Why not a Mazda6?

I am looking at getting a replacement for my SUV to use as a family capable baby hauler/commuter. So far out of the mid size sedans I am leaning towards the 2014+ Mazda 6, it gets good gas mileage, has nice styling and is surprisingly affordable.

Are any of the other mid size sedans worth looking at? I really want to see over 30+ mpg combined

According to past threads, a few GRM'ers have bought one and love it. Seems like a great driving family car. Good looking too.

Its the only one available with a stick. Mines an iSport, the base model, and it's just a nice simple really good car. I get an honest 35mpg at 70+mph highway, and usually average around 28-30mpg in mixed driving. It's roomy, comfortable seats front and back, and has a huge trunk. The motor felt like it had kinda lumpy power delivery when new but it smooths out nicely after a few thousand miles. The shifter is typical Mazda good.

About the only thing I wish it had was a Bluetooth connective radio, but I'll deal with plugging my phone in to a USB port if it means I don't have to have a giant touchscreen radio. Well that and heated seats and heated mirrors (Alaska). I'll end up adding them all eventually.

Seems to be easy to get +30 mpg from the various Fusions I have to work with.

And I'd bet that a Camry will get it too.

It's more about the driver than the car, at some point.

We've got a '14 iGrand Touring with 40k on it. Great car, still love it. They have some annoying habits when plating music of iPod or flash drive, but I hear there's a TSB and update now to fix that, I just can't seem to take it off the road long enough to get it done.

The auto is one of the best I've driven although it likes to early-shift for MPG. The flappy paddles are okay but not enough better than the standard shift map to bother with unless you're in the mountains. We get about the same mileage skierd mentioned. It could use a little more sound insulation, but it's lighter than my Mustang, so it's gotta go somewhere. Sadly, I've really come to appreciate some of the luxo-tech like the radar cruise control and back up camera.

Honestly, it's an amazing car when you need something comfortable, fun(nish), and reasonable on cost. Also has a mammoth trunk.

Only downside I've found is that the factory tires are noisy and now completely shot at 40k, and there aren't a lot of good options in the factory size (225/45-19) for all season tires. Summer HP, sure, but the wife will wear those out too fast. I've got a set of Notto Motivo's on order, though, so we'll see.

EDIT: we drove a '14 Fusion before buying, and I really wanted to like the car but couuldn't. Engine was great (smallest EcoBoost) but the steerign and chassis seemed...i dunno..off somehow. And the capacitive touch EVERYTHING interior was bright, flashy, distracting, and of suspect durability (in my mind. Get off my lawn.) YMMV

Nice thanks guys. I think I would go for the touring, but am considering a used grand touring preferentially with the tech package and the I-eloop, if I can get the benefits without paying the new premium.

I like that it comes in stick, and it would compliment my NA miata nicely but I heard good things about the auto.

do you know what the actual rim/wheel size is ultra on the 19"s? Wonder if there are any optional sizes that might be more available. Not that anything 19" is going to be cheap

I don't think the 19s are required due to brakes or anything clearance related. So you can go back to the 17's from the Sport model or get some aftermarket 17 or 18s.

I test drove one and very nearly pulled the trigger. Couldn't bring myself to buy a brand new car though haha - bought a used Miata instead.

19x7.5 or 8 is the stock size, 225/45-19 tires I think. Stock wheels are heavy too.

+1 on the stock tires being extra noisy. My 17's are 3/4 gone after 18k miles (AK roads suck) and I can't wait to replace them.

I think 19's are too big personally and am going with 18's next summer.

The only fault I give the new 6 is the wheels. They are odd sized and tires are expensive. Yes, you could get the Sport package with 17's and none of the good stuff the other packages offer, or get aftermarket wheels, but that stinks. Other than that, they are pretty nice. Glad to hear people are liking theirs!

Roger on 225/45-19 on 19x8s. I looked into slapping on a cheap set of 18s but even the cheapest ones with tires would have put me a few hundred higher than just buying decent 19" tires. Add that to the pure hideousness of the cheap 18s and it was a no-go. I don't mind how the factory wheels look, but I do think 18" with a little more sidewall might be a little quieter and ride a little better - not that the ride is at all bad now. If I see some nice looking 18s in the future for the right price I might still go that way.

I really like the idea od some bronze wheels on our Soul Red 6, but it's not "my" car to decide...

Incidentally, ours is an early-production car and doesn't have the iEloop. Does anyone actually have that? What do you think? What's your mileage like?

Sister has one, seems nice enough.

I have been meaning to ask a couple of the mazda dealers around who have a few Grand touring used for sale if any have it. So much of my commute is highway interspersed with having to slow down for traffic it might help a bit.

I see contintental DW and DWS come in that size and those are pretty good all around tires

Unless you really feel like you need over 200 hp, the 6 is the way to go.

I looked at cars exactly a year ago...and my finalists were the 6 and the Accord. The Mazda was more stylish, and had better steering feel. I liked the style (simple, clean, intuitive) of the interior too. However, the Honda had the better feeling/sounding engine and better trans/clutch feel. The Accord felt bigger inside (though on paper they are similar).

I went with the Accord EX, which is the highest trim level that gets the 2.4/6M combo. I am very happy with it about 14K miles later...

down as in malfunctioned? I have not heard of any issues anywhere in terms of reliability. I believe at least according to the consumer reports testing etc the 6 beat out the Honda's mileage. I feel like the 6 looks more soulful,I may look at the Accord but its a second choice. I also feel on the used market the 6 is way cheaper (24k for 2015 grand touring with tech pack and 7k miles)

I'm guessing that's an iELoop issue? I'm perfectly happy NOT to have it on ours as we still see an average of 32mpg, give or take. Most of my wife's commute is highway, not stop and go traffic, so it would have limited usefulness anyway. Knock on wood ours has been dead reliable.

ultraclyde wrote: We've got a '14 iGrand Touring with 40k on it. Great car, still love it. They have some annoying habits when plating music of iPod or flash drive, but I hear there's a TSB and update now to fix that, I just can't seem to take it off the road long enough to get it done. The auto is one of the best I've driven although it likes to early-shift for MPG. The flappy paddles are okay but not enough better than the standard shift map to bother with unless you're in the mountains. We get about the same mileage skierd mentioned. It could use a little more sound insulation, but it's lighter than my Mustang, so it's gotta go somewhere. Sadly, I've really come to appreciate some of the luxo-tech like the radar cruise control and back up camera. Honestly, it's an amazing car when you need something comfortable, fun(nish), and reasonable on cost. Also has a mammoth trunk. Only downside I've found is that the factory tires are noisy and now completely shot at 40k, and there aren't a lot of good options in the factory size (225/45-19) for all season tires. Summer HP, sure, but the wife will wear those out too fast. I've got a set of Notto Motivo's on order, though, so we'll see. EDIT: we drove a '14 Fusion before buying, and I really wanted to like the car but couuldn't. Engine was great (smallest EcoBoost) but the steerign and chassis seemed...i dunno..off somehow. And the capacitive touch EVERYTHING interior was bright, flashy, distracting, and of suspect durability (in my mind. Get off my lawn.) YMMV

I felt the same way when I had a rental fusion.

FSP_ZX2 wrote: I looked at cars exactly a year ago...and my finalists were the 6 and the Accord. The Mazda was more stylish, and had better steering feel. I liked the style (simple, clean, intuitive) of the interior too. However, the Honda had the better feeling/sounding engine and better trans/clutch feel. The Accord felt bigger inside (though on paper they are similar). I went with the Accord EX, which is the highest trim level that gets the 2.4/6M combo. I am very happy with it about 14K miles later...

A few years ago, I checked out the 6 and the Accord back to back at a car show. I liked the looks of the 6 a lot more, but I was impressed by the Accord. The one I looked at was a 6-speed Sport. It was very nice inside, and I liked the dash layout and seats better. I think one of these might be easier to live with and cheaper to maintain. And they have 18" wheels.

Ultra, how well does the radar cruise work? Thats only on the Grand Touring but it doesnt need the tech pack with the I-Eloop then?

Our Grand touring was fully optioned - because the wife HAD to have heated seats, so it does have the tech pack. The very early production cars - like the first 6 months maybe? - the iELoop wasn't available. Like, they didn't have it functional yet I suspect. As cool as it sounds, I'm starting to think I dodged a bullet NOT getting it... LOL

Okay, so the cruise, or MRCC as Mazda calls it. When you set the cruise the car uses the radar emitter hiding behind the MASSIVE Mazda logo on the grill to look ahead of the car. When it senses you gaining on a car it automatically slows down and matches speed at a set (but user adjustable) distance. If you are only going a few mph faster, it kind of coasts down. It's so gentle I often don't notice it until I look down and think "Why the hell am I going 60 instead of 65?" Once the object moves aside or you pull into another lane, it accels back to your setting. If, OTOH, someone swerves in front of you or slows down abruptly, it will use the brakes and can decelerate hard.

The follow distance is adjustable from "so far away someone is gauranteed to pull inot the space and slow yyou down" down to "that seems about right in normal traffic and weather." Ours stays on the shortest setting.

I only have two concerns about the system - one is the rare instances of hard decel. If someone was right on your bumper it could be a problem, but I guess if you are overtaking a much slower moving object, it could be bad either way.

The other .... sometimes when you are passing a semi on the interstate and he wiggles a little in his lane the cruise freaks out and slows down HARD. I think the periphery spread assumes he's coming into your lane when he's not. This could quickly make my previous concern much worse. I've learned to skirt the opposite edge of my own lane when passing big trucks and it stays happy, but it scared the E36 M3 out of me the first time it happened. I'm not sure what algorithms or changes you'd use to make it better, but that point could use some improvement.

Over all I really like the system on long trips. I wish my Mustang and Explorer had it. You aren't constantly fighting with the up/down buttons as traffic flow varies slightly. Also, you can cruise along at a good rate of speed in an outside lane and easily drop into a gap in a slower moving lane and instantly match speed if one of those pesky enforcement types comes over the hill.

Sounds nice for trips. Interesting about the "intrusion" of the big trucks. How slow does it work will it come to a crawl or stop in heavy traffic?

I think it cuts off around 35 but if traffic is that heavy I won't use cruise control. Way too much risk in those situations.