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I just got back from a day of driving the Mazda 6 and it's competitors ( yeah I work for a Mazda dealer ! Service Manager ). I drove the V6 auto, V6 5 speed and the 4cyl 5 speed. The competition were the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord V6, Nissan Altima V6 . The Camry was dull, boring, plain..etc... lull ya right to sleep. The Accord was nice, sweet engine, decent handling, didn't care much for the looks. The Altima I kinda liked. The looks were good, handling was decent, suspension was noisey over bumps ! , apparently a common complaint. The motor was awesome though !! , gobs of power, ya need the traction control with the V6 engine ! The handling on the mazda 6 was awesome, simply awesome. Steady as a rock, precise, one of the best handling cars I have drove that still gave a decent ride. The engine had good power but not as much as I had expected. The Alrtima had more punch at all rpm. The Mazda 6 5 speed V6 was my favorite of course, easy clutch smooth shifter. I couldn't find much I didn't like about the 6. I work in the end of the dealer were we fix them and I am cringing seeing all the Ford influence in the engine and electronics. Give me the Japanese only cars !! The Protege is still made in Japan and its our toughest most reliable model. The Tribute being on the other end of the scale. The 4cyl 5speed worked decent , more power than the 2.0L 5 speed 626. I don't know the final gear ratio but it's gotta be high. At about 50 mphr in 5th it was turning about 2200 rpm, and it would hardly pull at all. They gave us some good technical information, mostly on the suspension, I'll try to scan it and post it soon.
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