First MS6 Review

[M=SP^2]

Sounds promising, but I got the sense it's going to come up just a little bit short of its full potential (sound familiar?)
http://www.channel4.com/4car/road-tests/driving-impressions-2004/M/mazda/6/mps6.html

[jersey_emt]

I'm still amazed at how slow the 0-60mph time is. 6.6 seconds for an AWD car with that amount of power is shitty.

[M=SP^2]

I think it'll be faster then that, it's a factory estimate and I'm sure they're being conservative. I'm willing to bet that the magazines will have it around 6.

[crossbow]

You'd hope so since the 6s MTX does it in 6.7 seconds =/.

[russr]

Just out of curiosity, what is the 0-60mph time of the 6i MTX?

[Titanium]

For you Bill:

Mazda launched the MPS6 at the ex-Formula One TI Circuit near Hiroshima. At very high speeds the hot 6 feels inspiringly secure and civilised. In the dry, only extreme mid-corner provocation will unstick the rear end - this is no lurid smoke-pluming drift king. In the wet through, it should prove more adjustable. Most of the time, it simply goes where you want it to with a tail-up eagerness. The rest of the time it simply understeers.

[Spooled]

Still sad. I was hoping for mid-low 5's.

[Necessity]

I read. That review looks like crap to me - It makes the 6 look horribly unappealing.

250hp? Nice figures. 0-60 .1 second faster than the 6s. I'll wait until a more distinguished evaluation comes out;) The STi understeers like a champ too, so I don't find that too odd.

[Stealth5]

im sure thats launching it without ass raping the clutch and drivetrain...itll be quick once you get going, im positive

[Spooled]

"Oh, and this car must run on 98Ron unleaded - any lower octane-rated fuel will result in a noticeable drop in performance (Mazda reckons up to 15 percent less on 91Ron fuel)."

Mazda can suck my cock for pulling something like that if it's true. Who the hell has 98 octane? The best I've seen in MI is Sunoco 94, and I don't want to have to be limited to over 91 for a stock car.

[Titanium]

That's Direct Injection for ya!

[russr]

"Oh, and this car must run on 98Ron unleaded - any lower octane-rated fuel will result in a noticeable drop in performance (Mazda reckons up to 15 percent less on 91Ron fuel)."

Mazda can suck my cock for pulling something like that if it's true. Who the hell has 98 octane? The best I've seen in MI is Sunoco 94, and I don't want to have to be limited to over 91 for a stock car.

Those are british "petrol" octane ratings. I think it might be similar to regular vs. super or plus.

[Spooled]

I thought that direct injection was better for withstanding detonation. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that direct injection was like a diesel where the fuel isn't injected until the combustion stroke. That would drastically decrease the chances of pre-ignition and detonation.

[edit]: Diesels use the heat of the compressed air to ignite the fuel on contact, where-as I thought that direct injection gasoline engines inject on the power stroke (but still need a spark plug). Just thought I'd clear up my thoughts.

[jersey_emt]

91 RON = 87 octane
98 RON = 93 octane

[Spooled]

Ah, well that's not that bad, then.

[Spooled]

Damn Brits and their goofey measurements

[flat_black]

RON is Researched Octane Number, PON is Pump Octane Number (Also known as CLC, with is RON+MON/2), and MON is Motor Octane Number. Direct comparisons are close to this:

91 RON = 87 CLC
95 RON = 91 CLC

You're used to seeing the Cost of Living Council numbers at pumps. That's the standard for US pumps. =) So, 98 is about 93 octane, presumably.

[Mazda3]

Well one important piece of info was in this review. Weight is 1540kg's, which is 3388lbs. Which is much less than the 3500lbs some people were claiming. Also keep in mind the N.A. spec car is rated 274hp.

[crossbow]

The review is based on old spec press releases. They didnt' actually review anything. You see this stuff all the time in the computer hardware industry...sites just throwing crap together to get some hits. I'd take any and all information with a grain of salt.

[brianmcd]

When's the car supposed to come out for purchasing?

~brian

[crossbow]

Summer of 2005 for the US. Few months prior (supposedly) for Canada. I can't speak on the canadian dates, as Mazda Canada is a seperate and very bitter entity from Mazda USA.

[Mazda3]

The review is based on old spec press releases. They didnt' actually review anything. You see this stuff all the time in the computer hardware industry...sites just throwing crap together to get some hits. I'd take any and all information with a grain of salt.
Aren't they claiming to have driven the car in this article?

[crossbow]

If you read carefully, you'll see its just a paraphrased Mazda MPS press release =/. There really isn't even a tiny bit of new information contained in it. Additionally, most of the information doesn't even seem to be related to the later changes :(.

I mean honestly if you were going to review a car, you wouldn't sit there for 3 pages and talk about the stuff mentioned in a press release, you'd talk about how it drove, how it handled, how it performed...

In the whole article, the only section involving actual, usable, feedback is this...

Up to a very well-marked point, the Mazda feels sharp, fast and terrifically composed. It's fluid, poised and keyed in to the road, scything quickly through corners and annihilating straights. Which sounds like someone else drove it, and told the site about it. Everything else is just rewritten press-releases. Hardly a review by any means...pretty sad if you ask me.

[eting_pro5]

If you read carefully, you'll see its just a paraphrased Mazda MPS press release =/. There really isn't even a tiny bit of new information contained in it. Additionally, most of the information doesn't even seem to be related to the later changes :(.

I mean honestly if you were going to review a car, you wouldn't sit there for 3 pages and talk about the stuff mentioned in a press release, you'd talk about how it drove, how it handled, how it performed...

In the whole article, the only section involving actual, usable, feedback is this...

Which sounds like someone else drove it, and told the site about it. Everything else is just rewritten press-releases. Hardly a review by any means...pretty sad if you ask me.
Don't forget the last two sentences where he wishes the car was more focused....LAME! Too bad the article said nothing about the car being "unfocused."

I'll agree it's a rewritten press release.

[wongpres]

I'm not going to go too much into the 4Car review as I haven't driven the vehicle and Euro reviewers commonly slam Japanese vehicles.

However, I can confirm that there was a Japanese press event to introduce the Mazdaspeed6. Here's a well-known Toronto-based journalist's review of it:

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1100779268441&call_pageid=968867497088&col=969048871196

[crossbow]

Ah thats a bit better...but still, its 3/4 of an article about shit you can read in a press released, followed by a short amount of actual review. At least thestar reviewer points out the car's understeer bias on the track...that tells us something big right there.

Stepping on the brake, or lifting the throttle, are primarily ways you get a FWD vehicle to oversteer. In a RWD biased car, applications of the throttle can swing the rear out during a turn, and can compensate for excessive amounts of understeer in certain setup cars.

[Rainman]

I have my black-on-black MS6 ordered for mid-Mar 2005. My dealer said that Mazda Canada was really pushing to move the date up a month so that we could get our shipment by mid-Feb. The price has not yet been set, but it is expected to be about $38,000-$39,000 CAN.

R

[Mazda3]

Yes, this is a better review.

The specs and descriptions of the way the car feels sure seem to indicate 0-60 times much better than 6.6sec. Its killing me waiting for someone to actually time the car.(huh)