2014 Mazda 6 prices/specs announced...

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
And maybe so they don't bring a bunch of cars over here that won't sell. Automatics outsells manuals here, especially in the mid-size segment. Why take the chance of importing something that will probably sit on the lot until someone comes along to buy it at a huge discount.


I can understand not importing cars and having them sit on lots unsold, but why not at least allow the customer to ORDER the car exactly the way they want it, in the color they want it to be?

I was willing to order a Red CX-5, with a manual transmission, but the dealer couldn't, the Regional rep said no, and Mazda USA also said no. I asked them why every other country can have a red CX-5 with manual, and the US couldn't, and they couldn't come up with a logical reason that I didn't poke huge holes in.

BC.

 

[97tbird]

Official press release from today (with EPA figures and pricing for trim levels and option packages...)

EPA 26/38/30

http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/01/03/4517897/mazda-announces-pricing-fuel-economy.html

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: Bladecutter

I was willing to order a Red CX-5, with a manual transmission, but the dealer couldn't, the Regional rep said no, and Mazda USA also said no. I asked them why every other country can have a red CX-5 with manual, and the US couldn't, and they couldn't come up with a logical reason that I didn't poke huge holes in.

BC.


I abaolutely agree, as long as you are willing to put a nonrefundable deposit down of around 500$ or so, there seems to be no good reason.

The RoW can and do special order vehicles all the time, in some countries especially in Europe this is the normal method of buying a car, you order the exact model and options you want.

It can take up to several months for the car to arrive at the dealer BUT the customer is totally satisfied because he is getting EXACTLY what he wanted. I would love to be able to special order my car.

 

[FoxS]

I asked about taking delivery of an M3 Convertible in Europe as I was planning on a summer vacation there. I was planning on driving from Germany to Lake Como and possibly all the way to London.

Salesman said it was too much trouble for him.

 

[FowVay]

Take a big snorkel if you're driving to London. I hear there's a deep river crossing between continental Europe and the islands.

 

[FoxS]

Nonsense. That's just what they tell us in the US because of CAFE. They don't want us to drive from the UK to the continent. The Europeans do it all the time.

 

[97tbird]

OK so we went and test drove a Touring today

we also saw a Blue Reflex Mica Sport (pics below) Tihis delaer has 2 sports, 1 GT and 1 touring on the lot.

Wife drove it most of the time. The sales guy just let us take it out for the afternoon and he didn't even come with us

So we has enough time to play with it...

It was a Liquid silver Touring with NO tech package...

Wifey, amazingly for a rather picky car person liked it very much - her only complaint was that the arm rests were rather ill-placed and narrow - which I also had noticed before when I looked at the demo sports at a different dealer.

Ride, even with the 19" inch wheels is very smooth, unless the road is very rough, and the steering is VERY direct and precise for a mid-sizer - It can't get very close to my BMW 330 Ci coupe with performance package but I didn't expect that either.

The Radio (base radio) sounds pretty good, and the jog dial controls are very nice, as is the dual auto climate control. The Blind spot monitoring worked very well, and we liked it a lot.

the leatherette seats are GREAT! I and wife both liked them a lot, and they look and feel very high quality, as is the whole interior.
Although we were set on a Touring with Tech package, after discussing a few things with wifey, about the fact that she does enjoy adaptive xenons and heated seats in my BMW, we MIGHT lean towards a GT after all...

The sales guy said cars are selling at sticker price...and they just sold one this morning...IDK if that's true or not...,might have to get quotes from several dealers...

Colorwise, the Blue Reflex Mica is AMAZING - it looks a lot darker than I thought, and it does change quite a bit with amount of light...The liquid silver is nice, but not as nice as BRM.

Here are some pics:

BRM in VERY bright sun:

BRM, MGM and the LSM we test drove:

BRM in less bright sun (after the test drive went back to look at the BRM again):

Pics of the Liquid Silver Touring we test drove:

 

[NateDN10]

Dang, that is a sweet-looking car.

 

[Vikas]

Is the radio missing or is that integrated in to navigation panel?

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

What would the decoy buttons under the hvac controls have been for?

 

[97tbird]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Is the radio missing or is that integrated in to navigation panel?


Yes - It is integrated into the nav panel.

 

[97tbird]

Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
What would the decoy buttons under the hvac controls have been for?


Looks like for heated seat buttons and park sensor on/off etc...
Might also be for city smart braking on/off (which you get in the tech package on the Touring; standard on GT)

 

[Vikas]

Please don't tell me they put the radio presets on the touch screen.

 

[97tbird]

The radio presets (and/or the audio, voice texting or nav stuff) can be operated in 4 different ways:

1. Steering wheel controls
2. two Knobs on either side of the touch screen
3. Jog-dial thingy in the center console (next to cup holders)
4. By touching the touch screen

 

[DuckRyder]

Interesting.

I know early on you were talking about a Passat (TDI). If you drove and/or looked at it, I'd be interested in hearing a comparison. (perhaps a new thread)

The 6 is a good looking car if a little round for my taste.

 

[97tbird]

Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Interesting.
I know early on you were talking about a Passat (TDI). If you drove and/or looked at it, I'd be interested in hearing a comparison. (perhaps a new thread)
The 6 is a good looking car if a little round for my taste.


Yes - we will still drive the TDI - we ran out of time that day when we drove the 6 as they just let us spend the whole afternoon with it and wifey just kept driving it everywhere

However - I did get the chance to sit in a friend's Passat TDI: It looked very upscale and nice inside...Until you started touching stuff - THEN they felt a lot cheaper than the Mazda interior - esp. the top of the dash...whatever cheapness it has inside, it's VERY well disguised though; BUT we will def still test drive it, just for comparison's sake. It did have slightly better 'over the shoulder' visibility I think.

However, if you get the tech stuff and options that you get can get on the 6, the TDI will cost about $3 - $4k more I think. (and I don't think it even has bi-xenons, or things like city-smart auto braking etc.. i am NOT saying that this stuff is ESSENTIAL, BUT it's included in the price of a Mazda 6 GT which is around $30k (about $27k if you get that stuff as tech pkg option on a Touring), and that's definitely more car for the buck, IMO. And considering the 38 hwy MPG and Mazda's gas 184 HP, and TDI's 43 hwy MPG and diesel 140 HP - I think Mazda wins there...
(the 6 has Audio texting, blue tooth, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, and rear view camera STANDARD on ALL 3 trims if you get the auto transmission - that's a pretty good amount of standard stuff I think...the TDI will be costly if you add that stuff, and some of those might not even be available)

That said, I am also interested to see the TDI on a test drive and see what wife thinks of it...Will definitely update when we do that.

About the roundness: I also prefer more square than round BUT I think the 6 has just a normal amount of roundness to it, without making it look weird - the front still has a lot of sharp/square edges - I think it has a good balance overall.

 

[greenjp]

Lovely styling but good Lord, 19" wheels on a family sedan? Have fun dropping a grand on tires every couple of years.

 

[97tbird]

Originally Posted By: greenjp
Lovely styling but good Lord, 19" wheels on a family sedan? Have fun dropping a grand on tires every couple of years.


Yep that's the Only thing that bothers me about this - why are they not an option?

The lowest trim (Sports) gets 17" standard, both Touring and GT gets 19" standard !
BUT I am sure one can easily sell the 19"s and downgrade to the 17" wheels afterwards, because there are always people who want BIGGER wheels on enthusiast forums, and I am sure a lot of people who will get the Sport will be looking to UPgrade to 19"s later on

.... The 19"s sure look better due to the huge wheel wells but like you said, quite unnecessary for my wife's DD needs...

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: greenjp
Lovely styling but good Lord, 19" wheels on a family sedan? Have fun dropping a grand on tires every couple of years.


This has become increasingly common in the past few years, unfortunately.

I shocked a guy at work who just bought a Ford Fusion hybrid at how much a replacement set of LRR 17" tires would run him. And the exorbitant price for a set of 20" tires on my in-law's Edge. I'll stick with 15" & 16" wheels!

 

[greenjp]

Tire size inflation is pretty amazing. My 2003 Saab 9-5 Aero (the sporty trim) has 225-45-17s, which at the time were typical for medium sized sporty cars but were just starting to show up on family type cars like the V6 Altima. I get about 35k miles out of "high performance all season" type tires, to the tune of $700 for a set of 4. And now this Mazda nearly has "dubs"!

My wife's 2006 Accord EX takes 205-60-16s, just replaced what I believe were the original tires (we bought it used with 22k) at 66k, with a nice set of 60k mile rated Michelin's for $615 out the door. That's more like it