I had a chance to spend some time behind the wheel of a new Mazda6 Touring 6M/T this afternoon. Since M/T vehicles are sometimes difficult to locate for a test drive, I lucked out that a good friend recently bought one and was home for the long weekend.
What I took away from my time with one:
1) The car is gorgeous. I find just enough aggressiveness to really draw my eye, but not as "OMG! Look at me!!" as my boy-racer mobile.
2) Room. This car has a lot of it. Engine bay, interior, trunk. I'm so used to an economy-sized vehicle, I sometimes forget how nice it is to have actual usable room, whether it's for long drives without being cramped, to being able to put things in the trunk, to being able to do spark plugs in under 90 minutes.
3) Drivetrain. The clutch is feather light with a low engagement point (compared to my stiff / high engagement clutch). The gearing is also fairly low. The shifter felt good (it's a midsize sedan, not a performance car), but I would certainly be looking at something aftermarket there (I don't know what bushings are available, but that would be something I'd want to add).
4) Engine Performance. At 185bhp / ~3200lbs, it's not a powerhouse, but it's no slouch either. I found while I was driving it through the twisties, it loved being in 3rd/4th gear, offering enough pep out of a corner to bring about that smile that comes from a cruise in the country.
5) Handling. I didn't really push the car to its limits, but was able to play with it a little bit on some familiar roads. There was a tad bit of understeer (to be expected), but I found the car overall to be very planted in corners. Very good for the class of vehicle it is.
6) Interior. The seats were very comfortable. Some seats can be constricting for a fatty like me; these provided enough support for the fun sections, and were great in the cruise sections. All sorts of electronic toys are here (touchscreen system, back-up camera, blind spot detection, etc.). The only real gripe I had was with the B-Pillar and it being difficult to see around. Between the passenger seat headrest, Chris in the passenger seat, and the Pillar, I found one intersection that took me a bit to verify it was clear before proceeding. Chris mentioned the A-Pillar has given him issue, but I didn't experience that. Maybe with more driving it would become apparent, or maybe Chris is losing his mind. Maybe both!
7) Overall impressions: I want one. I think a longer more extensive test drive is needed before committing, but this car lived up to what I was hoping for. Honestly, it did a bit better than I was hoping for, and made the draw even stronger.
Thanks again to Chris for letting me drive his car before it's probably even had its first oil change.
What I took away from my time with one:
1) The car is gorgeous. I find just enough aggressiveness to really draw my eye, but not as "OMG! Look at me!!" as my boy-racer mobile.
2) Room. This car has a lot of it. Engine bay, interior, trunk. I'm so used to an economy-sized vehicle, I sometimes forget how nice it is to have actual usable room, whether it's for long drives without being cramped, to being able to put things in the trunk, to being able to do spark plugs in under 90 minutes.
3) Drivetrain. The clutch is feather light with a low engagement point (compared to my stiff / high engagement clutch). The gearing is also fairly low. The shifter felt good (it's a midsize sedan, not a performance car), but I would certainly be looking at something aftermarket there (I don't know what bushings are available, but that would be something I'd want to add).
4) Engine Performance. At 185bhp / ~3200lbs, it's not a powerhouse, but it's no slouch either. I found while I was driving it through the twisties, it loved being in 3rd/4th gear, offering enough pep out of a corner to bring about that smile that comes from a cruise in the country.
5) Handling. I didn't really push the car to its limits, but was able to play with it a little bit on some familiar roads. There was a tad bit of understeer (to be expected), but I found the car overall to be very planted in corners. Very good for the class of vehicle it is.
6) Interior. The seats were very comfortable. Some seats can be constricting for a fatty like me; these provided enough support for the fun sections, and were great in the cruise sections. All sorts of electronic toys are here (touchscreen system, back-up camera, blind spot detection, etc.). The only real gripe I had was with the B-Pillar and it being difficult to see around. Between the passenger seat headrest, Chris in the passenger seat, and the Pillar, I found one intersection that took me a bit to verify it was clear before proceeding. Chris mentioned the A-Pillar has given him issue, but I didn't experience that. Maybe with more driving it would become apparent, or maybe Chris is losing his mind. Maybe both!
7) Overall impressions: I want one. I think a longer more extensive test drive is needed before committing, but this car lived up to what I was hoping for. Honestly, it did a bit better than I was hoping for, and made the draw even stronger.
Thanks again to Chris for letting me drive his car before it's probably even had its first oil change.