Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
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I was at the Mazda dealer today as the Mazda6 needed a software update — but don’t worry if you are buying one, this car was delivered to me before they were doing these updates, any new cars should have it. Long story short, I was there for about 10 minutes so I walked through the showroom.
A 2011 Mazda RX-8 R3 for $24,995 caught my eye — wowzers. Then I noticed a 2014 Mazda6 GS in the showroom so I took a look inside. A lot of the times the fully loaded model shows great, while the base model looks dull and boring. But not the Mazda6, the cloth seats were comfortable and the dash was nearly identical. The digital read-out for the temperature is removed and larger knobs for the HVAC are used. The wood trim is replaced with a black plastic piece that I actually prefer — the rest looked basically the same.
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Once that was over I jumped onto the highway in a little bit of a hurry so I took the opportunity to see how fast I could hit that on-ramp. Turns out faster than most would ever try, even on winter tires. The Mazda6 feels light and frisky like most Mazda’s do — the zoom-zoom is ever present in this one.
When I first got the car I felt the engine was a little weak though and with no V6 or turbo offering that could be an issue for Mazda. But the more I drive it the more I realize it’s really just the programming to ensure you get great fuel economy, if you press a little harder on the pedal the car goes just fine.
When I drove the 2013 Nissan Altima a fews months ago I commented that the four-cylinder was plenty enough engine for that car and I feel the same here. This engine is plenty powerful for the average family, 184-horsepower and 185-lb/ft of torque at just 3,250 rpm is nothing to sneeze at — actually it is very good.
While I was at the dealership I also spotted a Mazda2 — which had me nostalgic for racing in the B-Spec series… come on summer!
