THill5thGen

I recently test drove a Mazda6, and I have to say that it's a very nice car. I think it has the nicest looking headlights outside BMW, and the GFX body kit they offer with the car for like $1.5k more makes it look incredible.

It has a lot of power for a MAzda... 220hp with a surprising amount of kick. Tiptronic is very responsive too (but they have it set up in the stupid "down is up" setup)

It has a very nice interior too, I think it has the nicest looking gague cluster out there too.

Compared to Max - It's smaller, lighter, less torque (192), less hp (220).. but it's also about $4k cheaper for the top of the line WITH the sport package compared to an SE. I think it looks kickass, definately worth a look for anyone who wants a second car but doesnt wanna spend the "Max" amount

Buy a Mazda6 over a Maxima? Heck no. Maxima would outperform it in pretty much every area, but for the money you get what I think is the best car possible. I'm thinking of replacing my second car soon, and I'm looking very hard at the 6 over a 2k4 Maxima (which I love btw, as I have expressed on the 6th gen board).

FASST LN

I haven't had a chance to get in one and see the quality for myself. I do like the exterior though, very nice looking.

How does the interior quality compare to the Max? That is what sold my wife and I on the Max instead of the Altima. The Altima just felt cheap, I don't know what it was, but the interior was just cheap.

The Max has the most refined interior of any car in its class (other than a very underpowered VW Passat) but we never checked the new "6" to compare.

skandalouz

iTrader: (2)

i think the max is very aggressive price-wise also. MSRP may run in the high 20s and well into the 30s, but for most of us, we can say that we purchased it for well below that price. i bought my 2k3 back in december for $22k (well below the MSRP of 26k or wutever it lists)... granted i didn't get the bose or leather seats, but still a great deal. i dont kno how mazda dealers are with their pricing, but i doubt they can cut me that good of a deal.

THill5thGen

The interior quality is very good actually. Nowhere near a Max, but Ive said it agian and again, you have to go up far higher than the Max pricetag to find a competing interiors... I don't even thing the Passat is as nicely thought out, its much more cramped. All the euros are smaller and more compact.

The instrument panel is well thought out with controls for everything, but most things are controlled by ***** (don't panic, I'll explain in a sec), so its weird if you're coming from a Max like I was. Don't fret tho, these are very nice *****, with full digital range motion. They're not crappy Civic "click intoo fixed position" *****, they're nice ones that give you lots of leeway in what you want. The LCD display is compact, but it grew on me quickly. One line of text display tells you "Time|Radio Station|And one other piece of information of which I'm not sure of right now". Once you figure out where you want to look for what, it's very efficient, and with red light it's quite easy to read.

I think the most spectacular thing about the interior is the gague cluster you get with the GFX package. These gagues are pitch black with titanium rims. Like expensive watches. You can't see any numbers or anything. When you turn on the car, very nice red lit gagues appear. They look extremely classy and beautiful.. definately a must see.

The overall feel of the cabin is nice, I'm a pretty big guy and I fit in quite well. I may be wrong (because I drove 2 other cars that day) but I am pretty sure it was in the "6" where I remarked the quality of the leather, and how it was nice and thick.

6 CD In-Dash changer, steeringwheel mounted controls and Tiptronic transmission close out the interior.

It's no Maxima, but there is a lot of bang for the buck.

I was stunned when I saw it in person... it is the sportiest looking car I think you can get stock from a dealer currently. (Check it out in Yellow with GFX package - yowza)

FASST LN

Thanks for the elaborate write-up! I'll have to go check them out sometime, you make them sound pretty sweet.

In reference to the Passat, I agree with your cramped comment, but what I was eluding to was the quality/fit&finish of the Passat interior seamed on par with the Max interior. They are different in their setups, but the lavishness is the same.
The drawback to the Passat is the incredibly weak power, but it does have a nice 5-speed automatic that I wish the '03 Maximas had.

Quicksilver

iTrader: (1)

I totally agree with everything you have said on this writeup. If the 6 was actually out when I purchased my '03 Max, there's no telling what I might have bought. I love the Max to death, but something about the 6 just stirs me. It's funny to talk about a car like it's some beautiful woman...

Anuj

the mazda 6 would rip our maximas to shreads in the autox circuit...it's what it was designed for

very great handling car...

Anuj

the mazda 6 would rip our maximas to shreads in the autox circuit...it's what it was designed for

very great handling car...

jjs

I wonder what kind of aftermarket support there is/will be to pump up that engine...

Sam03

Heh, lets see who here remembers the KL-03 and the KL-ZE engines Mazda already made a great NA V6, but it just took a decade or so for everyone to realize it.

Phoenix1911

A friend of mine is a mechanic at mazda and we PDI'd one? right term? When you test drive 'em off the truck...

Nice looking car outside, and yes peppy... But am I the only one who thinks the interior is azz?? Can you say GM? Plastic EVERYWHERE, the big silver thing in the middle with random ***** everywhere is an eyesore... The doors were thin and the seats thin and hard as well...

The traction control is an option that would be off all the time. With the 5spd you get no get up and go because its to busy trying not to spin the wheels... After seeing the commercials and such I was quite dissappointed, I thought they would be much more lux than sport...

vqman

do you consider the new 2003 Accords to be in the same "class" as the Maxima? I thought the interior was much nicer "refined" than the Maxima...just to small for me...and I couldn't get over the HUGE speedometer..looked like it was made for a kiddie car!

-vq

Quicksilver

iTrader: (1)

It sure was quiet and smooth though, wasn't it? The staged lighting of the dash stuff is kinda neat too (I don't know what purpose it served).

vqman

oh yeah, and the 3.0 V6 in the Mazda is derived from the Ford Taurus 3.0 Duratec V6...

yuk!

-vq

dobiegillis

I absolutely LOVE the exterior styling of the new 6. Body kit and lights rock. Minimal chrome is good--I'd order the sport grille if I bought one. Hands down the best looking sedan on the road save BMW (maybe). The interior left more to be desired, but wasn't bad. Definitely smallish, but not cramped. I'm not sure how I feel about the silver central dash (the other piece of info on the right of the "one line of text" display is the climate control) --it was different and would take getting used to. And I don't like the vents--a little too cockpit for me. The test drive was fine but I really didn't get to put it to the test--plus they didn't have a sport model for me to test that day. The 6 is at the top of my list for next car--the price just can't be beat. I still might get a max though since it will be hard to find a loaded 6 in the used market.

Oh, and the Accord and Camry are NOT sport sedans to me. Quality yes, but you still couldn't pay me to drive one. UGLY!

digimax

I was actually going to buy the 6 but it just didn't come out soon enough. I researched the car all the back to 2001 because the 6 or "Atenza" has been out for while in other countries. After needing to replace my 98 Accord Coupe (new baby) for family reasons I went with the Max because it was the best bang for the buck towards the end of 2002. I also knew that the Mazda dealers weren't going to be cutting the deals that the Maxima had due to the fact that the 6 was "Brand new". I finally got a chance to sit in one at the Chicago Auto Show and to be honest - was a little disappointed in the quality of the interior. It doesn't compare to my Max or my old Accord, but I do have to say they really did a great job with it's styling. If for some reason I need to replace my Max (accident ), I definitly will probably be finding one in my garage because both the "new" Accord and Maxima are butt nasty!!!!!

THill5thGen

Concerning Accords: Some Crazy Stuff

Take a picture of an Accord, and take a picture of an Altima at the same angle (1/4 from front is best I find). Look at the similarities in the lines.

Even better - Take the 360 tour of the Accord interior and the 360 tour of the Altima interior (from www.carpoint.com).

Does anyone notice incredible similarities in the center consoles and a lot of other things in the two cars?

Honda designers were sitting around drinking sake around deadline day for their design, and said to themselves, "OHHH screw it! Just copy the Altima, it took car of the year in 2k2 anyway!"

Except the one part they changed on the car, the back, looks hideous.

Accord coupe is a different story, that's a very nice car, looks like a Benz from behind. But again with the copying