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and in the new car and driver it shows off the 2005 mazdaspeed a-spec 6 with a turbo charge 2.3 pushing out a mind blowing 280hp hatch and wagon but for japan only shown at the Tokyo Auto Salon '04.
http://www.atenza.mazda.co.jp/sport/color.html
http://www.mazda-madness.nl/nieuws/nieuws58.htm
Thanks - Damon
I also wish a sunroof was a stand alone option, takes away too much headroom.
My prefered 6 is the wagon, (which now is only available with a V-6 that gets worse mileage than a much larger Toyota minivan) but I want the 4-cyl manual tranny.
To me the whole point of a wagon over a minivan is to be more fun to drive and efficient. With the 4-cyl you can have both.
But I would never post such a statement here because it might be personally offensive to another member . . .
Lol, you just did post such a statement. I think dudley was responding to a post that called the non-sport 6 plain and ugly.
Regardless, sport or no sport, wagon or sedan, NO Mazda6 screams "Old fashioned elderly grandpa" IMO.
Moonroof required if you opt for the SAC and SAB on the MZ6.
I just looked at the new Maxima and they have options arranged in ladder form. Option package 2 includes package #1 and package #3 includes #1 & #2, etc. NONE OF THEM FORCE YOU TO GET A MOONROOF !!!!! The moonroof is a standalone option; period.!!! SAC and SAB appear to be standard on the SE and SL models. And without a moonroof you get their "Skyview" which is just a one foot wide glass panel running front to rear and it has 2 sunshades inside for front and rear passengers. Real slick and it gives back the headroom. Now that's the way to package the options MAZDA..!! Are you listening?>?
And both the SE and SL are available with 265 HP.. Of course the Maxima is about $4-5K more than the MZ6 at the same option level.
Dilemna... Zoom zoom vs. safety options and headroom.
and 0.7 less headroom can't mean that much can it?
I haven't heard a thing, but lots of stuff goes on at the main site that the hosts don't hear about.
i say good call on Mazda's part.
i say good call on Mazda's part. "
Not really, just the extra weight of the glass and sheetmetal for the wagon back alone wouldn't make too much difference. The trouble comes when people start to fill all that extra space with stuff. And they WILL, why else would they buy the wagon. Once you put a couple people in the car AND 4 or 5 hundred lbs. of luggage, antique furniture, etc.; THEN the car starts to get slow, mostly due to the lack of low end torque in the 2.3l i4. A torquey diesel with horsepower comparable to the 2.3l wouldn't be so bad. But don't expect that in North America any time soon.
The wagon and sedan have about the same weight capacity.
The extra hundred pounds is the equivalent of loosing 4 or 5 hp depending how the car is loaded. Not an issue, unless 5 hp is the difference between a "slow dog" and nicely powered vehicle.
I think 6i MT owners will chime in that the car is plenty powerfull and that they cannot tell the diff in acceleration when their hundred lb kid is in the back seat.
Buggywhip:
I haven't seen a 3 in 2 weeks while I have seen 6's alot more despite the 3 statisically outselling the 6.
I don't like the like 3's styling myself: not for me. Styling is subjective though.
(look for "Renault and Nissan Relationship Strengthens" on roadandtrack.com in more news)
It would rather be very hard for Nissan to do something w/o getting approval from Renault.
"the 3 will affect 6i 4cyl sales"
i agree 100% with that, mazda made a hell of a car with the mazda3 if i want 4cyl hands down it would be a 3 load, and the 3s interior seats leather or cloth blows away the 6 that's sad.
CR rates the Mazda6 #1 in it's safety assesment citing excellent accident avoidance, crash protection, strong brakes, forgiving handling, and good offset-crash results as the reasons.
"People see that on the window sticker, so it's no wonder the 3 is outselling the 6."
That is not why the 3 is outselling the 6. Most people don't give a rip, otherwise the Impreza, Protege, and Lancer would have been the top selling small cars, not the Corolla and Civic.
I went to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Autoshow yesterday. After all of the hype on the Altima's new interior, I was disapointed. People were saying it's ten times better than the Mazda6 and maybe even the Accord......uh...yeah, sure. It's better in that it's an improvement over the old one, I'll give it that.
I like the Mazda3, I just wish they would have used the red tailights for all of the models. As far as the 3 looking better than the 6, it doesn't IMO. The 6 is one of the very few cars that doesn't have a bad looking area of the car at any angle. The only other sedans like that IMO are the first Lexus LS 400, the last BMW 5 series, and the last Audi A4. The back of the 3 isn't ugly, but it isn't perfect like the 6 either.
That about sums it up.
To go further with Mazda's built in America Consumer Reports now reccomends the Tribute. 01 Tribute's have that starting and stalling problems so they don't reccomend them. So I guess the Tribute doesn't drag Mazda reliability rating's down anymore. I have to change my tube on the Tribute because I have knocked the Tribute's quality/reliability before this current edition of Consumer Reports came out.
As for the 3 vs 6 yeah the 3 does have the better interior of the 2 cars I'll say that. When I first saw the 3's interior in a picture the center satack in the 3 reminded me of the one in the Audi A4.
Rock44X: Chevrolet is part of GM. Ford does not include Mazda's sales in their overall sales on any basis. Ford knows to let Mazda do their own thing now.
As for perfect looking sedans the current Passat, 6, and the current TL take the cake. I would also throw the 96-97 Honda Accord in there.
As far as Toyota vs Honda vs Mazda factory in the US I think Honda's and Toyota's factory is better than Mazda's Us factory(Flat Rock) but not by much. How can you base a factory's performance on a bad tranny and a rebadged Ford pick-up? Even the current Camry and Accord had first year bugs.
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The RX8 probably doesn't sell very well in the winter in MA. Seriously, who would buy an RX8 in MA in February? I guess you probably could get a better deal if you bought one then.
When I worked at the Ford dealer, somebody jacked a bunch of airbags from brand new Tauruses. It was winter and there was a surplus of brand new Mustangs. Guess where they got the airbags for the Tauruses?
Just hit 600 miles on mine. Perfect so far. Drives like a dream.
Did the brake-tail light MOD. I like it better with both pods coming on when I hit the brakes.
Also did the throttle body ground MOD. Seems to be a little snappier off the line.
Cheese! Please tell me you were joking on that Volvo thing (Boo Hoo) !!! My curds will never be the same
But look, I love the appearance of the Mazda 6; it was one of the reasons I bought one-- but when one sees another beautiful ride one should acknowlege it generously
1) the dealer said that Mazda6 orders are about 75%/25% 6 vs. 4 cylinder. Why is this the opposite of Accord/Camry ratio?
2) for the type of driving that I do, would you rather have the M3 or 4-cylinder M6?
3) how does M3 quality look vs. M6?
4) is the 4-cyliner M6 powerplant considered a state-of the art engine?
Thank you for your informed answers. Go Mazda!
The Mazda 2.3 liter is in fact "a state of the art" engine incorporating variable valve technology. It's in the same league with the Honda engine, although somewhat less sophisticated. Honda's 4 is better, no doubt.
With a manual transmission the 2.3 is quite lively--above all over 2500-3000 rpm-- when it really blasts off. Plenty of power to enter freeways safely. Another plus is economy (with gasoline at historic highs).
Why 75% of MZ6 sales are V6s? Most Americans nowadays want an engine with as much power as possible. And the car companies are competing with each other in the horsepower derby. IMHO most people don't need or even fully use what they buy.
The 6S is not a monster, just a powerful, refined machine on the hwy.--again above 2500-3000 revs. (Read the set of Edmunds editors' reviews of the car on this site). The 6S is an absolute blast to drive, but of course you pay a penalty in terms of mpg. Some people also report that the 4 cylinder version has marginally better handling characteristics than the 3.0, but I can't vouch for it personally. Go out and compare the 6 in these two versions.
I cannot comment on the automatic versions of these vehicles. I never drove them since I haven't used an automatic for a very long term and prefer a manual.
Then drive the 3 with the 2.3. I have never done so, but I imagine that it will be slightly livelier than the 2.3 MZ6 since it weighs a few hundred pounds less. Others will chime in with firsthand comments on the MZ3.
My advice is to drive the 2.3 MZ6, and test it to see if, in *your* opinion, it's got enough oomph to get you onto a freeway or interstate briskly. I think it does. That was my "litmus test." The 2.3 MT passed it and I decided buy one, but I did also drive the 6 cylinder & enjoyed it immensely. I put over 25k a year on a car, so the price of gasoline was a big factor in my calculations. But your tastes and needs may be different. Just the fruits of my own experience here...
Since the bus strike started here, I have to use my car for the carpool all the time instead of taking turns because I have the biggest car and we have an extra carpooler. The 2.3L handles all 4 people in rush hour traffic just fine.
Now, if I needed an automatic, it’d be whole different story. I probably wouldn’t get a Mazda6 if I needed an automatic.
Actually many would be surprised, but the Mazda/Ford 2.3L is more sophisticated overall than it's given credit for. And in one writter's view, breaks more ground than Audi's 4.2L V8 when rating Ward's 10 Best Engines of 2004.
http://subscribers.wardsauto.com/microsites/Newsarticle.asp?newsa- rticleid=2707165&srid=10088&instanceid=45975&pageid=8- 509&magazineid=1004&siteid=26