[ganderite]

I drove my new 2006 M6 wagon home yesterday. This was a 1200 mile non-stop trip, so I was able form some initial impressions of the car.

Me: Each of us relates to a car from a different background and perspective. I am a Canadian who sometimes buys cars in the USA, if there is a price or condition advantage. For used cars there usually is. Arizona cars are rust free. For new cars, US Big3 cars are usually cheaper in Canada. My Corvettes were about $7,000 cheaper here, taking into account the difference in the dollar. Imports are usually about identically priced, although the model selection here is more limited.

I wanted a Mazda6 wagon, and the dealers here are sold out – so in effect there are no rebates to take advantage of. There are still a few available in the USA. I got mine for $17,900 plus a $380 dealer fee. That saved me about $7,000 Cdn ($6,000 USD) off list.

I live on a farm property with my wife and two adult children. There are three houses on the property. Each of us owns two cars, except me. I think I have 5. We share cars, matching the occasion to the best vehicle, so I have some understanding of a variety of cars. Parked out side are: 87 Corvette, 86 Celica with only 90K on it, 92 Tercel with a 150 hp twin cam, 92 Pathfinder, 93 Corolla Wagon, 95 MR2 Beams, 96 Renault Cube van, 97 Pontiac mini van, 03 Buick Rendezvous (base model, FWD only), 05 Monte Carlo.

The M6 Wagon. A base model “Pebble Ash” (sort of a silver-gold metallic). The drive home was on 4 lane divided highway all the way. Most of the time cruise speed was around 75mph (125kph). But I ran into a snow storm and at one time was barely ably to do 30 and spent a couple hours only doing 40.

Gas mileage – filled the tank 4 times. Mileage was:
26.4 mpg (US gallons) (31.7 mpg Imp gallons) (Note: The Imperial gallon used elsewhere in the world is 20% larger.)
27.2 (32.6)
25.8 (31.0)
26.7 (32.0)
In other words, mileage was good, but not great. I used cruise control about half the time on the high speed cruising. Since gas is so cheap in North America I guess mileage is not that big an issue. I would not have wanted to use this car last summer in France where gas was in the order of $8.00 a gallon.

The gas gauge was very linear and accurate. This is something GM does not get right. My GM mini vans go 200 kms before the needle starts to move. When it says ¾ full the tank is actually only ¼. When it says ¼ I have to be looking for a gas station real close by. Each quarter on the Mazda gauge was the same – about 125 miles.

Brakes. Seemed unremarkable. They worked well. The ABS has a very rapid pulse to it. Not as smooth as a Mercedes but much less noticeable than a Corvette. Just enough to let you know you have gone over the adhesion limit. I liked the brakes.

Traction control. At one point I was driving in a heavy snowfall with about 3 inches on the highway. Traffic was light, so I could drive any speed I wanted. I wanted to drive about 40 mph. Sometimes a yellow light would flash on the dash. It was the Traction Control light. It was reducing engine power to stop wheel spin. It was effective and unobtrusive. If I wanted full power, there is a button I could have pushed.

Headlights. They have adequate illumination. Not as good as my Buick Rendezvous. The Mazda6 uses very small lights with small reflectors. Given a choice, I would take more light every time.

I like to drive with my headlights and tail lights on during the daytime, but sometimes forget to turn them off and kill the battery. With cars with a light sensor it is easy to cover the sensor with a small piece of black tape, so the lights come on with the ignition and go off automatically.

The US version Mazda6 does not have daytime running lights nor does it have a light sensor. However, I discovered that I can just leave the light switch on because the lights are turned off 30 seconds after the key is removed.

Instrumentation. The gauges are all easy to read. I much prefer analogs to digital. The car does not have an oil pressure gauge nor an oil temperature gauge. I have cars with both and really like the information. The oil temperature gauge tells me when the engine has actually warmed up – about 5 minutes after the water temperature has stabilized. If the engine gets low on oil the oil temp gauge shows the problem long before the pressure gauge. I regard oil pressure warning lights as just about useless. They tell me why the engine just blew. In fact, that happened to me about a month ago while helping a friend retrieve a 93 V6 Cavalier.

I am a pilot and am used to scanning a full set of gauges so I know what is going on in real time. I would like to have more gauges and a warning buzzer if any gauge moved into the red.

I really like the outside air temperature read out. It could be a life or death gauge. Coming home I watched the OAT (Outside Air Temp) go from +4C to –4C. When it hit about -2C I started to see rear wheel cars in the ditch. At -3C I started to see FWD cars in the ditch and I knew it was time to really slow down. The gauge can be set to read temp in either C or F.

I did a little map reading at night. Each overhead light has a button to push to shine a light on the lap of either the driver or the passenger/navigator. It worked well.

Radio. Usually one of the first thing I do to a new car is scrap the speakers and install a set of Infinity speakers. They only cost about $50 a pair (on eBay) and dramatically improve sound quality. My audio tech tells me the factory speakers are $5.00 speakers – retail. This radio had pretty good sound. I will compare sound to another car before deciding to switch. The speakers may be just fine. If so, that will be a first. This is the base radio set up – not the Bose.

Handling. I was either driving straight on a highway or limping in a snow storm, so did not throw the car around at all. Handling seem perfectly fine. It felt quite secure at 80 mph. Being a new car, I did not want to drive it fast before the engine has been broken in. That said, if I want to drive fast, there are probably better cars in the driveway, but the M6 seems perfectly fine at ordinary highway speeds. It was not wind sensitive like a 240Z or a minivan or camber sensitive like a Corvette.

Comfort. I just spent a day in the car. Could not have done it if it was not comfortable. I am 6 feet, 250 pounds. I would have preferred that the seat pan was two inches longer. It only supported about half my thighs. However, the electric adjust allowed me to tilt the pan to the best abgle. Leg, head and shoulder room was good. It is easy to get in and out. (Compared to a Corvette, anything else is easy.)

The interior noise is low. I could hear the rear tires more than I would have liked, but that is typical of a wagon. Sedans are always quieter for that reason. I much prefer the added utility of a wagon.

I bought a set of 2005 16” wheels with tires. I will use the rims to mount a set of snow tires for next year. They went into the back with room to spare, after I lowered the back seats. Pulling a little handle drops the seat backs while standing at the back hatch. Worked like a charm. A very nice touch.

The wheel mounted radio and cruise controls were handy. I really like a radio mute button on the steering wheel. It makes it easy to kill the music when the phone rings. My wife uses it to kill commercials, too.

Errata. I checked the car over at the first gas stop. Tire pressures were uniformly low. 24 psi instead of about 35. Also, the oil level was down about a half quart. Tires pressure has a profound effect on handling, tire wear and handling. I was disappointed the dealer sent me off on a long trip with low pressures and oil.

I did not add oil and it was still at the same level when I got home – so it is not using oil. Most of my cars go from oil change to oil change with adding any oil. I can recall in the old days when a quart every 1,000 miles or so was normal.

Conclusion. After one day and 1200 miles I like the car. Given the rebated price I think it is a well designed car at a terrific price.

next - have to get car rust proofed, so we can enjoy it for the next 20 years. Then will add a tranny oil cooler.

Thanks to this forum I am worried about the stock PCV valve. Is it still a cheezy unit, or has Mazda upgraded? If not, is an aftermarket PCV better quality?