RX8Club.com - My little experience with Mazda 6 GT 2.5T

So I recall in another thread someone said I should test drive a Mazda 6 with 2.5T...

Well, one of my friends just purchased one, and since he hasn't driven for a while, I drove it for a while in Vancouver.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...058b7a9641.jpg

I thought I should write a little about it. Nothing too technical, just some general feelings I have with it.

Engine:
The 2.5T is, as expected, very torquey at low-end. In city driving, there is no need to rev it up like our cars, and especially with my friend's granny driving style as of now, it's definitely adequate in my opinion.

I floored it once in a demo car, and it definitely goes fast enough when you need that power. Turbo lag is there, but I don't find it to be too intruding to the overall experience.

That said, I find the engine too torquey for the FWD+open diff drivetrain. The all-season tires on it don't help. Even with dry ground, I find it that I need to be careful with the (floor mounted) throttle, but still, in some case, I was gentle with it, and yet, the tires squealed and the traction control kicks in. It's actually quite frustrating and reminded me of my old Accord V6.

Transmission:
Overall, I find the 6AT to shift fairly fine. The shifts themselves are fairly fast, although I personally think it sometimes shifts a touch too late than I'd like when I am not very heavy on the gas pedal. Put it in Sport mode, and the transmission makes the engine rev a bit higher and hold onto a lower gear for longer. I haven't played with it too much, though, since the car is new and I would want it to break in first before my friend mashes on the throttle.

Paddle shifters are there if you want to play with them. Not too useful IMO, but as I said, the shifts themselves are pretty fast, so you can certainly entertain yourself if you want to.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...674fc482d1.jpg

Handling:
Honestly, not much I can say here. It handles about as well as I expect it to: nowhere as nimble as my RX-8, but better than any SUV I have driven. It doesn't feel like you will tip it over or anything, but it doesn't feel nearly as confident doing some sharp turns in it, and you can really feel the car's weight. Again, really reminded me of my old Accord in this respect. My friend said I am trying to drive it like I drive my RX-8(he used to ride with me quite often), while I shrugged and told him that I wasn't really trying that hard. Again, he drives like a granny right now, so even with me holding myself back, it feels spirited to him.

The steering feels a bit lighter than my RX-8 as it's a family car. I don't think the Sport mode button affects the steering feel to make it heavier or anything.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...8e92aaf8c5.jpg

Interior:
Being a GT model, it certainly has some luxury feel to it. As far as I can tell, there is no crap like fake wood("cough"Honda Accord*cough*); in its place, you have some brushed metal, which looks much classier in my opinion, while the Piano Black panels and black leather work very well together.

The front seats are pretty spacious, although being a 5'9" guy, I guess anything is spacious, LOL. They are obviously more comfort-oriented than my RX-8, which feels tighter in a good way. The rear foot room, however, seems to be a bit of a weak spot for Mazda cars in general. We actually visited a Honda dealer next door and sat in a new Civic. At least to me and my other friend who was accompanying us, the 6's rear seats feel about as spacious as the Civic, while the Mazda 3 rear seats feel a bit tighter. It's not by any means uncomfortable, but just interesting than a mid-size Sedan feels similar to a compact Sedan in terms of rear foot room.

Aside from the typical climate controls, all seats are heated(the rear seat heaters are controlled from a panel you pull down from the centre rear seat). The steering wheel is also heated and keep your hands pretty warm on cold days. The front seats are also cooled, but they suck air in instead of blowing it. I recall trying it in summer and it does work better than the blowing type, although some people have concerns that it might suck in the sweat and that could be a problem over time. Dunno if this will become an actual concern.

Technology!!!!!!1111!!!ONEONEONE!!!
This is the bit that makes me a bit jealous of the car... Well, not really the safety nannies. I don't need the lane departure warning and blind spot detection, but my friend certainly does due to him being a noob, LOL. I need to remind him so many times to check the right mirror and shoulder check when he makes a right turn, especially with the crazy cyclists in BC.

The active cruise control is pretty cool, though, and the automatic braking also works pretty well and leaves you some good distance to react(you can change this in the tablet console). Again, not necessary for me, but it does make life a bit easier.

The LED headlights shine the road very well and go pretty far, farther than the HID units on the RX-8 as far as I can tell. They also move as you are making a turn, which is a neat feature. The automatic high beams work flawlessly: it shines up the road far ahead when there is no car around, and quickly shuts it off as a car appears in the opposite lane.

The HUD is a neat feature as well. It works in conjunction with the safety nannies and tells you if there is a car in the blind spot, the speed limit of the area, directions if you are navigating, etc. One thing to note, Mazda has changed the HUD unit to project directly onto the windshield and not onto a little glass panel behind the cluster gauge. This is to improve the crash rating, as the previous design can have the glass fly into your face in a crash.

Finally, there is the tablet console. It responds quickly for the most part, although it can lag a little bit sometimes. The particular car has navigation, which is updated, as well as Android Auto, Apple Carplay and some miscellaneous stuff like fuel economy monitor. Android Auto works well in the sense that it lets me see my friend's mom sending him messages, LOL. Bluetooth music connection was a bit glitchy when my friend initially connected his phone when we drove off the lot, but it has never happened again, so nothing to be concerned about.

Only time will tell how long these techs last.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...e04ae8a990.jpg

Overall, I like the car for what it is, a family car with good interior and some luxuries and technology. It's not a driver's car, but it sure fits my friend. It definitely looks good. My friend wanted a Soul Red model, but the only one they have in stock with black interior and in GT trim is this blue one, which IMO looks just as good, if not better, than the Soul Red. It adds to the classy feel Mazda 6 has.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...161ec24ae2.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...979aead155.jpg
Looks even better at night!

It's certainly a good deal with about CAN$39k OTD(~US$30ishk) after some negotiation. The dealer also covered most of our travel expenses.

A little story about the buying experience:
My friend first looked at the dealer in Victoria(Pacific Mazda; I deal with their parts department a lot, but not the sales department), and they are not willing to budge the price. They wanted about CAN$42k OTD for a GT.

My friend is obviously not pleased, so he looked around and saw a dealer in Vancouver(Signature Mazda) that is listing GTs for CAN$34k(so about CAN$38ishk OTD) on their website. He was pretty happy with this and we all took the ferry to Vancouver. The sales were definitely more passionate there, but when he mentioned the price, the dealer was like "Oh, we made a mistake; we can't actually do CAN$34k before tax", and they wanted the same amount as the Victoria dealer.

After some back-and-forth, we made our little detour to the Honda dealer next door. The sales guy who we dealt with was... interesting. He bashed the 6 like it's a piece of crap and bragged about how much better the Accord is and is unwilling to budge the price because "the Accord is superior to the 6..." They wanted CAN$42k OTD with a 2.0T Sport. So we half-heartedly hopped in a Civic. My friend still liked it, but not as much as the 6.

After some food, we went back to the Mazda dealer. They said they can do about CAN$35k before tax, which my friend is fine with. We picked it up the next morning and here we are.

To end... Hopefully you didn't fall asleep, LOL.