So much better than the current one. Just as good as my current 05. I just wish they'd bring back the hatchback. So much more versatile.

 

Last year I had a 2011 for a rental for 2 weeks.
It was the 4 banger, but it was peppy and drove nice.
In 2006 I had a 2006 V6 as a rental for 2 months and loved that one too.
Spunky V6 and got respectable gas mileage too, as it had
a 6 speed auto (pretty rare for a 2006 family sedan).

If the new one is any indication the Mazda 6 should really be a
SERIOUS consideration for anybody wanted a midsize sedan
with better than average driving dynamics.

People often ask for the hatchbacks but then nobody buys them.
I have owned several hatchbacks, and currently have a 2011 Golf TDI as
my daily driver. Don't know why American's don't see the versatility and
ease of hatchbacks, but for some reason, most prefer the limited space and more inconvenient trunk. Go figure.

 

Because older hatchbacks (or station wagons) were so **** uncool.

 

 

Not any worse than the sedans from that era.
Modern hatchbacks and wagons (past 10 years) are pretty darn nice, but nobody buys them still.
They'd rather have big, clumsy, terrible handling, bad braking, gas guzzling, slower SUV's, that often don't look any better either and many have less cargo room than comparable hatchbacks or wagons.

 

Because a compact SUV has much more space than a compact station wagon. And I think that for most of the people, legs space on both rows of seats is much more important that cargo space.

I mean, just try to compare Focus and Escape in the terms of space (they're based on the same platform).

 

I've never quite understood the aversion to hatchbacks either as they make so much sense to me, both in terms of function and quite often in their sleeker, more aerodynamic styling too. I think American's just have an unthinking reflexive reaction to them, to quickly equating them with cheap foreign econoboxes, never mind that some of the finest and fastest cars in the world were and are fastbacks (Jaguar and Aston Martin come immediately to mind).

Sure some, but by no means all, SUV's might have a bit more verticle space than the fellow platform hatches or wagons, but you pay a dear price in added weight, bulk and resultant clumsiness, all qualities antithetical to a driver's/performance car. All the more ironic for people on a performance car forum to be blithely overlooking the performance hit taken by going to an SUV version of a platform over the hatch/wagon version. I'd gladly give up some Nth degree of interior space for the vastly better performance, dynamics and efficiency of a wagon or hatchback.

I think more and more Americans are opening their eyes to the wonderful reality of hatchbacks and wagons, as evidenced by the good reception of the Audi A7/S7, which is hardly some econobox. Perhaps too, the social cache that underlies a great majority of SUV purchases is getting a bit old and stale, perhaps becoming emblematic of an previous gluttonous era.

 

I don't think this is true at all. I mean, how many wagons are really left on the market? Even Volvo, who was the leader in wagon sales, stopped selling them in the USA due to a low sales.

 

I like the fact that I can fit two bikes completely assembled in my 05 Mazda 6 cause it's a hatchback. You can't do that without it.

But I have to agree. As far as the Mazda 6 goes, I don't see many hatchback versions of them.

And that rear is pretty **** nice. Now I want to see the whole car.

I would venture to bet with the gas engine this thing will do probably around 28/38. I say that because the cx5 gets 26/35 with a manual.

With that said, imagine what the next Mazda 3 will do once it gets a skyactiv chassis and drops a couple hundred pounds?

Mazdas future is bright. I just hope this isn't a slug like the cx5 is.

Although this WILL be getting the skyactiv diesel. Which is already said to get 30% better fuel economy when put into the cx5.

 

Off-topic, but I had a chance to test drive a new Nissan Altima today. Great car.

 

mazda is killing it!
their new design-template is awesome!

 

Lalo! What's happen bro?

 

I really liked the first gen Mazda 6. Not so much a fan of the second gen.

But this concept looks nice. Heres hoping there's another mazdaspeed version in the works.

 

Mazda's newest designs are awesome. They just need to figure out wtf they're doing with their powertrains! You can't just drop a 160hp I4 into everything! Where's the turbo-4/V6??

 

Mazda has outright said all V6s are going away. They're going to be moving to turbo 4s. Even for the CX9.

But yes the Kodo design features are great. They need to get more manufacturing over here though. They're losing a ton of money exporting the cars from Japan to the U.S.

 

And that's fine. But they keep debuting/releasing new vehicles with ONLY the SkyActive engines - they need more oomph or people will shop elsewhere.

 

I was never a fan of any Mazdas. My boss has a '11 Mazda3 and it's just a horrible car for daily driving. Loud, uncomfortable, interior is really cheap ...

 

I've been a fan of their Mazdaspeed line, but the last gen 6 missed it's mark bigtime. Hopefully they go back to the formula that made the first gen car so successful. I don't know if eliminating the V6 is the answer. Getting a more modern tech palette in the car would certainly help too, as they seem to be behind the ball in that aspect.

 

I liek the red one