[GWL]

The Good

• Beautifully designed
• Great handling
• Good fuel economy

The Bad

• Underpowered
• Noisy
• Less space than competitors

2017 Mazda6 GT Test Drive Review

 

[ocramida]

They keep calling ieloop a regenerative braking system, when it actually feeds off the special alternator during deceleration. Very few reviews get this right.


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[stovetop]

also, the heated steering wheel only heats at 9 and 3 and not near the 12 and 6 positions.
sucks cuz I usually drive at the 6

 

[Buzzman12]

Well, I just bought and took delivery of a brand new 2017 M6 with the premiere and tech package last week.
I have all of 230kms on it so far.
It is a beautiful car, no question. That is one of the things that attracted me to it.
I added tinted windows, the Mazda trunk lid spoiler (not standard in Canada), mud flaps, and colour matching body side moulding (with the Mazda 6 logo).
I'm afraid to park it anywhere now.

Anyway, the heated steering wheel is nice, but I agree that it would be better if it was heated all the way around.
As for power, I didn't feel it was an issue when I test drove it before buying, and I am still quite happy with the performance.
I'm not taking it out on the drag strip or a track. That's not why I bought it.

As for noise, compared to my last car, this thing is very quiet.
The GT comes with thicker glass, so I think that makes a difference.
The ride is a little stiff and controlled, but that's what I prefer.
I imagine the 19 inch wheels have something to do with that. Maybe 17's would soften it up a bit. Again, I'm quite happy in that department.

The one thing I wish it had that my last car had: auto down windows through the FOB.
I could lower the front windows on my previous car with my key fob.
This shouldn't be hard to program in, so hopefully they'll incorporate this feature on a future update.

I'm still experimenting with all of the nanny features, but so far I like what this car can do.
The laser cruise control is amazing, once I learned to trust it.....lol.

As for space, again, not an issue. It's just my wife and I now, and there's plenty of room in the back for the grandkids.
The trunk is huge too. No lack of space at all.

 

[stovetop]

I have a 2017 GT as well. Does your 7" monitor rattle?
Mine rattles when I hit a bump in the road/idle sometimes.

 

[Buzzman12]

I have a 2017 GT as well. Does your 7" monitor rattle?
Mine rattles when I hit a bump in the road/idle sometimes.

So far, no rattles. The monitor seems to be rattle free.

One thing I've noticed, now that the cold weather has really hit up here (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada), is that the engine idling on cold startups is a little noisier than I would expect.
Not totally happy with that. I may ask the dealer if this is normal or not. Gets quieter as it warms up.
Sounds a little like a diesel when it first starts up. Direct injection may be causing this?

 

[tickerguy]

It's normal and an emissions thing to meet government requirements. When cold it's quite obnoxious -- the ECU intentionally bleeds not-yet-complete combustion into the exhaust to light off the cat more-quickly, and it's rather loud.

 

[DeepCrystal17]

Underpowered

The reviewer does not say it's chronically underpowered as this bullet suggests. They said "Admittedly, there were times I found the Mazda6 underpowered, although the four-cylinder and six-speed automatic transmission is a responsive combination.

I'm so sick of people calling this car underpowered. It's quicker than any car it competes directly against. If it's underpowered (which is highly debatable given it's quicker than, for example, my neighbor's 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora with a 4.0 L Northstar V8) then the whole class of midsize, base-engined sedans is underpowered and don't buy one.

 

[calcaneous]

• 
  

Underpowered



The reviewer does not say it's chronically underpowered as this bullet suggests. They said "Admittedly, there were times I found the Mazda6 underpowered, although the four-cylinder and six-speed automatic transmission is a responsive combination.



I'm so sick of people calling this car underpowered. It's quicker than any car it competes directly against. If it's underpowered (which is highly debatable given it's quicker than, for example, my neighbor's 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora with a 4.0 L Northstar V8) then the whole class of midsize, base-engined sedans is underpowered and don't buy one.

2017 Camry and accord (v6) have more hp for about the same price as a Mazda 6 GT.

That’s why it always get slammed for being under powered.




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[DeepCrystal17]

2017 Camry and accord (v6) have more hp for about the same price as a Mazda 6 GT.

That’s why it always get slammed for being under powered.

That's a misrepresentation of the facts. Yes, you can get an Accord 2.0T for a minimum of around $31k, the same starting price as the 6 GT, but the Accord will have cloth seats, lack of nav and lack of some other features standard on the 6 GT. The Accord EX-L with 2.0T that is more closely optioned to the 6 GT is more like $36k, a $5k premium over the 6 GT.

So, no, you cannot get an Accord with the bigger engine and otherwise similarly equipped as the 6 GT.

I totally agree with those who have bemoaned the lack of an upgrade engine in the 6, that they're willing to pay extra for, but to infer the entire 6 lineup is "underpowered" is absurd and lazy.

 

[calcaneous]

That's a misrepresentation of the facts. Yes, you can get an Accord 2.0T for a minimum of around $31k, the same starting price as the 6 GT, but the Accord will have cloth seats, lack of nav and lack of some other features standard on the 6 GT. The Accord EX-L with 2.0T that is more closely optioned to the 6 GT is more like $36k, a $5k premium over the 6 GT.



So, no, you cannot get an Accord with the bigger engine and otherwise similarly equipped as the 6 GT.



I totally agree with those who have bemoaned the lack of an upgrade engine in the 6, that they're willing to pay extra for, but to infer the entire 6 lineup is "underpowered" is absurd and lazy.

I didn’t mention anything about extra or options. Navigation, leather seats, etc etc doesn’t add anything to performance.

You are still paying 30k for a 185hp car compared to the ~250hp the Camry and accord offer.

Mazda shines by offering extra and options at a lower price point compared to those two....but until the 2.5t comes out, they are underpowered.






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[DeepCrystal17]

I didn’t mention anything about extra or options. Navigation, leather seats, etc etc doesn’t add anything to performance.

You are still paying 30k for a 185hp car compared to the ~250hp the Camry and accord offer.

Mazda shines by offering extra and options at a lower price point compared to those two....but until the 2.5t comes out, they are underpowered.

An upgraded engine is just another option along with leather, navigation, etc. They satisfy different needs. Leather serves the comfort need, a more powerful engine serves the performance need, etc.

What you're really saying, which I agree with, is the 6 lacks the option of a more powerful engine for those (~15% of sedan buyers) that feel the base engine (of any midsize sedan for that matter, since is 6 is the quickest among base engine sedans) is not powerful enough for them. That's the accurate way of putting it. Just putting out a blanket statement that the 6 is underpowered, as this article did and some posters on here do, infers that it isn't as quick as the other base-engined midsize sedans it directly competes with. That will turn off prospective buyers who are just looking for a base or mid-level sedan (~85% of buyers).

The 6 GT competes directly with the Accord Touring with 1.5T and CVT and stickers for almost $34,000. And the 6 is quicker than the Accord in that configuration. The 6 GT does NOT compete directly with the Accord with the 2.0T / 10-speed which is a $2,000 option on the EX-L and Touring and a $4,530 option on the Sport.

 

[stovetop]

So far, no rattles. The monitor seems to be rattle free.

One thing I've noticed, now that the cold weather has really hit up here (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada), is that the engine idling on cold startups is a little noisier than I would expect.
Not totally happy with that. I may ask the dealer if this is normal or not. Gets quieter as it warms up.
Sounds a little like a diesel when it first starts up. Direct injection may be causing this?

I fixed the rattling with some double sided tape behind the monitor.
I also get very noisy idling.when I first start the car. It goes away after like 15 seconds though.

 

[ocramida]

I fixed the rattling with some double sided tape behind the monitor.
I also get very noisy idling.when I first start the car. It goes away after like 15 seconds though.

Noisy cold engine is normal for DI cars.

I also had thr same rsttle behind ths screen. Fixed it with some foam.

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[Buzzman12]

I also get very noisy idling.when I first start the car. It goes away after like 15 seconds though.

I did some research on the noisy startups when cold, and realized it's normal.
Thanks.