Quite fast as opposed to what?
0-60 in 7.4 and the 1/4mile in 15.7 & 88MPH
My wife's 7 seater, baby carrying, MDX does 0-60 in 6.5 and the 1/4 in 15.1 @ 93.
Again, you guys may find that "quite fast for you" but for those of us who want a little bit of kick the Mazda does not do it. Again, YMMV.
Mazda 6 sales show that they need to so SOMETHING. Just about every other competitor has a powerful engine option be it a V6 or a turbo 4.
Like I already mentioned, the select few want more power. The MDX engine was just redone, it's not even available in the Pilot. Now if you want to compare the 4 cylinder Mazda6 to the Honda Pilot (which is 7.8 second) than I am faster, so there. Glad your wife's "baby carrying" MDX can go faster than a V6 Mustang from a few years ago. Because that's what the target market is looking for...
There is no guarantee, that the cost to develop a more powerful engine that could only be used in the Mazda6 and CX-9 would guarantee enough extra sales to make a profit.
Like other companies, Mazda is going after the new trends, the small cars. The Mazda CX-3, and Mazda2. Hopefully with better sales here. More R&D can be put towards a V6 (my preference for a new CX-9) rather than a turbo 4. All the other competitors are much larger and have more resources, so finding a balance is difficult.