By Jonny Lieberman
August 25, 2006 -
For a certified car freak living in the City of Angels, the drive to Las Vegas is a special treat. Sure, LA is only a traffic jam or three away from the kind of twisting coastal tarmac that ad makers and throttle jockeys adore. But the two hundred seventy-five mile haul across Interstate 15 to Sin City tells you everything you need to know about a car’s capacity for long distance love. Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking with it. My tale began when my friend and I jumped into the hairy knuckled Mazda Speed6 and set off for a suite at Caesar's Palace.
The Speed6 Grand Touring is the opposite of a Q-car. It’s deeply, strangely, and tragically ugly, or, if you prefer, bold, brash and muscular. Mazda's performance specialists fitted the beast with an air-to-air intercooler mounted WRX-style on top of the engine (fed through a pipe instead of a hood scoop). To accommodate the extra oomph, the designers creased the hood and raised it by four inches. The dolphin skull look-alike signals the Mazda’s incipient roid rage. The double-sized gaping mouth fitted below the grill adds to the effect, threatening to swallow Mazda3's whole.
The Speed6’s rear end is even goofier. A huge drooping bumper pays unnecessary homage to mid-70’s safety legislation (which led to a plague of hideous plastic butt grafts). The rear lip spoiler is garish and the oversized oval tailpipe surrounds mounted in the sticky-outty plastic bumper bit are not only phony in practice, but deeply reminiscent of Ford's second generation Taurus. The Speed6’s fifteen-spoke wheels are needlessly fussy, overshooting good taste by a factor of ten.
The Speed6’s cabin can’t quite shake its proletarian roots; the storage bin on top of the center stack looks as though it was hacked out of the dash with a Leatherman. Luckily, there are enough sporty touches– mod squad pedals, red on black dials, Audi air vents– to keep it party real. Pistonheads will be well pleased with the gigantic windshield and huge mirrors, which guarantee an unobstructed view in all directions. The two-tone leather seats are the biggest disappointment. There are park benches that offer more side bolstering. Dial-up some angry-footed hoonage and you might as well be seated on a Slip 'N Slide.
The garden variety front wheel-drive Mazda6 is a genuine driver’s car that manages to keep understeer at arm’s length. The all wheel-drive Speed6 eliminates that problem, and then some– provided you switch off the traction control. Then the Speed6 literally screams to life. You like squealing tires while deep in the midst of four wheel drift? Then you will like the Speed6. While the 3600 lbs. four-door is a bit too chubby to ginsu blacktop like a Subaru WRX, the Mazda is (gulp) more fun to drive. Credit the relatively narrow 215 Pirellis that hold on for a two count before breaking loose. Fo 'rizzle, you shouldn't be able to have this much fun on dry pavement.
Good thing that the brakes are nothing short of astonishing. A light tap on the middle pedal and you’ll shed twenty-miles per hour, from any speed. In a full-blown emergency, the anchors muscle the Speed6 to a standstill with virtually no drama. Highway or byway, you can do some real damage to your license with this mad Mazda machine. But talk about a reluctant warrior…
The Speed6’s 2.3L turbo DOHC in-line four pumps out 274 hp @ 5500rpm. That’s a lot of horses for a mid-sized four-door. But roll on the gas and… nothing. Goose the revs above 3500 rpm and 280 foot pounds of torque comes on like a fire hose. If Mazda added a second, smaller turbo or figured out how to make this sucker spool-up faster (call Porsche), the Speed6 could shave a half second or more from its 5.4 second sprint to sixty. That's WRX country, and not a bad place to live. However, the Scoobie Legacy spec.B does the deed a tenth of a second quicker with 24 less ponies. Our consolation prize? After cruising to Vegas at speeds ranging between [a theoretical] 90 and 110mph, we arrived at The Strip with more than a quarter tank of gas left (from full).
All of which begs a question; what is the Mazda Speed6? It offers the performance of a WRX for a $5k premium. As good as it is, it’s too clumsy and slow to compete with equally priced STI’s and EVO’s. It’s outclassed inside and out by the svelte Legacy. And the answer is… who cares? Mazda has created a charming, keenly priced, everyday family sedan that transforms into a snarling, tire-shredding maniac at the kick of a pedal and the touch of a button. Besides pocket aces, what more could you ask for?
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POWERED
August 25th, 2006 at 8:42 am
Interesting how some dealers are trying to flog these cars now for $21K US. Slow mover?
That DISI 2.3 engine is pretty nifty, I’m excited about the Mazdaspeed 3.
August 25th, 2006 at 8:54 am
Wow, 21K? Where did you see that? for 21k that would be a steal!
August 25th, 2006 at 11:28 am
This car lists for $31,285 with every option.
Good thing the $700 moonroof is the only option
August 25th, 2006 at 11:28 am
Mazda has taken to grafting whatever is necessary to boost performance of aparticular car at the end of its run. Since the vehicle was never designed for this increase in power a lot of changes must be sorted out in a short amount of time. Some of these conversions take place reletively painlessly Mazdaspeed Protege. Some are a compromise of a compromise as in the Mazdaspeed6.
The point, however, is that a manufacturer is still willing to take on the job traditionally left to aftermarket tuners. Whether or not the end result is the best that ever COULD be, at least the result is something.
Too bad that the RX-8 is going to cost a little extra this year with the recall they just anounced. It would have been nice to get the 6-port Rensis over in the states.
August 25th, 2006 at 11:35 am
Ed,
The recall should have no impact on new RX-8 sticker prices. Cars are priced based on what the market will support.
And we’ve been getting the 6-port engine from the beginning with the manual. For 2006 it’s also in the slushbox cars.
On the review:
Cutting boost lag would have no impact on the 0-60 time because of the tricks used to get the best time. Cutting boost lag would improve acceleration when using everyday driving techniques, but when using these techniques this car doesn’t get to 60 in anything approaching six seconds.
August 25th, 2006 at 11:37 am
I consider the Mazdaspeed 6 and the Legacy Spec.B to be adult versions of the STI and Evo. I love those two machines for their performance and price, but their boy racer looks and everyday usage suffers, whereas I can get 90% of the performance in the MS6 or Legacy and still look like a grownup.
I have only really seen the MS6 in black, but I thought it looked quite subtle.
I’d much rather have one of these than a BMW or Audi.
August 25th, 2006 at 11:40 am
re: 21K
Cardinale Way Mazda at Superstition Springs, Mesa, AZ had some they were trying to unload, I don’t know if they still do…
August 25th, 2006 at 11:41 am
The Speed6 is a seriously nice piece of kit. But man, that interior! Johnny wasn’t kidding when he said that the Legacy outclassed the Mazda.
Then again I saw a base Speed6 advertised this morning for $22k - no leather, no keyless ignition, as opposed to the higher Grand Touring model. Good luck finding a (better equipped, more refined overall) Legacy GT for that kind of chump change. While Subaru’s heading off towards Acura-land, Mazda’s keeping it affordable in the economy end of the segment.
August 25th, 2006 at 11:47 am
The Mazda Mazdaspeed Mazda6 (I believe that is its official name - lol) has been a very slow mover. I priced one of these back in November 2005 when it first came out, a GT with moonroof and Navigation options - $33, 285 plus a $3,000 dealer markup. The dealer kept telling me something about it being an Audi and BMW killer. They still have the car today. However, all speed6s are now marked down $7,500 off (dealer markdowns, Mazda rebates) of list price which puts the sport model at around $21K and a fully loaded GT with moonroof and nav at around 26K. Unfortunately, I am no longer interested. At 26K it does seem like a bargain, but its no BMW killer.
August 25th, 2006 at 11:51 am
What does “BMW killer” mean?
For 26K, this car is a steal.