Kelsey Mays
Living Editor
Oscillating air vents. That was the claim to fame for Mazda’s 626 family sedan, a midsize venture intended to compete with the benchmark Accord and Camry. Press a button mid-dash, and the vents did a nifty move back and forth like an upright living-room fan. Very little else – certainly not the anonymous styling or anemic 2.5-liter V-6 – sold the car. And so in 2002 Mazda quietly scuttled the 626 in favor of a sizzling new contender to fight the heavyweight Tokyo pair: the Mazda Mazda6. (I thought it was redundant, too. But they insist.)
The Mazda6 does not have oscillating air vents.
What it does have is slick, windswept exterior styling, a sport-tuned suspension and a modern, free-revving engine. Since the Mazda6 sedan’s 2003 introduction, Mazda has expanded the lineup to include a wagon and five-door hatchback. Engine choices are leagues better than the 626: a 2.3-litre, 160-horsepower four-cylinder Mazda6 “i” and a 3-litre, 220-horse V-6 in the uplevel Mazda6 “s.” The latter engine comes from parent company Ford’s Duratec lineup. It’s derived from a Taurus sedan’s six, but gets variable-valve timing – though a simpler cam-phasing variety, not the advanced variable lift acrobatics employed in some Honda and BMW engines.
My test car was a dark gray five-door “s” hatchback. On paper, things looked great: the V-6 coupled with a six-speed automatic transmission (new for 2005 models), rolling on a sport-tuned suspension and 17-inch alloy wheels.
Not quite the euphoria I expected, it turned out. Darn close, though. It doesn’t seem like a V-6 off the line, certainly not the robust 220 horses Mazda claims. Instead, the six-speed transmission prefers smoothly ticking from one gear to the next with a surgeon’s precision, choosing fuel economy over performance. But slam the pedal, and Doctor Mazda starts slicing and dicing: The autobox holds its gear, and the tach needle hustles past 4 o’clock. One-hundred ninety-two pound-feet of torque arrive fashionably late at 5, and the party lasts till 6:30. There’s never a punchy sense of tire-shredding acceleration, but the car definitely feels quick once the engine climbs out of lower rpm’s.
The six-speed’s manual-shift mode allows drivers to discipline the transmission to stay in one gear and keep that power band on tap, as it otherwise tends to upshift at the first sign of coasting. That tendency becomes a problem on mountain roads, where it often steals power at inopportune moments. Jabbing the brakes into corners gives just enough pause for Hal to bump me clear to fifth, leaving no torque down low to accelerate through the turn. After a few such unnerving episodes, I find it best to manually restrain the engine to second or third gear until serious straightaways.
Despite the misguided transmission, handling remains above par for this class. At the limit there’s some understeer as the tires skitter a bit, but body roll is commendable. Steering is precise, though not as on-target as the lighter Mazda3. Four-wheel antilock disc brakes feel substantial and stop the car quickly.
The Mazda6 will handily put a Camry or Accord to shame down curvy roads, but I wish Mazda had put the same attention into fit and finish. Though there’s a sporty feel to things – a meaty steering wheel, visually effective aluminum dash inlays and fantastic electroluminescent gauges – it still leaves you wanting. The doors have a flimsy feel to them, missing the vault-like thud a Camry’s do. The leather quality feels more Hyundai than Honda. The dash has nice, soft-touch plastics spoiled by a shaky storage tray that pops up above the middle A/C vents. The Bose audio system sounds good, but isn’t all that user-friendly.
Outside, this car looks far sexier than an Accord or Camry or even a Nissan Altima, the league’s previous looker. The steeply raked front end houses a five-point grille and flared headlamps. The fenders arch slightly outward and combine with the aggressive lower grille to give the car a hunched-forward, poised composure. The five-door hatchback design concludes the exterior nicely, with a high spoiler and sharp-looking dual exhaust pipes. In sporty design, though, fashion is often fleeting: The jeweled taillamps may have looked cool two years ago, but today they evoke a sense of street-racer mania – not something suitable for a mature family sedan.
It’s that street-racer feeling that ultimately stays with me. This car doesn’t feel as refined as a Camry, nor does it have the pedal-down punch of a V-6 Altima or Accord. It used to be a bargain in the segment, but not so today: My test car had piles of options – leather, a CD changer, sunroof, premium sound, auto A/C – and stickered in at $28,680. That’s a hard pill to swallow, when $26,850 will buy a loaded V-6 Accord. The Mazda does look worlds sportier and offers unmatched handling competence in the segment, but does that mean it’s finally a contender?
Logically, no. But guide the front end through a sharp corner with quick rotations on the thick, three-spoke steering wheel. Stand a short distance from the car and admire its low, aggressive stance. Let your senses do the deciding, and all the Mazda’s shortcomings melt away: Suddenly, it seems downright desirable.
Unless, of course, you’re mad the air vents don’t do that cool turning thing.
08-29-2005
