BlackCherry06
Member
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- '17 CX-3 GT
The Quickest Cars of 2007: $25,000 to $30,000
#5
Mazdaspeed 6
Base price: $28,590
0-to-60-mph time: 5.4 sec
Quarter-mile time: 14.0 sec @ 99 mph
We were sold the moment Mazda told us the company intended to stuff more power and all-wheel drive into the frisky 6 sedan. Mazda is better than most at making full dynamic use of every pony, and the Mazdaspeed 6 is no exception. Plenty of power is on tap-the 2.3-liter, turbocharged and direct-injected four-cylinder engine offers 270 horsepower and is a reminder how far Mazda's piston engines have progressed in the last decade, from cast-iron-block dinosaurs to top-shelf powerplants.
There are all-wheel-drive systems designed to prevent getting stuck in a snowdrift or pile of cow pucky, and there are those that work to help you go faster. We appreciate the former, dig the latter. The Mazdaspeed 6's all-wheel drive features an electromechanical wet-clutch pack, and when combinations of wheel slip, steering angle, lateral g, and the like are met, a computer can send up to half of the available 280 lb-ft of torque to the rear tires. The system doesn't create anything like lurid and lovely oversteer, but it is an effective antidote for killjoy understeer.
The Mazdaspeed 6's greatest enemy is its nearly 3600-pound curb weight, which it admittedly packs tight to its chest. Short gears, a short final drive, and a six-speed box means your left foot works to extract maximum grunt, but given the rush of acceleration, it's never a chore.
The Mazdaspeed 6 costs nearly as much as an Evo or an STI but is not as extreme; it costs less than a pimped-out A4 Quattro but doesn't offer Audi's cachet. Instead, it sits somewhere in the middle, offering Mazda-authentic gusto, commendable comfort, and slick styling.
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
BASE PRICE: $28,590
ENGINE TYPE: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 138 cu in, 2260cc
Power (SAE net): 270 bhp @ 5500 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 280 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 105.3 in
Length: 186.8 in
Width: 70.1 in
Height: 56.3 in
Curb weight: 3589 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 5.4 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 14.5 sec
Zero to 110 mph: 17.5 sec
Street start, 5-60 mph: 6.9 sec
Standing -mile: 14.0 sec @ 99 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 149 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 155 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.87 g
Beaten by: Legacy GT (1/10 of a second), Solstice / Sky Redline Auto, Mustang GT, EVO RS,
#5
Mazdaspeed 6
Base price: $28,590
0-to-60-mph time: 5.4 sec
Quarter-mile time: 14.0 sec @ 99 mph
We were sold the moment Mazda told us the company intended to stuff more power and all-wheel drive into the frisky 6 sedan. Mazda is better than most at making full dynamic use of every pony, and the Mazdaspeed 6 is no exception. Plenty of power is on tap-the 2.3-liter, turbocharged and direct-injected four-cylinder engine offers 270 horsepower and is a reminder how far Mazda's piston engines have progressed in the last decade, from cast-iron-block dinosaurs to top-shelf powerplants.
There are all-wheel-drive systems designed to prevent getting stuck in a snowdrift or pile of cow pucky, and there are those that work to help you go faster. We appreciate the former, dig the latter. The Mazdaspeed 6's all-wheel drive features an electromechanical wet-clutch pack, and when combinations of wheel slip, steering angle, lateral g, and the like are met, a computer can send up to half of the available 280 lb-ft of torque to the rear tires. The system doesn't create anything like lurid and lovely oversteer, but it is an effective antidote for killjoy understeer.
The Mazdaspeed 6's greatest enemy is its nearly 3600-pound curb weight, which it admittedly packs tight to its chest. Short gears, a short final drive, and a six-speed box means your left foot works to extract maximum grunt, but given the rush of acceleration, it's never a chore.
The Mazdaspeed 6 costs nearly as much as an Evo or an STI but is not as extreme; it costs less than a pimped-out A4 Quattro but doesn't offer Audi's cachet. Instead, it sits somewhere in the middle, offering Mazda-authentic gusto, commendable comfort, and slick styling.
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
BASE PRICE: $28,590
ENGINE TYPE: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 138 cu in, 2260cc
Power (SAE net): 270 bhp @ 5500 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 280 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 105.3 in
Length: 186.8 in
Width: 70.1 in
Height: 56.3 in
Curb weight: 3589 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 5.4 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 14.5 sec
Zero to 110 mph: 17.5 sec
Street start, 5-60 mph: 6.9 sec
Standing -mile: 14.0 sec @ 99 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 149 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 155 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.87 g
Beaten by: Legacy GT (1/10 of a second), Solstice / Sky Redline Auto, Mustang GT, EVO RS,
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