Took the Mazda 6 for a family road trip to Running Springs over the weekend. It's about an hour and a half drive each way with an elevation gain of about 6,000 feet, and we also made day trips to Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake. Found the firm seats to be quite effective for this duration, but I can see why Josh Jacquot tired of them after 900 miles.
The real pain for us on this trip was the sluggish response of the four-cylinder engine and five-speed automatic transmission team on the way up the mountain. I was constantly pining for turnouts to slink into so the more powerful-engined cars behind me could move on. On the rare occasion that I was stuck behind someone else and a passing lane became available, I'd really have to put my toe to the floor (and then wait, wait, wait) to pass them before the lane ended. But once we got into town and only had minimal elevation gains and losses to deal with, the Mazda 6 was a lovely partner for our small family of three.
Bryn MacKinnon, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com @ 15,347 miles
adavis2493 says:
05:51 PM, 07/13/09
Damn your rims are ugly.
cwc1 says:
06:15 PM, 07/13/09
This is why I'd never get the combination of mediocre four cylinder engine with a slushbox transmission. It just saps the modest power of the motor, and makes it work even harder, while negatively impacting performance and fuel mileage.
aurakr says:
07:39 PM, 07/13/09
What kind of mileage did you get?
I recently returned from a two day, 1100 mile run for my high school reunion. I went from San Diego to Pinetop, Arizona, 7400 feet elevation.
I drove my 2007 Saturn Aura XR, with the 3.6 and got 28-30 mpg each tankful. However, unlike you, I never had to get out of the way, and passing was enjoyable, not that there was much of it with traffic.
I am so glad I decided to go with the V6. I will gladly give up 2 mpg for the added safety of the power.
slhtonz says:
08:36 AM, 07/14/09
@aurakr: i'd bet crappy. i have a 98 camry with the 2.2 and it tends to get great mileage on cruise on the highway... but the one time i took an alternate route on a hilly, twisty state road to try avoiding a toll interstate, my mileage plummeted. any time you have to spend a large proportion of your time north of 4krpm just to maintain speed / try and pass someone, you just can't get good mileage in any car.
granted, if i had a 272hp 3.7L v6 i'd probably keep it north of 4k on a mountain road anyway... but at least it'd be fun and more than worth the crummy mileage... but that's a totally different story :)
DLu says:
02:07 PM, 07/14/09
I've never driven the new gen Mz6; the auto in my '04, for a "family" vehicle was not too bad.
In comparison, I think Toyotas (just drove a Corolla) seem to have stubborn auto trans, which i think is probably largely responsible for their spectacular mileage (compared to similarly sized and powered cars). I'd floor the gas, and the trans will REFUSE to downshift for what seems like 5 whole seconds. When the stupid thing finally downshifts, the power is actually tolerable. Than a millisecond later, the thing upshifts just to keep the RPM's down. My wife's Forester is almost as bad.
Doesn't the '09 Mz6 also have the manual shift mode for the auto trans? For me, anticipation is key. I smoke 95% of cars around Boston (where drivers can get quite aggressive) because I can downshift in "M" mode early, get my revs up above 4k, and get some decent speed. Perhaps we don't have as much elevation change here in New England (although I've driven through some decent uphills in NH), or maybe I carry smaller loads, but I've never suffered like you've described. Having read many acceleration times that are clearly better than my '04, I'm a little incredulous that the '09 seems so ... anemic!