2016 Mazda 6 beats out 3 other sedans in Car & Driver 4/16 issue!

wickedrx7 said:

You do realize that saving weight (Sky active) does not necessarily mean cheaply made. Save weight, better fuel economy, less engine HP required. I would gladly give up some sound deadening for a lighter, more nimble feel. the

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Actually, if you read into the engineering of the Skyactive engines it's very fascinating. It's not just weight reduction; they re-engineered EVERYTHING to account for overall less wear and tear on engines. They even bore a small "cup" at the tip of each piston as to allow a tiny fragment of charred fuel to more completely cool down before the next cycle, thus reducing the stress put on the piston over time and allowing for more complete burning of the fuel - all while allowing for a higher compression. Genius if you ask me.

I agree with GreyGhost though - Most of pitctym6's issues could have been discovered during a test drive or aren't really issues at all. To each his own, but this is one of the most highly acclaimed sedans to ever be on the market, and I love mine ever second that I'm in it

2016 Mazda 6 beats out 3 other sedans in Car & Driver 4/16 issue!

pltctym6 said:

2016 didn't get all the accolades like it did 2015. other makers refined their cars where mazda did not.

and 2017 will be out in a couple months

still noisy with wind and a harsh ride but softer with michelins. lack of sound insulation and a back window that fogs easy cause no insulation in the trunk where the window reaches over. crappy too small brake rotors. mazda is really a cheaply made car...all for skyactive

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You're reasoning is just opinions with zero fact. I come from owning 4 Lexus's (2008-2011) and 1 Acura (2009). I can tell you that those cars are built no better than the Mazda 6. In many ways the 6 is actually built better. I owned 3 Lexus IS's and my most recent Lexus was a CT200h. You want to experience a rough ride and lots of wind noise? Then drive a CT! Not to mention that car fully loaded is $38k. The Acura? Don't even get my started. That thing was the biggest piece of crap I've ever owned. I traded in after 6 months because I hated it so much. Acura doesn't even try to be different from Honda, they are the exact same vehicles with only a difference in MSRP. The front door Infiniti speakers blew 3 times in 6 months and I don't listen to my music loud at all. Was there sound deadening in the Acura? Nope, pulled off every door panel to find none whatsoever.

Now the Mazda 6, does it have a rough ride? Yes and no. Depends on what you're comparing it to. If you are cross shopping a Camry and Accord then yes it does. However if you put even the slightest effort into researching and making an informed decision when purchasing the Mazda 6 (I'm talking 10% effort) you would discover that this is a drivers car similar to BMW. Compared to my last Lexus this car drives like a dream. Wind noise? Is it great? No. But is it better than my last 5 vehicles, heck yeah! The IS had horrible road and wind noise. I had to turn up the radio to drown it out. I don't have to do that with my 6.

Seems to be that you may have somehow blindly walked into a local Mazda dealer, pointed your finger and spun around to point at wherever you stopped, in this case being the Mazda 6. If your going to bash a car for simple things that could have been discovered in one 5 minute test drive you might want to keep your opinions to yourself.

This car s perfect for being able to stand out amongst the sheep (Camry, Accord, Fusion, Sonata). Why have a car that's exactly like the rest when you could just buy one of those? I want a car that stands apart not just in looks but drivability and the Maxda 6 nails it!

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pltctym6 said:

2016 didn't get all the accolades like it did 2015. other makers refined their cars where mazda did not.

and 2017 will be out in a couple months

still noisy with wind and a harsh ride but softer with michelins. lack of sound insulation and a back window that fogs easy cause no insulation in the trunk where the window reaches over. crappy too small brake rotors. mazda is really a cheaply made car...all for skyactive

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There is definetly some truth to this. I like my '14 GT Mazda6 a lot, it's a great car, but it definetly has some weaknesses.

Despite the window seal TSB being completed on my car, wind noise is poor at best. This vehicle has economy car like wind/road noise volumes on the highway.

Look at the countless complains on this message board alone regarding warped brake rotors...the complaints are real. The brakes are a weakness on this vehicle.

Why should anyone have to replace their tires on a brand new $30,000 car to have an acceptiable highway noise volume? The road noise only gets much worse as the tires wear.

Better window seals, thicker acousticlly sealed glass, better/more sound deadening, quieter tires, and a beefier set of brake hardware would transform the beloved Mazda6 from a good car, to an excellent car...and I'm sure it would do much better for sales.

I have a 2016 Mazda 6 GT and I love my car, but I do agree, there are some down sides to it. The fan boys will always blindly defend their purchase, which is understandable, but let's be honest, every car has its flaws.

More specifically, the gaps between doors and fenders, the hood gap and etc are not all consistent across the board. The gap between my left fender is pretty small, but the gap between my right fender is noticeably bigger. The side mirrors' plastic is very cheaply made. You can tap on it or just be cleaning it with a towel and hear it creak like crazy and feels very thin and hollow. The center console inside the car will wiggle quite a lot if you push it from side to side.

Jump into a BMW and you will immediately see that it is more "solidly" built. That is NOT to say that it LOOKS more luxurious or anything. The materials may look worse and the design may not be as aesthetic, but it is definitely better quality materials. Of course, it is a much more expensive car.

Mazda did a great job with making their car look premium, but that's just it, looks. I would still give this car a 9 out of 10 for its price point, but the materials can be better.

btp589 said:

I have a 2016 Mazda 6 GT and I love my car, but I do agree, there are some down sides to it. The fan boys will always blindly defend their purchase, which is understandable, but let's be honest, every car has its flaws.

More specifically, the gaps between doors and fenders, the hood gap and etc are not all consistent across the board. The gap between my left fender is pretty small, but the gap between my right fender is noticeably bigger. The side mirrors' plastic is very cheaply made. You can tap on it or just be cleaning it with a towel and hear it creak like crazy and feels very thin and hollow. The center console inside the car will wiggle quite a lot if you push it from side to side.

Jump into a BMW and you will immediately see that it is more "solidly" built. That is NOT to say that it LOOKS more luxurious or anything. The materials may look worse and the design may not be as aesthetic, but it is definitely better quality materials. Of course, it is a much more expensive car.

Mazda did a great job with making their car look premium, but that's just it, looks. I would still give this car a 9 out of 10 for its price point, but the materials can be better.

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That's odd that you say your body panel gaps don't match. I was at the Auto Show earlier this year and I was looking at Mercedes and BMW since they were right next to each other. The body panel gaps were horrendous. Mercedes was noticeably really bad on each side of the hood compared to the fenders. I have a 2014 GT and my panel gaps are perfect all the way around. Only issue I had was my trunk alignment was slightly off but I had the dealer fix. Everything else is flawless and actually better than my last car which was a Lexus. I'm comparing this car to my last 2 cars which were Lexus's. One had an MSRP of $38k and the other $42k. Both had creaking plastic mirrors when I detailed the car, very hollow and simply just plastic. Both had center consoles that moved and were not rock solid. You are comparing this car to a BMW. Sure Germans can built solid body's but I'd take reliability over that any day of the year. The amount of electrical component failures on German cars is just simply astonishing, especially on Audi's. For a $30k car this vehicle is spot on.


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pltctym6 said:

2016 didn't get all the accolades like it did 2015. other makers refined their cars where mazda did not.

and 2017 will be out in a couple months

still noisy with wind and a harsh ride but softer with michelins. lack of sound insulation and a back window that fogs easy cause no insulation in the trunk where the window reaches over. crappy too small brake rotors. mazda is really a cheaply made car...all for skyactive

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1) Why mention mostly the same accolades between 2015 and 2016? Most of the changes were minor and mostly on the GT spec

2) Yes, 2017 will be out shortly. I don't foresee any major changes there either. 2016 was a mid-cycle refresh. Don't be shocked if 2017 is a carry-over. That being said, 2018 might be carry over as well, which may be dangerous. The fusion is due for a redo in 2018 and; as panned as Toyota has been lately; I wouldn't be shocked if the Camry got a heavy mid cycle refresh.

3) I don't get the wind noise complains or the harsh ride. Yes, the tires suck but most of the people who changed out their tires eliminated that complaint. It's the Dunlops, not the Mazda. If the insulation for the back window was suspect, you wouldn't get fogging. You'd get condensation. The fogging is mostly due to the window angle plus the fact that the radial antenna built into the back glass won't allow for the defroster to reach that high. Being it's not in line of sight, that's a pittance. As far as the brake rotors go, I have 20K on mine and brakes are fine. No pulsing or pulling and the rotors look fine.

If you wanted a high performance sedan, you bought the wrong car. Did you even test drive yours?