Mazda 6 TS Automatic

[johne53]

I've driven Renaults for as far back as I can remember - ending up with a 3.0 litre V6 auto called the Renault Safrane (I don't think they make it any more but it was the top-of-the-range Renault, in its day).

Anyway, it's getting a bit long in the tooth now so I figured it was time to look for something new. Yesterday, I test drove a very nice Mazda 6 2.0 litre TS automatic; the very first time I'd ever driven a Mazda. Having driven automatics for the past 12 years, I don't want to go back to a manual because most of my driving is around town, where an automatic is much less stressful...!

However, I was quite disappointed with the Mazda's gearbox. The automatic gearbox on my Safrane is silky smooth - you literally cannot feel it changing gear at all. Of course, you can hear the engine revs change but you certainly can't feel anything. By contrast, the Mazda's gear changes felt very jerky. The Tiptronic option was nice - but when driving purely in automatic, the gearbox had a very clunky feel about it. Should I give up on this car and look around for a different Mazda - or is this going to be typical with Mazda automatic gearboxes?

 

[wongpres]

It may be that particular vehicle you testdrove - I'd try another one.

The Mazda6 2.0l TS has a 5-speed auto and there haven't been many complaints about that tranny - but shift smoothness is somewhat subjective, so I'd try another Mazda6 activematic and see if it was just an issue with the original vehicle.

 

[johne53]

Thanks for the info. I've just tried a 2nd Mazda 6 TS (automatic again). Same year / same model but I must admit, the gearbox felt smoother on this 2nd one. As you know, the automatics have a 'psuedo manual' mode which the first dealer kept referring to as 'Tiptronic' - whereas the second dealer kept calling it 'Activematic'. Are these the same thing or is one different from the other?

 

[Mikey444]

Same thing but it's got many different names.