I think every reader in the CC community figured out that a “Zoom-Zoom” Mazda was the follow-up car for the 2007 Camry based on my not-so-subtle hints. Some commenters expressed hope that I’d finally get something interesting like a MX-5 Miata, but the title probably lets you know that I didn’t go that route. I can explain, though…
My wife did not exactly embrace the base rental car aesthetic of the Camry CE. Oddly enough, the lack of keyless entry was the biggest deal-breaker for her (go figure). As a result she requested more input into the Camry replacement. We considered a number of cars, including the Acura TSX and several Mazdas (and probably a couple of other cars I don’t remember looking at now). I liked the TSX as my mother had just purchased one of those cars with my assistance and guidance. It was a good mix of practical and somewhat sporty characteristics, but a TSX with the options we wanted began to get pretty expensive (higher-end stereo, navigation, satellite radio. etc.).
We did look at the MX-5/Miata at the time and my wife did like it a lot. I was less sold on it, mostly because I didn’t fit very well into it. I am not that tall (6 foot) but in sitting in the car at car shows and the dealer I had a difficult time getting comfortable. For me the seat didn’t move far enough back and the steering wheel didn’t tilt far enough up for me to keep from hitting my knee on the steering wheel when letting the clutch out. This was not uncommon for me – my ’89 Thunderbird had the same problem as my driving position put my knee against the steering wheel exactly at the point the clutch began to release, so I always had to drive with the steering wheel tilted up a bit. In the MX-5 being offered in 2009 I was able to get my head inside the car – in previous versions I found myself having to slouch a bit to keep from having the windshield header at eye level. I probably could have made it work if my wife had been more insistent on getting the car, but she was OK with looking elsewhere.
I had looked at the previous generation of Mazda6 (2003-2008 models) at several points but hadn’t actually considered them seriously. I had a coworker who was a big Mazda fan and had a 2003 V-6 manual transmission version that was very enjoyable to drive. I’d also rented a 4-cylinder automatic version late in the model’s product cycle and found even this base model to be a good compromise between sport and practicality. When Mazda introduced the second generation Mazda6 in 2009, I began to take a much closer look at it. The second generation car was somewhat larger inside and out and had much more striking styling inspired to some extent by the contemporary RX-7. The separated front fenders with pronounced wheel arches set apart from the hood gave this car a look that was very different from the plain vanilla Camry. The prices were reasonable as well given the level of equipment available.
Looking at the Mazda also meant going outside the small number of dealerships with which I felt comfortable, and I got lucky here. We went with a smaller dealership locally that was very honest and above board and treated us very well. I didn’t feel like I’d been taken for a ride (so to speak). The dealership didn’t offer no-haggle pricing but the initial prices for the 6 were good enough that I was able to get a good deal with a minimum of stressful negotiating.
As you might expect, we didn’t go with the base model this time, but rather with the top-line Grand Touring model. We went back and forth about whether to choose the 272-hp 3.7 liter V6 or the 170 hp 2.5 liter 4 cylinder (both with 6-speed automatics) but ultimately decided on the 4 cylinder engine based mostly on price (the V-6 added quite a bit to the bottom line, as I recall, and the extra 100 hp wasn’t worth the money to us).
As you can see from the pictures, this Mazda6 was about as far from the white rental-car Camry as you can get. We chose Sangria Red over black as the color combination, and this, combined with the aggressive(ish) styling certainly made the car stand out. I didn’t necessarily want the pinstripe, especially since the front fender styling meant it stopped awkwardly behind the front wheels, but we were buying this car not long after they were introduced (roughly fall of 2008) so there weren’t that many cars in stock.
The Grand Touring package came with all of the expected amenities like heated leather seats with memory, dual-zone automatic climate control (with big, logical controls), in-dash CD changer, built in satellite radio receiver (the first car I’d bought with this), and Bluetooth phone connectivity. This model also had smart-key entry with pushbutton start, but it always seemed to me to be an afterthought. Lesser models had a regular switchblade key for the ignition, but ours had a large and obvious blanking plate on the side of the column to cover up the switch hole. The pushbutton for starting the car was then located low on the center console in front of the transmission shift lever instead of being high on the dash and accessible. Easy enough to get used to, but maybe a cost-cutting move. The leather seats were nice but certainly not as soft as what you’d get with a Lexus. They wore pretty well, though, so I guess that is the compromise that has to be made. The high-end Bose stereo was typical of OEM systems from this brand – it sounded great when it was cranked to ear-bleeding volumes but was just OK at lower volumes.
The Grand Touring package brought a number of features that were new to us, including blind spot monitoring that worked quite well. The system was pretty simple – if there was a car in either blind spot (behind and to the side) a yellow light illuminated in the corresponding exterior mirror. The yellow light was accompanied by a warning beep if you turned on your signal in that direction. Simple, but effective. This was also the first car I owned with rain sensing wipers that used a sensor mounted behind the inside mirror pointed toward the windshield. The sensor looked at how much water was on the glass and swiped the wipers appropriately to keep the windshield clear in intermittent mode. This was a handy gimmick that worked well – unlike conventional intermittent wipers you didn’t have to adjust the delay setting as rain conditions changed. It wasn’t a feature I’d seek out specifically, though – twisting a delay knob on a wiper stalk isn’t that difficult.
Overall this car was one of our more successful purchases. The car was well equipped with the features we wanted, the price was reasonable, and the car looked pretty good (especially in red). It was enjoyable to drive as well – the 170-hp 4-cylinder was more than adequate for the car and the 6-speed automatic had simple lever-based manual selectors (no paddle shifters or odd up-down switches). The car’s manual shift mode was reversed relative to other cars – the Mazda required a pull backwards for upshifts while many cars require a push forwards for upshifts. Arguments can be made either way (and I’m sure will be made here in the comments) but from a simple “up-down” perspective it seemed backwards – if you look straight down on the shift lever, “up” would be toward the dashboard, to me.
We ran this car all the way to the end of its lease, which was a sign of success for me, and my wife still liked the car when we turned it in. We didn’t stay with Mazda for her next car, but we did pick a non-Toyota product that didn’t have “blend into the woodwork” styling, and this time we went with more power – turbo power for the win. More in the next couple of weeks.
Ah. The other decent asian auto manufacturer. Car ownership CAN be fun.
It took awhile but I have come around on the front fender styling on these.
When I was looking at a Mazda3 in 2007 the dealer had some serious incentives on the 6 so that it could be bought for very little more than the 3. I wish I had considered it more, it might have made for a good long term car. But then again, my Honda Fit is not rusting at 10 years old, a trick Mazda seems not to have mastered.
I believe the 2009 model year was jointly designed with Ford and built at the Flatrock, Michigan assembly plant.
I like the styling of this Mazda 6 and the previous generation.
Unfortunately, Mazda is getting lost in a sea of competitors.
What defines the Mazda brand anymore?
No more “zoom-zoom”. Then what?
Mazda will eventually get the rust issues out of the way.
After all it took Honda up until about 15 years ago to master rust proofing. So many otherwise good running Honda’s were junked due to being ruined by wheel well rust and rusty floors.
A good looking generation of Mazda, I always forget these came with a V6 too.
As to the positioning of the starter button, I kind of prefer it. My last 2 cars had the button on the dash behind the wheel, and it’s fine.
My new Maxima has it by the shifter though, and 18 months into ownership I still like it. It always feels more like an event, like it’s noticeably more “jet fighter-y” to start it with the button down low. Maybe it’s also the switch from a series of lame 4-cylinders to the loud VQ35 V6, or that I’m just a massive dork, but I prefer it.
Pulling back to go up a gear always makes me think of the driving video games that you’d find at Chuckie Cheese or Dave & Busters. Many times they would just have a “hi” gear and “lo” gear setting and hi would be yanking the lever toward you away from the screen.
To me “up a gear” being toward the dash makes sense but many manual shifters (as an example) 1st is away from you, 2nd is toward you, 3rd is away from you, 4th is toward you, etc…
This Mazda6 was one of those cars I configured as a possible purchase when they were about halfway through the model’s life. Comments on other websites from owners were that the automatic transmission was the better choice and that the 4 cylinder was no sacrifice compared to the V6.
I actually liked that this model (finally) came closer to the Camry/Accord in size, without looking or being bulky.
Do have to say, though, that this red would not be my first choice of color….but if I remember there weren’t a lot of choices outside of several grey/charcoals.
I’m guessing your replacement for this was a VW product?
His turbo mention made me think VW, too.
I’m going to place my chips on a Volvo. The Mazda was a bit of a left-field choice, not expected (but nice). Great color too!
I’m thinking a Sonata Turbo.
I always liked this model Mazda, thanks for the write-up! I realize now I have never known anyone with a Mazda (besides the family Miata I wrote about). That’s really odd…..they aren’t THAT few in number. Maybe their dealerships are the problem. The one closest to me keeps changing hands. Over the past 15 years or so, I can think of at least three names and locations for the Mazda franchise, and there were periods of no one having the local franchise at all. It’s been at the former Saturn building for a while now, but just got the third name in that location!
I have a 2011 in GS trim in the exact same red and black combination, though I chose the manual. I fell in love with the RX-8 style fenders and it wasn’t much more expensive than the goofy looking 3, due to year-end incentives (and Mazda Canada’s 0% financing offer).
Cost and thirst of the V6 steered me towards the I4, and I have no regrets there, it’s peppy enough when I need it.
This car is actually longer than it looks, Mazda did the 4-door coupe look with this 6, before Mercedes and VW made such a big deal of it. I like the current 6 too, a bit more aggressive and more refined.
Things I don’t like: lack of sound insulation, cheap plastic silver trim on the dash, and the bluetooth connection weird has a 1-second delay which makes it hard to skip a song or answer a call using the hands-free controls.
It also came with a 6-disc CD player which I have never used, since all my music is on my iPhone, and lately, streamed through Spotify and Google Music.
I hate to pick nits, but the Mercedes CLS came out a few years before this car. That said, this Mazda6 has aged MUCH better than the CLS or the 2011 Sonata that copied the CLS. Mazda avoided the droopy look of those cars, IMHO. The VW CC still looks good, too.
Does anyone else think that Toyota paid tribute (pun intended) to this Mazda6’s roofline in the 2013-2018 Avalon? Of course, Toyota used an actual quarter window.
Oops! Forgot the picture.
Two years ago I purchased a 2013 Mazda 6 Grand Touring with the V6. It was a CPO with ten thousand miles and a dealer demo. I was in the market for a family sedan and the competition didn’t speak to me. When new, this was a $30,000 car nobody wanted. Now the price was right. One of the last of the Ford- Mazda vehicles to roll off the line in Detroit built side by side with the Fusion. At the same dealer, I drove a 2015 6 Sport with the manual selling for basically the same money as the 2013. Ultimately, the desire for a V6 won over the lovely six speed, which I knew I would have to rev to drive the way I liked. Also, I had two manual transmission vehicles already and my wife would not be happy. It is comfortable, sized right, and thirsty. The cheap knockout on the column does serve a purpose. The lower trim lines have a conventional ignition setup with a key. On the higher trims, if the battery goes dead on your fob, or the push to start malfunctions, you take the key out of the fob, pry off the knock out, and use it to start the car.