Speed Without the Garish Wing: MazdaSpeed 6 offers stealth performance in a practical sedan
2006 MAZDA MAZDASPEED 6
ON SALE: Now
BASE PRICE: $28,555
POWERTRAIN: 2.3-liter, 274-hp, 280-lb-ft turbocharged I4; awd, six-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT: 3589 lbs
0 TO 60 MPH: 6.2 seconds (mfr.)
FUEL MILAGE (EPA COMBINED): 22.7 mpg
Plenty of four-door sedans out there go fast and are priced reasonably, but all too often they come with a big wing on the back and a monster air-slurping hood scoop. Your teenager thinks the hood scoop looks fly. You think youd have to wear a disguise while driving it. So is there anything available for the performance-loving sedan piloto that comes with a more businesslike exterior?
Consider the Mazda MazdaSpeed 6. It offers the practicality of a Toyota Camry with the acceleration and handling of a tuner car. That could be because it is something of a tuner car, though without the NOPI Nationals look.
We first drove and wrote about the MazdaSpeed 6 just over a year ago (Deep Six, Dec. 20, 2004), and you and we have been waiting ever since to get behind the wheel of a production version. Well, after delays caused by Mazdas quixotic search for the perfect final drive ratio, the cars are here. Was it worth the wait? Yes, of course.
When we said tuner car, we meant tuner car made by a squadron of Japanese engineers, not the typical hand grenade sometimes seen in an IDRC/Sony Xplod Battle of the Imports staging lane. To increase horsepower and torque to reasonably powerful levels in the MazdaSpeed 6, Mazda went high tech.
Because the V6 with all the MazdaSpeed stuff wouldnt fit underhood, Mazda engineers brought in the 2.3-liter four. But not just any 2.3-liter four; this one came equipped with direct-injection spark ignition. Try building a direct-injection system using parts from your typical tuner mail-order catalog.
Direct-injection places the fuel injector directly in the combustion chamber instead of farther back in the intake plenum. This allows for cooler operation and more complete burning of the fuel/air mixture. When you add a turbocharger and intercooler to that setup, you have an efficient, fun-to-drive package.
Power and torque pour out in a nice, even arc across the tach. You might expect that in changing from a six- to a four-cylinder you would get everything up at the top of the tach near redline, but this turbo four is remarkable for its low-end torque as much as its high-end horsepower.
That output is routed through another thing you cant get in a catalog and bolt on: Mazdas active torque-split all-wheel drive. With some torque always routed to the rear wheels, the system can split almost all of it in front or an even 50/50 front/rear instantly.
The onboard computer chooses one of three modes for the awd: Normal, with most torque going to the front; Sport, with as much as 50 percent going to the rear; and Snow, with the system continuously rerouting torque depending on available grip. A limited-slip rear differential, modified from the RX-8, also helps power distribution.
The MazdaSpeed 6 gets body reinforcements that stiffen the unibody 50 percent. Spring rates are up by 25 percent in front and 37 percent rear, while front and rear antiroll bars are thicker. Brake discs go up to 12.6 inches front and 12.4 inches rear, as well.
And that exterior is nicely subtle in its approach to speediness, with understated front air dam, side skirts and the merest of wings coming out of the decklid.
How is the MazdaSpeed 6 to drive? It has better performance, no doubt about that. The 215/45R tires let you know everything going on underneath them, and the six-speed manual gearbox clicks into each gear like a locking briefcase. Roll control is better and turn-in is considerably sharper.
If we were to complain, we would say the suspension lets every bump and wobble into the cabin and up the steering column. Like all midsize sedan makers in the world, Mazda tried at launch to compare its 6 to the BMW 3 Series, but even this MazdaSpeed product aint no 3 Series. BMWs are judicious about what gets through the suspension and into the steering column. This 6 lets it all come in and then leaves you to sort it out.
Still, among the vast swath of Camry/Accord/Fusion/Five Hundred/Malibu/etc. cars that make up the midsize sedan market in America, this is the one to choose if you need a practical four-door but can still recognize a proper apex when you see one.
Four-door flash & dash
If flying above the radar is more your thing, these turbo sedans speak loudly and carry a big stick.
2006 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX STI
POWERTRAIN: 2.5-liter turbocharged H4
HORSEPOWER: 300 @ 6000 rpm
TORQUE: 300 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
CURB WEIGHT: 3351 lbs
2006 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION MR
POWERTRAIN: 2.0-liter turbocharged I4
HORSEPOWER: 286 @ 6500 rpm
TORQUE: 289 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm
CURB WEIGHT: 3285 lbs
source:http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060123/FREE/60112008/1006/DrivingImpressions
2006 MAZDA MAZDASPEED 6
ON SALE: Now
BASE PRICE: $28,555
POWERTRAIN: 2.3-liter, 274-hp, 280-lb-ft turbocharged I4; awd, six-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT: 3589 lbs
0 TO 60 MPH: 6.2 seconds (mfr.)
FUEL MILAGE (EPA COMBINED): 22.7 mpg
Plenty of four-door sedans out there go fast and are priced reasonably, but all too often they come with a big wing on the back and a monster air-slurping hood scoop. Your teenager thinks the hood scoop looks fly. You think youd have to wear a disguise while driving it. So is there anything available for the performance-loving sedan piloto that comes with a more businesslike exterior?
Consider the Mazda MazdaSpeed 6. It offers the practicality of a Toyota Camry with the acceleration and handling of a tuner car. That could be because it is something of a tuner car, though without the NOPI Nationals look.
We first drove and wrote about the MazdaSpeed 6 just over a year ago (Deep Six, Dec. 20, 2004), and you and we have been waiting ever since to get behind the wheel of a production version. Well, after delays caused by Mazdas quixotic search for the perfect final drive ratio, the cars are here. Was it worth the wait? Yes, of course.
When we said tuner car, we meant tuner car made by a squadron of Japanese engineers, not the typical hand grenade sometimes seen in an IDRC/Sony Xplod Battle of the Imports staging lane. To increase horsepower and torque to reasonably powerful levels in the MazdaSpeed 6, Mazda went high tech.
Because the V6 with all the MazdaSpeed stuff wouldnt fit underhood, Mazda engineers brought in the 2.3-liter four. But not just any 2.3-liter four; this one came equipped with direct-injection spark ignition. Try building a direct-injection system using parts from your typical tuner mail-order catalog.
Direct-injection places the fuel injector directly in the combustion chamber instead of farther back in the intake plenum. This allows for cooler operation and more complete burning of the fuel/air mixture. When you add a turbocharger and intercooler to that setup, you have an efficient, fun-to-drive package.
Power and torque pour out in a nice, even arc across the tach. You might expect that in changing from a six- to a four-cylinder you would get everything up at the top of the tach near redline, but this turbo four is remarkable for its low-end torque as much as its high-end horsepower.
That output is routed through another thing you cant get in a catalog and bolt on: Mazdas active torque-split all-wheel drive. With some torque always routed to the rear wheels, the system can split almost all of it in front or an even 50/50 front/rear instantly.
The onboard computer chooses one of three modes for the awd: Normal, with most torque going to the front; Sport, with as much as 50 percent going to the rear; and Snow, with the system continuously rerouting torque depending on available grip. A limited-slip rear differential, modified from the RX-8, also helps power distribution.
The MazdaSpeed 6 gets body reinforcements that stiffen the unibody 50 percent. Spring rates are up by 25 percent in front and 37 percent rear, while front and rear antiroll bars are thicker. Brake discs go up to 12.6 inches front and 12.4 inches rear, as well.
And that exterior is nicely subtle in its approach to speediness, with understated front air dam, side skirts and the merest of wings coming out of the decklid.
How is the MazdaSpeed 6 to drive? It has better performance, no doubt about that. The 215/45R tires let you know everything going on underneath them, and the six-speed manual gearbox clicks into each gear like a locking briefcase. Roll control is better and turn-in is considerably sharper.
If we were to complain, we would say the suspension lets every bump and wobble into the cabin and up the steering column. Like all midsize sedan makers in the world, Mazda tried at launch to compare its 6 to the BMW 3 Series, but even this MazdaSpeed product aint no 3 Series. BMWs are judicious about what gets through the suspension and into the steering column. This 6 lets it all come in and then leaves you to sort it out.
Still, among the vast swath of Camry/Accord/Fusion/Five Hundred/Malibu/etc. cars that make up the midsize sedan market in America, this is the one to choose if you need a practical four-door but can still recognize a proper apex when you see one.
Four-door flash & dash
If flying above the radar is more your thing, these turbo sedans speak loudly and carry a big stick.
2006 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX STI
POWERTRAIN: 2.5-liter turbocharged H4
HORSEPOWER: 300 @ 6000 rpm
TORQUE: 300 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
CURB WEIGHT: 3351 lbs
2006 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION MR
POWERTRAIN: 2.0-liter turbocharged I4
HORSEPOWER: 286 @ 6500 rpm
TORQUE: 289 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm
CURB WEIGHT: 3285 lbs
source:http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060123/FREE/60112008/1006/DrivingImpressions
