Mazda 6 MPS AWD Turbo, a review of sorts...........

[Mondie]

My local Mazda dealer has the Roadshow in town at present so l took the opportunity to dive the new Mazda 6 MPS. More info here;

http://www.mazda.com.au/mazda6mps/

This is one car l have been curious about for a while, l have always liked the Mazda 6 and my best ever ownership experience was with a Mazda MX-6 in my younger years. Beautiful well built car and the mazda service made the ownership that much more pleasureable. The car l took for a spin was a Black Mica MPS with 4000km on the clock. It was very bloody nice, l was impressed :thebirds:

The car is classy but muscular, love the rear end, very subtle. The twin pipes are a bit pox if you look closely though hiding the smaller outlets with a larger ring was a cost cutting corner that should not have been cut. The alloys are nice but would be pr!cks to clean. Front again is muscular but subtle with the bulging bonnet. Overall it looks the goods.

Interior is very schmick, this particular car had the luxury pack so had very nice high quality leather seats, a glass sunroof that made the interior feel open and airy and a Bose stereo that sounded great (even though l think Bose is crap) Controls had a nice feel, dash very nice and done in the style of the WRX Sti ie. red instruments that illuminate on power up. Steering wheel had good feel and with controls for stereo and CC, nicely done and again the quality was there. Loved the titanium finsih over the centre stack and console, better than the sprayed silver we get on the local cars.

On the road l was really suprised at how powerful the car was. Heaps of grunt down low and much easier to drive than the Sti. Pulls from 2500rpm effortlessly and would leave the Sti for dead up until 4500rpm. In fact you wouldnt know the MPS was a turbo unless you were told, it feels like a strong NA six. No wheezes, BOV noises or any other hint of whats under the bonnet. In a straight line there is no doubt the Sti would eat it but in everyday driving the MPS is very torquey and easy to drive. l found the clutch to be very light and the gearbox a bit vague and notchy compared to the superb 6sp Sti box but you would expect that, the Sti box is exceptional. Brakes had nice feel and worked well, no problems there.

Overall a big thumbs up, a genuine alternative for those who dont need a big car and can settle for something a little smaller, but value quality and fit/finsh. l keep looking at the horny BF GT-P on my desktop and thinking how tough it looks. But its a bit like the blonde teenager you went to school with, tasty babe but not much between the ears. :

Will definitley give this one a big consideration along with the 2.5lt Sti, Evo 9, Liberty Sti and the FPV's when update time comes.

l have some pics but they are at home on the camera, will post up later. :thebirds:

[Moya]

At 1.6 tonne, dry, the 190kw isn't gonna pack anything is it?

Sure, it's all paper, but I mean, performance? Drop some headers and intake on the XT Falcon and shes above that.

[Dave_au]

There is only one problem with the car - it's front wheel drive biased awd, with a maximum of 50% torque being sent to the rear. :alien2:

[nang3]

"tasty babe but not much between the ears"

and this is bad how???????

nah for the dollars, i would go for an FPV, either F6 or GT... well i did anyway

[merlin]

thanks for the review it seems to be a nice car.

However I would have trouble justifing the price given that the same moola can get you into any number of AWD turbos that will run rings around the Mazda. But then again i do believe it is aimed at the 'more mature gentleman' to take on the likes of the liberty rather than WRX

[MrSparkle]

Excellent review and rather timely for me mate!

The much-loved Japanese Banana has been sold and will be gone as of this evening! :( But we keep going and move on to new and exciting things, and for me this is a split decision between Liberty "STi", Liberty GT, Evo9, and as an outside chance, Liberty 3.0R-B and 350z (with the new 221kW engine).

I had a good look at the MPS at the motor show and seemed to be exactly what I had expected, well that is, purely from a non-driving point of view! Well built, styling was pretty good (but prefer Suby 18's on RB and STi GT). I'm a bit worried (ok a LOT worried) about the drivetrain configuration (FWD bias), and the pork of the thing.

Anyway, very torn at the moment, part of me wants the outright capability and no bullsh!% performance of the EVO, another part of me thinks the 3.0RB is great value since it comes with all the fruit and would be the winner on the financial front, and yet another part of me says "screw that, the STi GT is the go". Then they all get into a very loud and obscene argument which inevitably turns violent.

I am planning to take out an EVO9 next week for a test as it's the only one in my list I haven't driven yet. I am scared that the drive will see an end to any longing I have for creature comforts and stealth! Oh if only I could overlook the "fun" factor :(

[nang3]

mate if you need any practicality in a car i would steer clear of the 350Z - it looks nice, goes pretty well but does get pretty boring pretty quickly...

i had one and went from being a fanatic about it to just wanting to get rid of it - not an easy car to sell being such a niche target demographic..

I would take the 2 subis and EVO over the mazda anyday, prolly the subi if you want comfort room etc..

just my opinion after coming from the limited practicality of the Z

[Ford_Crazy]

If you want reliability and build quality second to none? Go the Mazda.

[Mondie]

Originally Posted by MrSparkle

I had a good look at the MPS at the motor show and seemed to be exactly what I had expected, well that is, purely from a non-driving point of view! Well built, styling was pretty good (but prefer Suby 18's on RB and STi GT). I'm a bit worried (ok a LOT worried) about the drivetrain configuration (FWD bias), and the pork of the thing.(

Didnt notice the extra pork at all Sparkles and thought the AWD setup was fine, at no time did it feel like l was driving a FWD car.l wouldnt let this put you off. The fit and finish is one of the big appeals of a car like this and believe me you will be suprised at how strong the engine is in the low-midrange. It even has DSC (hey FPV : )

l have a lot of other cars to drive yet but this one is definitley a front runner.

[Mondie]

Pics here.....

http://www.pbase.com/tracka/mazda_mp6

[SpoolMan]

Very nice looking small car...