Long Term Ownership Review: 2004 Mazda 6 S

Inspired by Topheezy's review of his Accord, I am going to do a review of my Mazda "Sixey".  In 2004 I was struggling with my current car, a 1994 Pontiac Grand Prix.  I have written about it before.  It was starting to nickle and dime me and my attempt to do an aftermarket cam had resulted in failure.  The car was costing me $300 a month and I was tired of it.  So I made a trip behind the house to the Power Mazda lot.

I had been eyeing the Mazda 6 for quite some time.  Mainly because it came with a manual transmission, 6 cylinder engine and wasn't a Honda or BMW.  At the time, getting a 6 cylinder sedan with a manual transmission was quite impossible.  Even the Accord, which offered a manual transmission in the coupe, did not offer one in the sedan and I wanted four doors.  On my list at the time were three cars: the Mazda 6, a used 2003 Grand Prix GTP and a Lexus IS300.  All VERY different cars.  I had been a Grand Prix lover for a long time and was baffled by what people could accomplish once modifying their supercharged Prixs but I really wanted to go with a manual transmission and the Prix did not offer one.  I test drove the IS300, drawn in by its Supra engine and RWD but balked when I realized how slow they were and the $30,000 price tag.  So I tested the Mazda.

Going over to drive the Mazda that day was supposed to just be a wheel kicking.  I didn't even drive my trade over because I expected at the end of the day to not really be able to afford what I wanted.  Power had two Mazda 6 V6s on the lot that day.  One of them was a red car with beige interior, sunroof and the expensive Bose sound system.  Essentially, it had a bunch of junk I didn't want and one of the worst color combos ever.  The other one was a silver car with jet black leather interior and the sport package.  I humped it, it was beautiful.  However, I seemed to be exuding the aura of someone without any money because the dealer wouldn't even come out.  So I trolled them.  I went over and looked at a really cheap Mazda 3 and a kid not more than a few years older than me (I was 21 at the time) came out to help me.  I quickly dragged him back over to the Mazda 6 and I could see his enthusiasm drop.  It dropped further as I killed the Mazda twice just getting it out of the lot since I didn't actually know how to drive stick.  We went for a short and relaxed drive and went back to the dealership to talk numbers.  Of course the first thing he wanted to do was run credit on me since I think he fully expected to send me packing at that point.  Once he realized I could actually afford the car he got bright and chipper.

I caved on first pencil but still wasn't sure if I could make it work financially.  It was 2 days before my new job was even scheduled to start and I had never had a car payment before so I told him I needed more time to think about it.  So he puppy dogged it and sent me home with the car to "try it" for a day.  I took the car out to where I would test the Grand Prix and let it loose and I was sold from that moment, I would just make it work.

I know what you're thinking, 3 paragraphs and I actually haven't said a word about the car yet.  U mad?  I just celebrated my 8th year anniversary with Sixey.  We've been together longer than I've been with my wife and she was born before my daughter.  The relationship has been excellent.  I waited almost a full year before doing any modification but I couldn't wait.  I did run her at Woodburn Dragstrip when she had 5,000 miles on her to the tune of 15.2 @ 93, basically exactly what the magazines ran.  Sixey doesn't have the best aftermarket so parts for her are expensive.  The cold-air intake and piggyback module that was my first modifcation was nearly $600.  My next modification was a Magnaflow cat-back that I installed myself for another $500.  I bought some Mazdaspeed 3 rims off of my brother and the last modification was Tein basic dampers for $1200.  The result is a family car that can crush a JCW Cooper in the corners.

When I say that my Mazda could make an Alphabet Soup Car look stupid in both the corners and the straights I'm not trolling, its fact.  Even before the suspension I was praised for my line and performance at a track event.  I don't do a lot of racing, but it is fun to know that I can.  A lot of times cars are praised for their dual personalities in being a good car for hooliganism that you can live with everyday and Sixey meets that perfectly.  And I can carry a full set of track tires with me as well which I guess is a requirement for an everyday racer, at least it was for the Alphabet Soup Car.  She started with only 220 horsepower at the crank, but she now sports 205 wheel horsepower.  I've shown a number of IS300s my taillights to help me feel better about my choice.

The strange thing about Sixey is her accoustics.  I've raved about the sound of the Duratec before but the best way to describe the feeling is Honda VTEC.  Sixey's Duratec 30 only has variable valve timing on the intake cams yet something changes around 4,500 RPMs and her tone switches from a low growl to a mad roar and there's a huge hit of torque.  Other reviewers have noted this wild change and said that it felt like the car has a turbocharger.  The change in sound is what is most interesting.  It isn't as pronounced in a vehicle like the Mustang.  I never grow tired of it.

She's gotten older and so have I.  I rarely race anymore and I can't tell you the last time I took her up in the hills to stretch her legs but the transition to full time family vehicle from early 20s hooligan mobile has been remarkably easy.  My younger self loved the quick turn in, slick shifter and predictable responses at the limit.  My older self loves the comfortable heated leather seats, climate control and remarkable reliability.  Even with the harder aftermarket suspension, it still has a smooth ride.  Even after 100,000 miles the clutch is smooth and doesn't slip even under abuse.  The strong brakes have saved me from a number of potential accidents involving deer.  She is however, a true Mazda.  Road noise at freeway speeds is quite pronounced.  It got better when I removed her terrible factory tires but is still enough to require the radio be turned up quite a bit.  If the auto volume control is active the car will jump around 3 ticks at 60.  There are plenty of rattles around but such is the price for having a suspension that allows one to steer around a corner without having to nearly stop.  She likes to kill batteries about every 2 years or so, that's why I only buy batteries with 3 year warranties, LOL.  She also has a lot of engine movement underhood.  I went with a stiffer lower mount but before I made the swap I could hit the engine against the firewall.  The lower mount was removed after about a year and a half, it was torn.

I have few complaints about my car and will relentlessly defend it against any attack.  How many people can claim after 8 years that their vehicle has never had to go to a service department?  Her solid behavior makes it that much more difficult to justify ever replacing her.  Couple that with the fact that they just don't make vehicles like her anymore and I don't think I'll ever get rid of her.  I keep looking at new cars like the Fusion and the next Mazda 6 but they both lack a manual transmission with their top engines at this time.  Sixey remains perfect.  She's powerful, she has awesome handling, she treats me right.  When you've got everything you want, why look for anything else?