DoubleGood

I took my lunch break to go get tickets to Lord of the Rings for a later showing. Well right across the road is a Mazda dealership and low and behold they had about 7 Mazda 6's on their lot. I drove into the lot and went right up to the yellow sport package 6 and took a look. Make a long story short, they let me take it out for a spin. I really like the looks of the car! Very roomy inside and plenty of trunk space. The 220hp V6 engine definitely had some pick-up to it. The leather was alright but not the best, the gear selector, I thought, felt very cheap. (They only had automatics). The suspension was alright, but not very sporty (meaning the car wasn't as glued to the ground as much as my IS300; I didn't feel too comfortable accelerating through corners.). No Zenon lights . It did have a nice 6 disk Bose system. The price tag for a top of the line 6 was $26k. I thougt it was a pretty fair price for the car. There are several things that they could improve apon, but then the price would probably start to climb past their target market. I guess I am a little spoiled by my IS300 in that respect. But I'm also sure that MazdaSpeed would take care of some of the performance issues for customers that wanted a little more of out their 6's.

After the drive the general manager came out and asked about my S2000 that I was driving and when I was looking to buy a new car. I told him... "Well I think it's a pretty fair price for the car and I was impressed with some of the aspects of it. But Acura is coming out with a competitor called the TSX and I think I'm going to wait to see how it compairs." Not what he was hoping to here.

I must say that the Mazda 6 and the TSX are the two new sport sedans that I have been keeping an eye on. Mazda definitely has put a good car on the road for the price, but they have left a nice space for the TSX to shine! If Acura, and I know they will, can put better quality in the car and a little more sport in the suspension, then I think it will have a winner for sure!!!

DouglaS2000

Gotta hand it to Mazda for turning the bland car they used to call the 626 into a sporty sedan.

I also have extensively driven the IS300 and it is ok, a little overpriced for what it is capable of, but I guess I am paying for that Lexus moniker. Comparing the transmission on the Lexus with the E-Shift function engaged against the Mazda manumatic, in manual mode, the Mazda 6 absolutely owns the IS. There is no delay in hitting the upshifts and downshifts. There is a significant amount of lag in the Lexus system. Then again, the Lexus E-shift is probably among the worst manumatic systems on the market so I suppose it's not a fair comparison.

Interior volume on the Mazda 6 eclipses the IS interior volume which is lacking imo.

Handling is definitely better on the IS as it is rwd and not as prone to understeer. Then again, the IS costs about 5-8k more. The Mazda 6 sells for about 400 over invoice which is about 23-24k. The IS still sells for around 28-32k with all the same amenities.

But the Lexus customer service may be well worth the extra cash spent. I did enjoy driving the IS on the track and also enjoyed test driving the 5 speed manual version. Both tossable cars with handling close to the S2k. Now if only the IS could extract the same amount of hp that the Supra and GS300 puts out, 215 v. 220hp.

Overall, the Mazda 6 is an excellent value and with a little tuning, it will be hard to match. If Mazda brings over the AWD 280hp Mazda 6 they sell in Europe next year, the TSX won't stand a chance.

DoubleGood

Douglas... I totally agree with you on the Lexus E-shift. I rarely use mine and I did use the Mazda one a little during the test drive. The Lexus shifts rough and there is about a second or more delay on the shift. The Mazda shifted very quickly and a lot smoother.. plus the Mazda starts it's manual shift at 1st gear. Lexus E-shift starts the car out in 2nd.

The IS believe it or not actually has more rear leg room then my 1999 A4 did. Like I stated before... there were some quality area's in the Mazda that of course the Lexus excelled at, but the Lexus does cost about 6k more. Stock for Stock the IS, I believe, is a lot more capable of a sports sedan the the 6. I do wish that Lexus would boost the power in the IS by another 20 or so hp, but what can you do....

I would really like to see the aftermarket for the 6 in the coming years. I just wished that I could have driven a manual to get a feel for their gear box!

Skuzzy

Nice drive story

The TSX should be 6-10k more though shouldnt it? And in C&D they said a hatchback 6 was coming soon.

GalvestonVTEC

The TSX is intended to fill in the empty spot in Acura's lineup left by the Integra sedan. I don't think it will cost 6-10k more than the 6. I also don't think comparing the 6 to the IS is fair. I think the 6 is intended as a sportier alternative to Accords and Camrys, cars I wouldn't cross-shop with the IS. Of course, then you can't really compare it with a TSX either.

DouglaS2000

Well, the comparison can be made with any car, I cross shopped an IS with my S2k so.. But in normal circumstances, I understand where you're coming from. But the TSX and the Mazda 6 are so similar, how can the comparison not be made. Both the interior/exterior dimensions are similer, heck, they look just like each other so I think it is valid to compare a TSX with the Mazda 6.

DoubleGood

I've been spending a lot of time over at the TSX forum and from what they can tell the 4 cylinder TSX with be about $22k-$24k and the Type S will be about $26k-$28k. These are only guesses based on the market and pricing overseas. I think both TSX and Mazda 6 are direct competitors in the new mid sport sedan segment. I don't think that the 6 should be compared to the IS to a point. I mean they both are mid-size sport sedans, but they are also in different price ranges. And I didn't mean for it to sound that I was trying to make a direct comparison. It's just that I own one and found myself making the comparison during the drive.

The 6 is a great car for the price! The 6 showed me just how Mazda and Acura are ready to fill the void that buyers like myself were looking for. I myself had to purchase an IS300 in order to get the mid-size sport sedan that I wanted. If both of these cars were out during that time I probably would of picked up one of them instead and saved myself 6k. These cars have the flashy good looks and with a little tuning can really become a well balanced sport sedan.

I'm ready to see what Honda/Acura brings over with the TSX Type S.

NS2000X

I'm with you DoubleGood,
I'll be out for a test drive in a TSX Type S just as soon as they hit the Canadian forecourts (late March).

NS2000X

Nobody

I'm just dying to know (you mentioned it, Doublegood)--in the second installment of Lord of the Rings is there A) more or B) less crying, weeping, moaning, overall whimpering and complaining than the first?

GalvestonVTEC

You got that right! The details in the headlights are almost scarily similar.