mazda6, or is300?

Every v6 mazda6 uses a Ford duratec v6. The only bad thing i have to say about them is i dont like working on them. Also, they sort of pale in comparison to the contemporary nissan V6. Other than that, they are just peachy.

kreb wrote: So I hate to interupt the IS300 love fest, but can I hear more about the V6 used by Mazda? Were they all Ford sourced? Is there hope for that mill, or is reliability a real problem?

Yeah, all the Mazda V6s are ford-sourced duratec 30s, but it's a pretty decent engine. Porsche actually helped design part of it iirc. Not as good as a VQ35 or J30A, but still a fun engine. It sounds really nice too. The only issue is gas mileage, which is not a strong suit with the auto or manual. The bigger issues were in 03, 04 with PCV issues, but they were redesigned in 05

We just sold ours to our son. FWIW, they're awesome cars, but I'll echo what others have said about mileage. I don't know what it is/was about Toyota's fuel mapping, but ~20-22 mpg seems awful low for 215 hp, and it's a fairly slippery car. It's especially ironic since their new IS350, with 306 hp, gets the exact same mileage. Anyhow, with 2001s going for ~$5500 or so, who cares about mileage, they're a sweet car.

So what makes the IS300 so great? The motor is bulletproof, and since it's an inline 6 it's got to be smooth, but it's not especially powerful. Why are they so popular - especially with the boy-racer crowd? Maybie I'll understand when I drive one, but on paper they're nice, but not spectacular.

I remember a phrase from a review of its relative, the Supra, "it feels like it was machined out of a solid block of steel." That (to me) is how the IS felt. Very easy to end up going way too fast; not because you're speeding on purpose, it's just that it's so quiet and smooth. Plus, like others said, they just seem to go and go. When we were looking at other cars, someone showed up in a 2003 IS which had 240K miles on it. She was looking at new cars simply because hers was old, not because it didn't still run well. Yeah, try driving one, they're pretty nice, and I'm not one to be kind to new cars if they're found lacking.

kreb wrote: So what makes the IS300 so great? The motor is bulletproof, and since it's an inline 6 it's got to be smooth, but it's not especially powerful. Why are they so popular - especially with the boy-racer crowd? Maybie I'll understand when I drive one, but on paper they're nice, but not spectacular.

The platform sharing with the mkiv supra makes them infinitely buildable and incredibly stout also they are a genuinely nice car to be in with feelsome steering and good geometry. I had a mkiv supra before the IS, and I honestly think the IS is a better car in most ways, just needs some boost and a v160swap. I think they're very undervalued at the moment.

kreb wrote: So what makes the IS300 so great? The motor is bulletproof, and since it's an inline 6 it's got to be smooth, but it's not especially powerful. Why are they so popular - especially with the boy-racer crowd? Maybie I'll understand when I drive one, but on paper they're nice, but not spectacular.

Super smooth. Good strong brakes. Steering is accurate with lots of feel. The stereo sounds great. It turns rough pavement to butter. The seats are comfy especially with alcantara. Everything works, all the time, without fiddling or even thinking about it. You just get in turn the key and off you go. That really grows on you especially if you own a hot rodded POS Subaru or Saab. You also don't have to worry about vanos failures, or disintegrating cooling systems, or lurking $2000 a/c repairs, or $1500 sunroof repairs, or failed window regulators, blown headgaskets, or..... The IS looks nice, it slides through the air nicely, the paint is really good, the side windows are coated so water magically slides off, nothing every rattles. It is also very safe in crashes for its day. It never uses oil and oil remains amber coloured for 5k km. I gave mine to my BIL mostly because my wife wanted a newer car only because it was "newer". It still soldiers on with the occasional brake repair or new tire. The downsides are it gets poor mileage, the rear seat is smallish, the trunk is smallish, you can't mount a trailer hitch and it is not very quick compared to say a G35. Oh and getting the freaking oil filter out of the engine bay with out spilling oil everywhere is impossible.

i couldn't swallow the 17mpg in the is300, so I dropped the is300 out of the search. i might have gotten a little impatient and jumped on a car too soon, but we'll see. I couldnt find a single Mazda6 S with a manual anywhere around Atlanta after 8 weeks of searching. I bought a 2004 with 77k for 5500 in Dallas. He was asking 7k. Needs tires and rear shocks. hopefully thats all. i dont have the greatest feeling about it, but we will see I guess. I'll fly over and pick it up in a couple weeks.

Feel free to jump in and tell me what a great deal that is. I still need some convincing.

17!!! wtf? I get an easy 22-23 driving it hard.

1660 miles later, I made it home with my 2004 mazda6s manual. I love it.

Nice!
Good rear shocks are cheap for these cars. Gabriel's for $38 at Autozone or Bilsteins for $77 at Tirerack. Lots of forum how to's on replacing them.

Got those replaced by firestone with the KYB's I had in the trunk for 45. They had it after the wheel bearing wouldn't press in right. Ended up replacing the entire spindle. I asked them what it would be for the shocks, and for that price I was happy to not have to do it.

It's got some issues, but I paid a decent price for it. needed new tires, & wheel bearing. It still has an issue with the EGR, O2 sensor, radio is finicky and needs a new display, headliner is falling in, and bumper needs repainted.

There's a part of me that regrets buying it already. its kind have been a hassle so far. hopefully it will get better.

I figured I would come back and update this just in case anyone searches for mazda6. I think I'm going to offload it soon. It just has too many issues for a car with 80k on it.

Last saturday the window decided 3 inches was high enough to go up. to set up the scenario, it was 30 degrees, snowing, and my pants were wet after a failed experience with fly fishing.

The new plan is to buy the wife a highlander, and find a is300 eventually for me.

IS300 are dreadfully slow and boring, yeah they last forever but so does a 4cyl camery. Mazda has always tried to make their cars pleasurable to drive

In reply to lnlogauge:

What other issues have you had?

Weird, i havent had any issues with my 6 (50k-111k) that i didn't cause. It really depends on how well the po took care of the vehicle.

Sorry about the bad news. Hopefully, you won't have trouble selling it like I am with my E36.