The Mazda Rev-It-Up was great for being able to test drive a bunch of cars at the same time and the same location under track and typical driving scenarios.

I was able to test drive the Mazda 6 (obviously), the Mazdaspeed Protege and the 6 speed Miata. I must say that I was impressed by the driving experience in all of the cars, even if the Mazda 6 I liked was the one with Eibach Springs and Falken Azenis tires we used for the Competition Track. ;)

Here were a few brief observations I made.

Mazda 6:

The general interior and seating was good and the automatic climate control was pretty nice too. Looks great for a four door sedan and handles surprisingly well, but again, it did have the advantage of a lowered suspension and the high performance tires. The manumatic mode downshifted quickly and smoothly, but was slow to upshift. Overall, a very nice buy for those looking for a sporty four door sedan.

Mazdaspeed Protege:

Good interior for its price point and sporty seating. Shifting was good and positive and the clutch was good for its class as well. Nice exterior styling, but not too sure about the limited colors available. It did exhibit a little more turbo lag than I would have liked, but the boost came on smooth and progressively, even if it could use a little more power. Overall, a nice entry-level sporty car that could do a little better on color choices and power tuning.

Miata 6 speed:

Definitely my choice for "The Most Fun". Surprisingly powerful thanks to its light weight and peppy motor. Shifter was very good and easy to get into gears, but could have had the gates slightly more defined (like the RX-8). The clutch was linear and required little effort to produce smooth engagements. Car handles very well and you can easily control the rear end with power oversteer as desired. Interior was snug, but well appointed for a roadster, good seating too. Overall, would make a really nice third car for us married with children people, and a nice sporting blast for anyone else.

Mazda really does make a good prduct line. Hopefully the RX-8 will take them to the next level in both sales and image. Who knows? The RX-7's return might be closer than we all think. ;)

Originally posted by DTECH-RX
Mazdaspeed Protege:

Good interior for its price point and sporty seating. Shifting was good and positive and the clutch was good for its class as well. Nice exterior styling, but not too sure about the limited colors available. It did exhibit a little more turbo lag than I would have liked, but the boost came on smooth and progressively, even if it could use a little more power. Overall, a nice entry-level sporty car that could do a little better on color choices and power tuning.


man you think 180 hp is slow on that thing?? I've bearly got 100 on mine!!! Is there really turbo lag?? i mean its got a rediculously small turbo (T25 i beleive, maybe a T28). Orange is gone and now i think there are 4 or 5 colors availible for next years MSP.

I expected more from the MS Protege. I didn't feel the turbo come online. Overall the Miata was the most fun for me. So fun that a guy yelled at me for going too fast.

I never said the MazdaSpeed Protege was slow (actually it has 170HP), just that it had some turbo lag and that it could do with a little more power. I had a Jetta 1.8T with 180 HP and it was only ever so slightly faster than an MSP, but since the turbo spooled up much faster (KKK S03/04 hybrid), you had max torque by 2000RPM so around town you could really scoot off the line. Anyway, the MSP is a nice handling sporty car and I personally would recommend it as a buy for its price range. Don't forget that there is lot of tuning potential since it has a turbo and intercooler to begin with too.

I hear ya about the Miata Super. They made a point to emphasize that it was only a "test drive" and not a competition course, but I made sure to do my slight bit of tire squealing towards the far end of the track where it kinda blended in with the competition Mazda 6s running on the track right next to us. Needless to say that I had easliy caught up to the Mazda 6 that had left the line significantly before I did, by the last couple of turns/obstacles on the test drive track! :D