Notes from the back of a recent Car & Driver magazine - Mazda 6 Forums : Mazda 6 / Mazda Atenza Forum

arctic_blue83 · 04-24-2007, 02:18 AM

I have had a subscription to C&D for a while now, and while thumbing through a recent issue I decided to scroll to the back in their "Road Test Digest" section, and take a look at a few cars. While looking through them I compared the MS6 to the MS3:

0-60 & 1/4 mile- MS3-5.4/14.0 MS6-5.4/14.0
Top Speed- MS3-151 MS6-149
Braking 70-0 MS3-162 MS6-155
Road Holding g MS3-.85 MS6-.87
EPA City, MPG MS3-20 MS6-20

Now I've driven both (not only do I own a MS6 I work at a Mazda dealership), and no doubt the MS3 is faster from a roll, and probably *feels* a bit more playful, but honestly I don't understand why the MS6 received such poor reviews, while everyone and their mother praised the MS3. Don't get me wrong, I love the MS3, it's a badass little hatch no doubt, and is certainly faster (stock vs stock) than a MS6 from a roll, but it obviously pulled lower braking & skidpad numbers on the exact same rubber, which would lead me to believe on a roadcourse/autoX the MS6 would pull a better time, and I believe the fellows from Top Gear would agree with me since the Mazda 6 MPS on their track was only about 3/10ths of a second behind the Nissan 350Z & RX-8, 2 dedicated sports cars.

The largest complain I hear from MS3 owners & potential buyers is "I wish it was AWD", yet a car that Mazda does offer the same performance on except WITH AWD, people don't seem to pay much interest to, which I believe is due to Mazda's poor advertising (they should have put it up against the WRX not the Legacy GT just my opinion), and poor reviews from magazines, especially R&T with their 86mph trap speed... that was BS, something was obviously wrong with that car, as people have been trapping as high as 99+mph stock. I guess it's time for me to get off my box. [/rant]

blkchryms6 · 04-24-2007, 02:38 AM

I agree with you completely, I told one of my friend who has a Protege5. "if the MS3 came with AWD I would have jumped for it" instead...I'm the proud owner of an MS6 mostly because I absolutely hate front wheel drive lol, but you'll never hear me complain about my decision (other than the fact that our speeds could use a good diet plan)

top_gear87 · 04-24-2007, 02:47 AM

which month was this? I subscribe, but I must've missed it.

Scott P · 04-24-2007, 08:10 AM

It's in the back with all the road test resuts.

long101 · 04-24-2007, 10:24 AM

Well obviously the ms3 is quite a bit cheaper then the ms6 if they put awd in the ms3 then would be out of some peoples price range. Alot of people just think since the ms6 is such a big car it doesnt handle to well. Personally im not a big fan of the ms3. I think its a nice car and all that good stuff but I could never get another fwd let alone a hatch.

MississippiSpd6 · 04-24-2007, 12:36 PM

I believe the reason Road and Track had an 86mph time in the quarter was because they were using 89 or 91 octane gas. I can't remember the month of the issue, but it was the one where they put it up against 5 other cars with AWD such as the BMW 3 series, G35x, Subaru and others. As a side note to the numbers, they explained that the mazda lost top end power, maybe because of the gas they were using (which wasn't 93 octane!!).

amp · 04-24-2007, 02:15 PM

tack this up as part of the sleeper effect...
dont mind the downplay at all..

sicmazda6 · 04-24-2007, 06:59 PM

Quote:

tack this up as part of the sleeper effect...
dont mind the downplay at all..[/b]

+1

chuyler1 · 04-26-2007, 11:44 AM

Everyone loves the look of my MS6 but no one has ever heard of it. When I start rattling off stats their eyes always light up when I say it has AWD. So Mazda F'd up with the advertising...that's all. There should have been people lining up out the door for the MS6 but now it is living in the shadow of the MS3. Weight-shmate...if the MS3 had AWD it would probably weigh in pretty damn close. By the time people figure out what the MS6 is all about, there won't be any left to buy. I'm ok with that.

kdn02 · 04-26-2007, 02:45 PM

I like Road and Track better than Car and Driver but ALL magazines have errors in their testing so nearly all of them will give you an average of 3 or 5 test runs.
The same goes for gas mileage and all of their other test.

Also I never put much stock in Car and Drivers points system because things like "Fun to Drive" and "Looks" don't mean anything.
If you look at Car and Drivers issue where they ran the Speed6 against the G6, Accord V6 and some other cars. I forget with issue]
The Speed6 was first in speed, handling, road holding, and braking.
The Speed6 was near the bottom with the G6.

It's been awhile so don't quote me on those numbers to the point but you get the idea.

04-24-2007, 02:18 AM	#1 (permalink)
arctic_blue83 Rally Racer Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Centennial, CO Posts: 1,150 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: 0 reviews	I have had a subscription to C&D for a while now, and while thumbing through a recent issue I decided to scroll to the back in their "Road Test Digest" section, and take a look at a few cars. While looking through them I compared the MS6 to the MS3: 0-60 & 1/4 mile- MS3-5.4/14.0 MS6-5.4/14.0 Top Speed- MS3-151 MS6-149 Braking 70-0 MS3-162 MS6-155 Road Holding g MS3-.85 MS6-.87 EPA City, MPG MS3-20 MS6-20 Now I've driven both (not only do I own a MS6 I work at a Mazda dealership), and no doubt the MS3 is faster from a roll, and probably feels a bit more playful, but honestly I don't understand why the MS6 received such poor reviews, while everyone and their mother praised the MS3. Don't get me wrong, I love the MS3, it's a badass little hatch no doubt, and is certainly faster (stock vs stock) than a MS6 from a roll, but it obviously pulled lower braking & skidpad numbers on the exact same rubber, which would lead me to believe on a roadcourse/autoX the MS6 would pull a better time, and I believe the fellows from Top Gear would agree with me since the Mazda 6 MPS on their track was only about 3/10ths of a second behind the Nissan 350Z & RX-8, 2 dedicated sports cars. The largest complain I hear from MS3 owners & potential buyers is "I wish it was AWD", yet a car that Mazda does offer the same performance on except WITH AWD, people don't seem to pay much interest to, which I believe is due to Mazda's poor advertising (they should have put it up against the WRX not the Legacy GT just my opinion), and poor reviews from magazines, especially R&T with their 86mph trap speed... that was BS, something was obviously wrong with that car, as people have been trapping as high as 99+mph stock. I guess it's time for me to get off my box. [/rant] __________________ <span style="font-family:Arial Black"><span style="color:#000000">"My car drinks more alcohol than your step father."</span></span>[/b] </span></span></span></span>

04-24-2007, 02:47 AM	#3 (permalink)
top_gear87 Track Racer Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Lexington Park, MD Posts: 666 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: 0 reviews	which month was this? I subscribe, but I must've missed it. __________________ -Matt 2002 Spa Yellow S2000

04-24-2007, 08:10 AM	#4 (permalink)
Scott P Track Racer Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 408 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: 0 reviews	It's in the back with all the road test resuts. __________________ 2006 MS6 Grand Touring - Titanium Gray Metallic 2008 CX-9 Grand Touring - Stormy Blue Metallic

04-24-2007, 10:24 AM	#5 (permalink)
long101 Track Racer Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Chicago Posts: 961 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: 0 reviews	Well obviously the ms3 is quite a bit cheaper then the ms6 if they put awd in the ms3 then would be out of some peoples price range. Alot of people just think since the ms6 is such a big car it doesnt handle to well. Personally im not a big fan of the ms3. I think its a nice car and all that good stuff but I could never get another fwd let alone a hatch. __________________ 07 Black Mazdaspeed 6- 18% tint, mufflers deleted, MS CAI 04 Spec V w/ brembos-Sold Fast cars drag race, fast drivers autox.

04-24-2007, 12:36 PM	#6 (permalink)
MississippiSpd6 Track Racer Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Jackson, MS Posts: 494 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: 0 reviews	I believe the reason Road and Track had an 86mph time in the quarter was because they were using 89 or 91 octane gas. I can't remember the month of the issue, but it was the one where they put it up against 5 other cars with AWD such as the BMW 3 series, G35x, Subaru and others. As a side note to the numbers, they explained that the mazda lost top end power, maybe because of the gas they were using (which wasn't 93 octane!!). __________________ 2005 Acura TL - "007" 2006 Mazdaspeed6 GT - Traded in

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04-24-2007, 02:38 AM	#2 (permalink)
blkchryms6 Learners License Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Gladewater, TX (or Huntsville) Posts: 39 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: 0 reviews	I agree with you completely, I told one of my friend who has a Protege5. "if the MS3 came with AWD I would have jumped for it" instead...I'm the proud owner of an MS6 mostly because I absolutely hate front wheel drive lol, but you'll never hear me complain about my decision (other than the fact that our speeds could use a good diet plan)

04-24-2007, 02:15 PM	#7 (permalink)
amp Rally Racer Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: NJ Posts: 1,220 Thanks: 0 Thanked 5 Times in 4 Posts Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: 0 reviews	tack this up as part of the sleeper effect... dont mind the downplay at all..

04-26-2007, 11:44 AM	#9 (permalink)
chuyler1 Track Racer Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 467 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: 0 reviews	Everyone loves the look of my MS6 but no one has ever heard of it. When I start rattling off stats their eyes always light up when I say it has AWD. So Mazda F'd up with the advertising...that's all. There should have been people lining up out the door for the MS6 but now it is living in the shadow of the MS3. Weight-shmate...if the MS3 had AWD it would probably weigh in pretty damn close. By the time people figure out what the MS6 is all about, there won't be any left to buy. I'm ok with that. __________________ 2006 Mazdaspeed 6 / 2003 Protege5

04-26-2007, 02:45 PM	#10 (permalink)
kdn02 Rally Racer Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 1,003 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: 0 reviews	I like Road and Track better than Car and Driver but ALL magazines have errors in their testing so nearly all of them will give you an average of 3 or 5 test runs. The same goes for gas mileage and all of their other test. Also I never put much stock in Car and Drivers points system because things like "Fun to Drive" and "Looks" don't mean anything. If you look at Car and Drivers issue where they ran the Speed6 against the G6, Accord V6 and some other cars. I forget with issue] The Speed6 was first in speed, handling, road holding, and braking. The Speed6 was near the bottom with the G6. It's been awhile so don't quote me on those numbers to the point but you get the idea. __________________ <span style="color:#000066">...RX8... Can you believe it?