A Review of the 2009 Mazda 6

Mazda is, as we know it, one of the big Japanese car manufacturers that have made some of the finest cars Japan has to offer. Among them is the Mazda6, which has looked good. Unfortunately, Mazda introduced a new look to the Mazda6, and now, it looks like a bit of a cock-up, if I'm honest.

The old Mazda6 had sort-of a pleasant view to it. The headlights were just right, and so were the tail lights. Now, though, the headlights are bigger, and so are the tail lights! I've seen the car drive around, and I can't stand looking at it! It's just bulkier and more fat! I hate the grill, and the bumper, and the lights, and the shape! I hate everything about it; up until I look at the interior!

Ok, I'll be honest, while there are bits of leather, and bits of what looks like aluminum, it's still full of plastic. but I just don't care. It's a nice place to be in. The center console has a few characteristics from the RX8, and I like that! The steering wheel looks kind of sporty, to say the least, and the dashboard wasn't badly designed!

Unfortunately, the engine is not from an RX8, which, to be honest, is just a shame! Great engine, but we'll have to stick with four and six cylinder engines for the 6. Besides, Mazda never fitted a wankel engine on a 6 before, so that was sort-of a pointless rant. But, they did fit it with a choice of four and six cylinder engines. You can have a 2.5 liter four cylinder engine producing a whopping 170 horsepower; oh, wait, I got that wrong. It's actually disappointing that they can only push out 170 hp from a 2.5. Europeans can manage 250 from an engine that size! The 3.7 V6 puts out about 270 horsepower, which, again, is something Europeans can push 350 out of. So, as far as the engine is concerned, kind of a disappointment.

What's worse is that the 2.5L does 20 mpg in the city and 24 on the highway! Perfect car then, for economic situation the world is in - when jobs are hard to find, hard to keep, and prices are rising on everything! Mazda really thought this through. Of course, I'm just being sarcastic about this whole situation, but honestly, who wants something that is weak, slow, ugly, and unbelievably thirsty?

But, when you look at the price, it all makes sense. A base 2.5, six-speed manual will make an $18,550 gap in your wallet, and a base 3.7 V6 will increase that size to about $24,000! Not exactly expensive, but I wouldn't pay that much for a car that looks that bad. A few years ago, I'd happily pay that much for a Mazda6 because it wasn't only a brilliant drive, it was also a great looking car! The new Mazda6, while it outperforms the old one, looks like somebody designed it while half asleep, and the Mazda executives thought it was a good idea, and put it into production.

Now, I'll be up-front: I haven't driven the new Mazda6, and to be honest, I wouldn't want to, unless someone paid me to do it. That's how bad it is. So, if you have the new Mazda6, and would like to pay me to drive it, and tell you how much I hate the way it looks, write to me! But I'll be honest, for the money, or a little bit more, I'd rather have an RX8. Much better looking, a better drive, more powerful, does about the same mpg, and fantastic fun!

Now, I know that Mazda officials will probably not change their design philosophy just because some 19 year-old wrote some mean things about one of their cars, but if they do happen to read it, I have just one thing to say: Next time 'round, try to pay attention to who styles it, make sure they're fully awake, and try to squeeze a little more mpg out of a four cylinder engine!