so i have

[mikey1981]

a MaZda 6 right now. the V6. and i must say, that i am extremely impressed with this car. I also own a Honda Accord V6, and i also must say that altho the Accord does everything extremely well, almost too well, it is not nearly as fun to drive as this mazda. Not only that, i actually feel like every Mazda i get into has a different look, feel, and characteristics which differentiate each model in their own way. I LIKE THAT. i feel like underlying the car is really some kinda "soul of a sports car" now i actually believe that little marketing line, cuz its true. I come from a family of HONDA everything, and even tho we had various models, accords, pilots, ridgelines, i always felt like even tho the model name was different, i stepped into the same exact car whether ti was the CRV or an Accord. so mundane and boring. I felt like a kid again in the 6, i dunno, these cars have intangibles that others do not.

I am liking Mazda more n more. Im actually surprised tho that I felt the 6 interior had better materials & quality on the inside vs my CX-7 GT.

but, just thought id write a little blurb about my 6 while they figure out wtf is wrong with my truck.

 

[Marcori]

Mikey, I had a 2003 Mazda 6i (the 4-cylinder one), with cloth interior. It was a great car ... I had a spoiler added when I bought it to give it a more sporty look. I just traded it in for a CX-7 GT, and in my mind they are worlds apart. I know some have complained about the quality of the leather and some other specifics with the interior, but I absolutely love my CX-7. It is waaaayyyyyy better than my 6 was! I think the materials are fine. I guess it depends on what you had to compare it to.

Is there a problem with your CX-7 ("but, just thought id write a little blurb about my 6 while they figure out wtf is wrong with my truck")?

 

[mikey1981]

o yea, refer to Engines and Performance...been at the dealer 2 days

I agree that they are worlds apart in a sense that they are completely different than eachother. I just felt there was way more detail given to the dash/instrument clusters, teh speedo and tach, and the door materials and plastics. They just felt more solid and refined compared to my car. but who knows, maybe they just struck me different because it was my first time in the vehicle, ever.

 

[Otto]

As a previous '05 Mazda6 owner (before the facelift), I can attest that there are more hard, plastic surfaces in the CX-7 and many bits look/feel cheaper. But some aspects of the interior seem better on the CX-7 so to me, it's a wash. The new facelifted 6 has an updated interior so I cannot comment on that, though.

 

[CXRabbit]

Mikey,

First, sorry to hear about the problem you're having with your CX-7

As for Mazda vs. Honda (or others for that matter)... I hear ya. I ended up buying the CX-7 as a result of researching and helping my mom buy a car. She was in the 15-20K price range. We looked at quite a few cars. The NEW Honda Civic was terrible and I'm really surprised so many people like it... it felt, I dunno, typical but cheap... it didn't handle all that great and the turn radius, for a car it's size, was the pits. Nissan Versa was too damn small and also just felt cheap inside. Volkwagen Rabbit was nice but I was too nervous about reliability and cost-to-repair as time went on. We looked at the Jeep Compass and Dodge Caliber, but I was nervous going American-Made. We ended up looking at the Mazda 3s and you just get so much more for your money -- and I felt like they paid attention to some of the interior details that other similarly priced cars neglected. Toyota Corolla and Matrix were the next closest runner up (and I've always been a Toyota fan because of reliability) but the Mazda 3 was just a much better value for dollars spent, and the interior is WAY nicer (I have a Matrix myself that I'm actually selling - CX-7 replaced it).

Mom got a Mazda 3 sTouring Hatch with Satellite Radio and Bose/Moonroof Package for less than 20K -- and she LOVES it. It's really a nice little car.

 

[StickShiftCamry]

I drove an '05 Mazda6 V6 Hatchback for a while last summer, sorry but Accord V6 and Camry V6 feel much higher quality, Camry V6 is a beast compared to the 6, the cloth interior in the 6 looked like it was from the 80's.

 

[mikey1981]

Im not saying the Mazda6 is BETTER than the V6 Honda EX i have, im saying its just different, its its own car and not trying to be a Accord or Camry, and i commend that and like it.

In terms of interior, what i was trying to say was what Otto said. The 6 materials feel more solid, less hallow if u tap on them, and some surfaces feel more refined. (compared to the CX-7)

The 6 is no Accord, but i like the fact that its different and much more fun to drive. I have no idea the pricing on a V6 07 Mazda6, if its less than a loaded Accord, thats a very nice alternative, plus the styling is very nice and the car i have now has Xenons or HIDs or whatever.

I would take issue with the new Civic being terrible. lol i just dont know about that one. Especially the Si...what i will agree on tho is that the MazdaSpeed 3 is one of the most amazing cars for the money on the market, if i had a spare 25k and could actually find one, man id buy that in a second.

 

[spike blue]

i went yesterday to a oil change and saw the cx-9 damm i felt in love!!! Im not into suvs and trucks , i used to have the first mazdaspeed (protege) love it but it had so many issues. This cx-9 is awesome for me it looks like the audi Q7 the interior is like WOW nice job on that one!! I bring the brochure to my DAD and my MOM and they love it!! They will get it in 3 months !! LOL we are mazda and audi fans

 

[Mazda3]

I always find it hilarius the pedestal some people put the Accord and Camry on. The Camry handles like a Chevy Malibu and has a rental car interior. Only the latest 268 HP V6 is faster than a 6 and even then, the manual 6 might keep up even with less power. The Accord drives better than the Camry, but it's no Mazda 6. I personally don't find the styling or quality of the Accord's interior matches up to the 6. The last test I saw on Canadiandriver.com the 215 HP, 6-speed auto Mazda 6, beat the 240 HP Accord in the 80-120 KM/H passing test.

A lot of the fine details between these 3 cars are arguable and a matter of opinion, but my point is that the Accord and Camry aren't on some untouchable pedestal that no one can touch, The 6 matches up well against them depending what the buyer is looking for. When the NEW 6 comes out this summer it will stomp the competition the way the 3 did in 2004 when it came out.

(enguard)

 

[mikey1981]

The interior of the 2007 V6 6 i have now is no way on par with my Accord EX V6 in terms of quality, switchwork, and material. Its close, but its def not better. However, i do like the design, colors and appearance much more.

Driving, like i said, the 6 is alot more fun to drive and i like the ride

 

[Mazda3]

I admit the 07 Mazda 6 centre consol doesn't look as good as the 05 model with the brushed aluminum look, but there's nothing in the Accord the looks any better or looks higher quality. Maybe I'm biased, but I've never been impressed with any Honda interiors on any of their vehicles. A friends wife had a leather full load accord at the same time we had our 04 Mazda 6 GT full load and I didn't think the Accords interior came close to the 6. Matter of opinion I guess?

 

[mikey1981]

there are certain elements in the accord such as dampers in the sunglass bin that comes out, the richness of the plastics used in trays and bins, and window switches, framing, and vent materials that are just better.

And yes, its all a matter of opinion but there is a line of objectivness judging interiors not on appearance but actually materials, construction, and so on.

I to, love the "looks" of the Mazda more so than my accord, but that isnt where the judgement stops. The honda interior has better fitting seams, and the shift console is cheap cut out gated plastic in the Mazda.

the Accord is def a class above on refinement of materials and construction. I think thats pretty much standard opinion, and altho subjective, if you own an Accord, it comes pretty apparent when u step into a Mazda/Hundai/Nissan etc.

again, im not bashing the 6, i think tis one hell of a ride, and i havent felt sportiness in a 4 dr like that since my maximas from the 90's. I love the "looks" of the interior. and without question i think the 08 will change up the game, but it will also go against the 08 accord, so ya never kno.

The 6 is a great car, but having both in my garage and being able to drive both back to back, there really is a difference in terms of interior quality or whatever you wana call it. Im not saying Mazda is bad, its quite good, but just goes to show how good Honda actually is.

(and, i am giving props to the mazda! not bashing! im actually blown away by the 6, i always thought of it as like a hundai, dont know why, but just did. not anymore!)

and you could just be a little biased to mazda

 

[StickShiftCamry]

For small cars, i think the '06 Civic and Mazda 3 are best, the width of the Civic is perfect, wider than most compacts. As of now, I don't think any FWD V6 car below $30K drives better than an '07 Camry V6SE. The models w/o trac. contrl and stability with the lite weight TRD wheels can reach 60 below 6 sec. Its a Lex. ES 350 w/ stiffer lower suspension. The 3.0 in the 6 doesn't sound too nice.

 

[Mazda3]

there are certain elements in the accord such as dampers in the sunglass bin that comes out, the richness of the plastics used in trays and bins, and window switches, framing, and vent materials that are just better.

And yes, its all a matter of opinion but there is a line of objectivness judging interiors not on appearance but actually materials, construction, and so on.

I to, love the "looks" of the Mazda more so than my accord, but that isnt where the judgement stops. The honda interior has better fitting seams, and the shift console is cheap cut out gated plastic in the Mazda.

the Accord is def a class above on refinement of materials and construction. I think thats pretty much standard opinion, and altho subjective, if you own an Accord, it comes pretty apparent when u step into a Mazda/Hundai/Nissan etc.

again, im not bashing the 6, i think tis one hell of a ride, and i havent felt sportiness in a 4 dr like that since my maximas from the 90's. I love the "looks" of the interior. and without question i think the 08 will change up the game, but it will also go against the 08 accord, so ya never kno.

The 6 is a great car, but having both in my garage and being able to drive both back to back, there really is a difference in terms of interior quality or whatever you wana call it. Im not saying Mazda is bad, its quite good, but just goes to show how good Honda actually is.

(and, i am giving props to the mazda! not bashing! im actually blown away by the 6, i always thought of it as like a hundai, dont know why, but just did. not anymore!)

and you could just be a little biased to mazda

Your observations are definately well thought out. I guess my inspection of the Accord interior wasn't in depth enough to come to any of those conclusions. Keep in mind though I'm comparing the 04 interior on the 6, not the 07. Anyway, the exterior fit-n-finish on the 6 is far superior to the Accord/Camry. The door gaps are WAY tighter, as are the exterior panels.

Anyone who says a Camry has superior driving dynamics to a 6 won't get much credibility on the car boards.

 

[mikey1981]

I agree, as i have driven the new camry se as well. Its still a mom n pop car dressed in sporty clad. I feel as if the camry is numb to the world on the inside. Altho, the design, outside is very nice this time around and i actually have a hard time telling the new ES apart from the Camry. Other than that, I think recent publications have been dead on about the Camry, it really needs to be re thought if it wants to compete with new stars like the 6, Accord, Passat, Altima etc. Even in consumer reports, where you would think that at times its operated by Toyota, the Camry has dropped significantly from the top slot. I wonder why the Hybrid was MT's car of the year, but whatever.

theres alot more competition these days in the mid size segment, and alot more cars for people to consider, other than the "O, i'll just buy a camry" decision.