2010 Mazda 6 s GT: A Reader's Long-Term Car

This car definitely photographs well! I would not buy an automatic but sounds like you enjoy it. Thanks for sharing!

Beautiful car; too bad you can't get a manual with the V6.

I love the black, but I don't have the patience to buy black myself...

By the way, both my Mom's 2002 Ford Taurus and my 2006 Acura have the power window switches where the lights turnoff when you lock them out. It definitely is a nice attention to detail.

yeah our 06 legacy has the window switch light shut off too. I thought that was so cool when I bought it (of course now I hardly notice it!).

Nice car though. I've always had a sweet spot for the Mazda 6's. in 06 I seriously considered a manual 6s wagon, but since it was my only car at the time and I need AWD I had to go with the scooby. I've thought about down the road trading up from my civic to an 06-07 6s sedan with a manual. They are getting pretty affordable on the used market!

good car i have to say i really like the mz6 i always have but i HATE that the v6 dosent get a stick nissan is the olny car maker to do that to their family car

Nice write-up. How many miles do you have on the car?

I like what Mazda did in the redesign of the 6. Looks very elegant.

not sure how anyone could call this call this ugly. Its still better looking than the new Sonata and almost every other car in this class.

After the Volkswagen CC this is my favorite-looking sedan. And I'd probably buy it for value, reliability and handling over the CC.

Wish they'd come back with a wagon variant though - really want a wagon at this point for a DD.

love the new mazda 6s, looks good

Now I'm pretty sure I'm not alone when I say this: a few years ago, before the current generation mazda3 came out, mazda had a really fantastic looking lineup. Then, shortly after the introduction of the latest mazda3, they really messed it up by adding 'the smile' to the front of alost every single car in their lineup. It really kills any classiness in the design and makes the cars look plain goofy. This generation of mazda6 looks truly fantastic, and I really like the elements of the rx-8 you can see in it. However, something tells me that pretty soon we're going to see a redesign or refresh of the 6, and it will most likely come with that same huge, goofy smile that we've seen spoil so many other designs getting slapped right across the front. And thats too bad because the last gen and this one both look great.

I, too, looked very hard at the Mz6 as a replacement for beloved by old Audi A6. If only there was a wagon, I would have been sold, but I bought a Maxima SV/Sport instead. People have complained about the CVT on the Nissan, but when you understand the tech and how it works and really see it in your mind's eye, the performance, efficiency and fun in using it in sport mode with the paddle-ratio-selectors (I'm trying to come up with a substitute for "shifter"), magnifies the fun and athleticism of this package. I was also disappointed with the switch gear in the Mazda and the sad tin can sound of the doors when I closed them. The Mz6 looks good in black, it hides the unnecessarily oversized wheel bulges. Who thought of that?

I also remember hearing a lot of complaints about how the current 6 looked when introduced, but honestly I've always found it to be a very good looking car, and like makakio says, the 6 and the Passat CC are the nicest ones of that segment.

I also think that if the new Mz3 looked like a smaller version of the 6, we would have a better looking car.

You made a good choice ocramidajzj!

sotolux you said you passed on the MZ6 because there was not a wagon but then bought a maxima? that doesn't make any sense... especially since you could have gotten a nice 2 year old Audi wagon for the high cost of a Maxima.

Totally agree with lostboyz on this one. I mean it's a nice car, but how many miles does it have on it? Too new to be posting about "long term" ownership IMO.

lostboyz and threemopars: if you use that rule then edmunds can't post anything on a car until they have a certain amount of miles on them...

I love my 1st gen Mz6 and I like the looks of the refresh. My only gripe is they did away with the 5-door, like I have. So when I'm ready to move to my next vehicle, won't have that utility option available and will likely have to go with something else. Shame really, otherwise a real beaut you got there.

I think you should cut some slack on the age of the car. Its an automotive website and everyone should enjoy what is given us and the writers also want to share their experience on the car they love. But removing the Long-Term part away would probably encourage bloggers to post their impressions of a new vehicle they might have bought.

Nice looking car, and great writeup. And you're right about the car's lines--they really are eye-catching. Kudos to you for buying something that stands out and fits your needs as well as the 6 does. Hope you have many happy miles in it.

I like it but would have gotten nav...

Thanks for the feedback guys

To answer each of your points: The car now has ~8K. And I also wondered how legitimate it would be to post a new car to an LT Blog, but I thought it was timely and valid since Edmunds had recently had a iGT in their LT fleet.

The pictures may suggest that there are too many buttons on the center stack but the buttons are well-laid out and most used functions are intuitively placed. When you sit in the car the stack seems sparse compared to say a Maxima, Camry and even the Sonata controls highlighted in the Blog entry above. I actually like the radio contorls better than the integrated set-up the Mz6 initially had in 2009. BTW the iPod interface it pretty good (optional $80 cable required for dock integration) although iPhone integration is a bit kloogy with BT A2DP fighting over music control with the dock connection. I had downloaded a BT app from Cydia that allows selectively disabling BT profiles when I jailbroke my 3Gs, but have to wait for the iPhone 4 jailbreak now.

I would have liked to get Nav as well, but the extra $2000 was a dealbreaker for me and the GUI wasn't all that good. I do miss having a map right in front of me. I actually think it makes for safer driving, since you know exactly where you are.

I do miss the MS3's hatchback. Although the Mz6's trunk is gigantic and quite capable of carrying many large items (I picked up a portable A/C unit from Home Depot that they told me wouldn't fit), having the extra flexibility of a hatch would help with day to day chores -like going to the dump.

The car is a great travelling car. Whereas I tended to use my wife's Mz5 for family duty over the weekend (family trips, family visits etc). I'm now more likely to take the 6 for it's comfort, NVH advantage and drivability. We're planning on a trip to Washington DC and I'll probably choose the 6 for the 12 hour round trip.

I'll tell ya, I have gotten so many compliments on the look of the car. Many people who walk up to it think it's much more expensive than it is. One guy at work who owns a late model Honda actually preferred my car. And another "car" guy wondered how I could afford a Jag. Of course once he got closer and saw the badge he realized it wasn't. Although I'm not under the false illusion that I own a Jag or Maserati, I find that I feel a sense of car-guy pride when I see one of those more exclusive Marques and don't feel cheated by my Mazda. For me the lines of the Mz6 really do speak the same emotional triggers that drive my love for the lines of Maserati, Jag and even Aston Martin. Chances are I'll never be able to afford one of those cars or even want to deal with their maintenance costs. The Mazda may come in a "cheaper" package but I think it still possesses all the basic elements that drive one's "love" for a car.

I think Mazda did the right thing building the new 6. If they didn't I don't know what I would have done. Buying a $30K appliance like the Accord or Camry would have been a fate worse than death, while considering a more expensive option with two kids and a mortgage wouldn't have been the fiscally responsible choice IMO.

Some addiitonal insights from 7 months of ownership:
Great in snow with the right winter tires.

Factory Michelins are OK, but I can't wait to see how some proper performance tires (Like the new Eagle GT's or Michaelin Pilot A/S) work with the suspension.

Wish Mazda had designed in more cup holders on the rear doors as well as an accessory outlet for the rear seat.

Love the smart key system.

Fuel economy has hovered around 20mpg (70% city, 30% hwy). Keep in mind I use the manumatic a lot and have a heavy size 14 foot :-).

The only "reliability issue/service issues" I've had over the last 7 months have been rattles and buzzes. All but one have been fixed under warranty. To the LT staff, did your Mz6 ever exhibit a rattle under the front passenger seat when it was unoccupied?
This is by far the most annoying aspect of the 6. The dealership (who have been fantastic over the last 8 years) root caused the rattle to the complicated array of safety sensors and mechanisms within the seat. I've heard the same rattle in other 6's. The reasonable side of me realizes that this is what happens when you build a lot of features into a price competitive, yet complicated product. Still it's something that really tends to take away from what is otehrwise a very solid, quiet, refined car. I'm in the process of writing Mazda a letter about this particular issue.

Other than that the car has been trouble-free and solid enough to make me believe in Mazda's "Million Mile" claim.

Sorry, but I wouldn't buy one, and I'm the owner of a 2003 Mazda6. I tested the 2009 at headquarters in Irvine before they were released and was very disappointed. The swoopy styling doesn't work for me; a blend of the Acura TL and Toyota Camry. Also, the front grill smile of these new versions makes me think I'm too old to own one now; I'm 35. Anything that duplicates the Mazda3 is too "ricy" for me. Also own a cx7....the first model with the old grill :)

Plus it's made in the good 'ol USA by UAW workers.

I have the same car in Kona Blue Mica with Nav and light gray interior. After this weekend's 1,000 mile roadtrip, it has 14,500 miles. Only quality issue so far was a rattle under the car. It was a loose plastic shield that I fixed.

Cruised 500 miles at 80 mph through Alabama and Tennessee each way. The ride was comfortable. Engine/trans provides a confident, smooth cruise that never seems taxed. Bursts of speed to 90 to get around traffic are just a toe tip away.

Blobster:
It's funny how people see things differently. I can't for the life of me see any Camry in the 6's styling. After reading your comment I looked at a few in my parking lot at work and still can't see any similarities. For one the Camry's nose and tail look like they were in collisions and there is not one ounce of charisma in the design. To me the Camry's design lacks passion or quality. IMO it's just ugly. Maybe I can see a bit of Acura. The healights, maybe from the side, but IMO the 6 is wholly different and unique in my eyes. Very much european in design elements, where the Camry is uninspired. I'm so smitten by the 6 that I often find myself looking at it's reflection in store front windows as I drive by. It's just so good looking. Yes I know I have some mental issues I need to work through...:-)

The 6 doesn't really have a "smile". If you look closely it's an update of the Gen 1 grille, only with those sexy RX-8 fenders. I have driven the Gen 1 and found it to be quite fun, but the Gen 2 is in a different league IMO. Not only is it fun but refined. Upgrade the plastics and some of the switches and you'd have a car that could compete head to head with German brands, if not in brand equity but overall engineering prowess.

Audisport: Actually that detail made me feel good when I purcashed the 6, especially since that factory is co-owned by Ford (I think they still build the Mustang there) and therefore in a round-about way I was giving some of my money to Ford, who didn't take any payola. BTW, I had also looked at the Taurus, but found it's interior a bit claustraphobic. The high belt-line contributed to this and the rear seat space was actually unimpressive despite the car's enormity. I guess most of the space was given to it's huge trunk.

adamb1: Where did the rattle sound like it was coming from? Maybe what I'm hearing is not from the seat. I do agree that the 6 is a great long distance cruiser- quiet and confident at high speeds. I often catch myself doing 90 to 100mph without realizing it. That V6 has excellent reserves and as you say never feels taxed. However such a serene interior makes that damned rattle even more annoying.

The sound seemed to come from the back seat area.

The shield that came lose on mine is below the passenger-side, back door. It is a plastic shield that I guess either serves an airflow purpose or dulls the sound of stones hitting the bottom of the car. One of the plastic pop rivets fell out. So, starting at 60 mph it was flapping in the wind and rattling as it hit the bottom of the car. I screwed it to the bottom of the car with a sheet metal screw. Fixed.

Edmunds had a similar issue after blowing the panels off the bottom of their car running it through puddles for a photo op.

Definitely take a look underneath.

haha...the irony. You post this:

It's funny how people see things differently. I can't for the life of me see any Camry in the 6's styling. After reading your comment I looked at a few in my parking lot at work and still can't see any similarities. For one the Camry's nose and tail look like they were in collisions and there is not one ounce of charisma in the design. To me the Camry's design lacks passion or quality. IMO it's just ugly.

Then you post that the 6 is "just so good looking" and I wince. If you don't see any Camry in it, have a look at the dash and the front of the exteriors and tell me your thoughts:

http://www.truedelta.com/comparisons201/Camry-vs-Mazda6-price-comparison.php?session_code=

I've got a 2009 6S Touring that's in just about the same condition, and I love it too. The comment about "if you think it's lost the zoom-zoom you haven't really flogged it" is spot-on. I've autocrossed in this car, and though it's not terribly competitive in its class (DSP, the same as all recent stock 3-series), I have at times beaten out every other sub-$35k V6, including Mustangs and Genesis Coupes. It's totally comfortable and a fantastic road-trip car when you're driving it lazily on the highway, but comes alive when you turn off onto mountain back roads, switch it to manumatic mode, and keep the revs around 4500. There isn't any other car in this price range that will let you accomplish a similar level of hoonage while having enough room for four other adults, who will be screaming in terror.

Oh, and when those OEM MXM4's have run out, swap them for Pilot Sport A/S+'s. It made a huge difference, especially in wet-weather grip.

Blobster:

While I can see "similarities" between the two from a basic, fundamental, primitive perspective (e.g. Circles are round for instance). The Camry and Mz6 are so different that I can't see how anyone could think otherwise. The True Delta page you reference has about the worse angle of both cars, with the worst color. If you look at the pictures I took, I think it's pretty easy to see why I find the 6 so good-looking. Where the 6 actually has some defintion and allure to it's sheetmetal, the Camry looks fat and lazy from the blunted grille, to the mid-section, to that horrible boot. No comparison. Toyota doesn't even try to hide the horrible parting lines between the hood and the grille. This one design detail extends across the corrolla and camry of this generation and is the worst offender with what is pretty horrible design language. It's a design decision that speaks to ease of manufacturer rather than good styling decisions. COmpare this lazy design to wjhat Mazda did witht he 6:

http://www.carbodydesign.com/archive/2008/07/21-mazda6-design/

As it should be, Mazda pushed it's manufacturing and mechanical engineering to support a more challenging approach.

In fact I think the 6 has more in common when it comes to exterior styling to these brands:

http://www.insideline.com/ferrari/458-italia/2010/2010-ferrari-458-italia-vs-aston-martin-v12-vantage-vs-lamborghini-gallardo-vs-porsche-911-turbo.html

As far as interior goes, I'm not sure if you've actually sat in a 6 and a Camry, but where the 6 feels open and well-designed, the Camry feels slapped together and claustrophobic. Even the color scheme between the two are light years apart. The 6 certainly uses mediocre materials in some places to keep costs down, but the black and gray's hide much of this, while the Camry feels and looks cheap with it's fugly beiges and silvers.

I've driven Toyota products including the newer Camry's and Corollas and I honestly cannot wait to get out of them. By comparison the interiors of my Mazdas feel like the designers did an excellent job combining the needs of cost-cutting with good design.

FWIW :-)