnclineii Member Posts: 2,287
    Actually there are TONS of modifications required, in everything from lighting to emissions to bumpers to even, in some cases, the body of the car itself. Europe and/or Japan, I forget which, has some very strong pedestrian protection regulations (how the front of the car must be made and shaped) that would result in extreme difficulty for some cars that were not designed to meet both US/Canada regs and those of Japan/Europe. I bet the body of the 6 Hatch was so designed, though.

    The biggest problem would be with the US EPA and perhaps its Canadian counterpart.
  • mazdafunmazdafun Member Posts: 2,329
    You could conceivably cram in all the nooks and put in 12.4 cu ft of stuff, with the vanity cover in place.

    That's smaller than the rated volume of the 6 hatch.
  • toolman02toolman02 Member Posts: 59
    Ok, I've read this entire thread, plus most of the 6 thread, and I'm a little confused about the difference between the hatch and sedan. How is the hatch offer more "versatile" compared to the sedan?

    I'm a newbie at cars so if someone could clear this up for me I would appreciate it, esp. after reading about so many people wanting the hatch version. In the hatch, both the back window and "trunk lid" open up, whereas on the sedan just the trunk lid opens. Is that the difference? So it's easier to fit large objects?
  • mazdafunmazdafun Member Posts: 2,329
    Try fitting a new TV (19in or larger) in its carton through most trunk openings. It won't happen.
  • kenokakenoka Member Posts: 218
    The hatch is more versatile because of the large opening toolman02. The listed cargo capacities of the hatch and sedan are 14.8 and 15.0 cubic feet respectively. Now let's say you buy a 25" TV. You take your snazzy new 6 sedan to pick it up. Uh oh. Now you have to unbox it in the parking lot and balance it on your front seat. Now replay the same scenario with a hatch: You open the hatch, remove the vanity cover, and pull the lever to flip down the karakuri seats. Then you slide the TV in (box and all) and zoom home to try your new toy.

    Basically, by creating the hatch opening, they remove a small stabilizer bar behind the rear seats. This creates a huge opening and space when you fold down the seats, allowing you to cram unbelievable amounts of stuff. Fold down the seats on the sedan, and you still have that bar and the top of the trunk to contend with, limiting the size of objects you can load.
  • revkarevka Member Posts: 1,750
    Good explanations! To toolman02 - For more on this subject, check out these discussions: How much stuff can your Hatchback Hold? and What you like about Hatchbacks?

    Happy motoring!

    Revka
    Hatchbacks & Wagons Host
  • toolman02toolman02 Member Posts: 59
    Thanks for the explanation! That cleared up a lot. I guess either one would be a good choice... maybe by the time the hatchbacks hit the US market I can finally get a sedan with the options I want.
  • toneetouchtoneetouch Member Posts: 60
    any clue on what impact that would have on the driving dynamics or overall "stiffness" of the hatch?
  • mazdafunmazdafun Member Posts: 2,329
    Probably not much as they likely stiffened the hatch opening with more sheetmetal.

    They did the same with the Protege/P5. The P5 is shorter but heavier. It's all in the additional sheetmetal used to reinforce the rear chassis to make up for removing the rear parcel shelf/strut brace that was built into the sedan.

    But that's only conjecture on my part. Anyone with inside info willing to divulge the details? If not, then wait and compare them side-by-side.
  • dinu01dinu01 Member Posts: 2,586
    Why would you want to remove it?

    It helps when cornering by planting the car on the road instead on the car leaning sideways on turns...

    Dinu
  • mazdafunmazdafun Member Posts: 2,329
    The hatchback lacks the rear parcel shelf/rear strut support that's part of the sedan's chassis.
  • mazdamarlamazdamarla Member Posts: 350
    on another Mazda6 board I post on, a user said a dealer he'd contacted before called him to say he'd been told by a regional HQ or something that the Hatch was to be released here in States in mid-April. This year. 2003. :D

    Don't know how accurate this is, but I sure HOPE SO!!!!
  • mazdamarlamazdamarla Member Posts: 350
    I sent an email to Mazda, and unless their customer service/email people don't know what's going on, here is their response:

    In regards to your e-mail, production for the MAZDA6 hatchback and
    wagon versions begins in the first quarter of 2004.

    We appreciate your interest in the MAZDA6. Zoom-Zoom!
  • mazdamarlamazdamarla Member Posts: 350
    Do you think it would make ANY DIFFERENCE WHATSOEVER if we all just inundated Mazda with requests/demands for the Hatchback in North America sooner than their scheduled Dec03/Jan04 release?? Flood them with emails and telephone calls? Talk to our local dealers and have them pass the message on to their regional/district headquarters? Maybe if it is made clear that the "want" and "demand" is there, they'll change their plans and release it in the summer 04? And if it's made clear that lots of people aren't going to buy until the Hatch IS here, so why not do it sooner?

    musa@mazdausa.com

    Or is it just a moot point and Mazda will do it when they darn well plan to do it and that's that?
  • johnclineiijohnclineii Member Posts: 2,287
    As I posted under the Mazda6 topic, car launches are intricate and messy, and require tons of planning and implementation. I can't imagine that they could move it any earlier. If they could have, don't you think they already would have?

    As for me, I am waiting for Sirius to be factory equipment, and will probably buy a hatch if little more time remains at the time that happens!
  • mazdamarlamazdamarla Member Posts: 350
    If they could have, don't you think they already would have?

    I don't know, that's why I was wondering. :) Maybe Mazda was just trying to see how the response was to one version of the car before committing to the other 2 versions also... If they knew the response to the upcoming Hatch was as positive as it seems to be, maybe they'd move up that production?

    I have no idea of the process of launch a car goes. But the Hatch does not seem all that different except for the "hatch" as opposed to the trunk, and the rear window stuff. It's not like they'd have to start from scratch, it seems.

    Hey - it's worth a shot! :)
  • mazdafunmazdafun Member Posts: 2,329
    They eventually changed the options on the Protege/P5 due to that kind of feedback.

    Basically, they decoupled the ABS/SAB option from the power moonroof option.

    It works, if there's enough of it. It's another form of market research, after all.
  • orangelebaronorangelebaron Member Posts: 435
    and tell them you want foldaway mirrors and better rear head rests too!
  • mazdamarlamazdamarla Member Posts: 350
    If you do, can you tell me if the Hatchback has more road noise, rattling, etc. than the Sedan? A lot? Minimal?

    Thanks. :)
  • greenicegreenice Member Posts: 41
    I cannot say for the 6, but in general Hatchbacks tend to have a *little* higher noise coming from the back. When I lived in Germany I owned a 98 626 hatchback (loved it!). I am now in the US
    and have a 98 626 Sedan (anxiouly awaiting the 6 hatchback). The hatchback had a little more rattling coming from - surprise - the big hatch.
    Noticeable but nothing to worry about, I would say.
  • dmundy1dmundy1 Member Posts: 37
    The 6 Hatch and Wagon are both on display at the Canadian Intl Auto Show in Toronto. They are both right hand drive models and list the Canadian arrival dates as Feb 04 (Hatchback) and March 04 (Wagon)
  • lapis_bluelapis_blue Member Posts: 23
    Having seen both the Mazda 6 Sedan and Hatchback in person, i would have to say that the sedan is a much better looking vehicle. For starters, the hatch's [non-permissible content removed] just sticks too far up in the air, and the rear windshield wiper detracts from the 6's sporting character.
  • boxfanboxfan Member Posts: 180
    You are so wrong!

    I'm kidding, I'm kidding, it's just personal taste. I haven't seen the hatchback in person, but I think it looks better in the pictures than the sedan. It looks better balanced in profile. I 'm probably biased, because I think the sedan is a really useless style of car, and I don't see why anyone likes them. And I think rear windshield wipers are really useful, so I like seeing it there. Again, it's just personal opinion, and most North Americans would obviously agree with you, judging from the fact that the ratio of sedans to hatchbacks is about 10 million to 1 here.
  • dinu01dinu01 Member Posts: 2,586
    A model imported from Japan - right hand drive. It even had a sticker in Japanese of the rear window.

    As far as the rear wiper goes, I still don't understand why sedans don't have them - it really is a useful feature.

    I think it's gorgeous and way more useful than a sedan. If it will retail for just a bit more than the sedan, say $1-2K more, it really is a no brainer.

    Dinu
  • bpwpr5bpwpr5 Member Posts: 9
    The Feb 04 lauch for the 6 hatch seems right. The Mazda corporate I saw at the Nashville auto show put it this way:

    3 sedan/hatch: Nov/Dec 03
    6 hatch/wagon: spring 04

    So I would agree with the info mazdamarla got from Mazda. The cars are not big secrets, as they are already sold all over the world (FYI--go to the Australia or NZ sites for more pics, etc, and it's in English!). The thing is, I suspect, doing the conversion to left-drive for us Yanks. Can't wait tho--the hatch will be the best of the three.

    Also heard the 6 has a lease special now--$299/36 mo? Anyone confirm?
  • toneetouchtoneetouch Member Posts: 60
    that launch date is really disappointing. although i think the 6 sedan is a great car, the only thing that was keeping me from choosing between the new 9-3 or the upcoming TSX was the functionality of a hatch in a reliable, sporty sedan (having owned a protege, i have faith in mazdas, even new ones). unfortunately, i don't have the patience to wait a whole year.

    i hope i won't be green with envy when i start seeing 6 hatches in spring 2004...
  • carguy58carguy58 Member Posts: 2,303
    I wouldn't be impatient waiting for this hatchback. Mazda has so much new product coming out its just unbelievable. I mean the 6 just came out. Now the 3 is supposed to be coming out later this year. I'm not sure about the RX-8's release date. Than you have the 6 hatchback. I see more Pro 5's around now. I saw a red one yesterday. The P5 wasn't big at first but now I see some around.
  • mazdafunmazdafun Member Posts: 2,329
    They do have a lot of new stuff coming out all at once. Don't forget they just intro'd the Mazda2/Demio.
  • carguy58carguy58 Member Posts: 2,303
    Is that coming out in the States?
  • boxfanboxfan Member Posts: 180
    I see a lot of Protege5's around, too (or at least it seems like a lot, because I notice them), and I've also started seeing a number of Elantra GTs. The Elantra has more of the classic hatchback look (ie like a shrunken 9-3).

    toneetouch--If I were in a hurry and didn't want to wait for the 6 hatchback, those are the other two cars I would be looking at. Mazda is definitely losing a few buyers by not having the hatchback and wagon out now. Maybe it's not a huge number of people, but I have to wonder.
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