2004 Mazda 6 review from Saudi Arabia

17" wheels. 45-profile tires offer very little protection from ruts and potholes. Rims were damaged within two months of owning the car. I switched to older-model 16" rims with beefier tires, and no more headaches.

Battery gone dead at around 49,000 kms. Replaced with new one.

Stalled at cold starts at around 20,000 kms. Injector cleaner solved the problem.

A-pillar liner about to come off.

Lower ball joints worn out by 30,000 kms. Replaced under warranty.

Other than that, a very reliable car.

This thing handles great. Absolutely no understeer, and steering response is agile and crisp, even better with 225/50R16 summer tires.

Reasonably comfortable, despite suspension on the firm side. Drove it straight to Jordan on a 1,400km trip for 18 hours, had no issues, was ready for more driving once I got there.

Frugal for what it is. Gas is dirt cheap over here, but then again, fill-ups are reasonably few and far between. I wish the engine was slightly bigger and more powerful.

Very convenient. Controls are intuitive and well laid out, trunk seems to swallow anything I ever threw into it.

Oh, and it looks great while doing it all.

Auto transmission is is lazy to downshift sometimes, and could use a "tighter" torque converter. Saps too much power compared to a 5-speed manual. But then again, the clutch on the manual isn't exactly a masterpiece of engineering.