2004 Mazda 6 Sport Wagon review from North America

Nothing has "gone wrong" with our Mazda6s Sport Wagon, per se. However, there is an annoying rattle emanating from the rear cargo tonneau holder/roll-up audile when the radio is off or at very low volume, and the fuse array cover doesn't fasten as snugly as I believe it should, and gets knocked off about once a week. Other than these two quite minor annoyances, our Mazda 6 continues to perform well and delight us at the 5000 mile mark.

We looked at a variety of vehicles to replace our aging Nissan 240. We wanted a similar if not identical sportiness to its performance and handling, and for its looks. At the same time, we wanted a smaller hauler for our kayaks to replace our 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee, a completely fine vehicle save for it's height, exacerbated with the added 4" of the Yakima roof rack. Finally, we wanted a car that could, relatively easily and relatively comfortably for short -less that a hundred miles -trips, carry 4 people, and that had some creature comforts we desired.

After initially looking at a series of sedans, including the new Ford 500 and Chrysler 300, we realized that the lift-over to load -and more importantly, UNLOAD -the trunk was a problem with sedans. We go to the gym 5 days a week, and easily slide our sizable gym bags, along with our briefcases, in and out of the back cargo area of the Grand Cherokee; ditto for our weekly major forays to the grocery store. We also looked at some of the hew SUV crossovers like the Ford Freestyle. Unfortunately, despite their many positives, all were still too tall.

So our decision came down to station wagons, which combined lower roof height, room for 4 passengers, and a cargo area sufficiently sized for our kayaking gear, our grocery loads, and our bulky gym bags while still having a nice, flat loading platform.

We primarily looked at the Subaru Legacy, Outback, and Forester models, the VW Passat, and the Mitsubishi Outlander. Mercedes and BMWs, as much as we liked their looks and specs, cost way too much new -we could afford them, we just don't think their worth the money -and were virtually unavailable used with relatively low miles. Saab was a tad small, though we liked the looks and some features, and it was still pricey and not the value we sought. The Forester was too tall. The Legacy and Outback basic 4-cylinder engines had zero pep, and the Outback model I drove wasn't all that comfortable for me -or even more surprisingly, not nearly as crisply handling as I expected. And the Subaru 6 and turbo 4 engines require premium fuel. We liked the VW's ride, performance, size, and handling; but the VW had a poor repair record, mixed personal recommendations, and needed premium fuel. The Mitsubishi Outlander had a quirky interior styling, but was a terrific value with an equally terrific warranty. It performed satisfactorily, and would have fulfilled all our needs save one: it was still tall.

Quite by accident we found tucked away in a corner of a R&T or C&D I picked up (for reviews of the sedans we started out looking at) was a glowing review for the Mazda6s Sport Sedan. The article noted that a station wagon was also available.

So we said –uh, Mazda...??? Well -why not!

So we test drove a few and were impressed and pleased.

We basically bought it over the Internet, and had a tough time finding exactly what we wanted as it was 2005, and we were looking at the 2004 model at the very end of the model year to garner substantial factory savings to match our usually quite successful, cost-lowering negotiations.

We ended up getting a color we initially didn't want (medium metallic red -our past 3 vehicles were red and we sought silver this go-round), and didn't get side curtain air bags. Other than that, it had everything we were looking for: roof rails, a light-colored leather interior (beige/tan) for our hot summer Miami sun, a sunroof, an in-dash 6 CD changer with a decent sound system, power windows & locks, and remote entry/locking/security system.

We now really like the red color.

And at 5,000 mile, and medium-distance trips to Tampa, Orlando, and Daytona Beach from Miami, we still really really really like the car.

Performance: the V6 is a strong performer. Despite a bit of "accelerator lag" -it takes depressing the pedal a bit more than expected to bring on the kick -because the kick IS there from the 220 HP of the smooth, quiet V6. Most importantly, when cruising at highway speeds, punching it brings on a double down-shift and excellent at-speed passing acceleration in the 60 mph-80 mph range. It runs very well at sustained highway speeds, and makes 110 just fine and feels rock steady there as well as at 65.

Handling is also just as strong, if not stronger, especially for a wagon. The car is a real joy to drive, and is sporty enough to remind one of our fine-handling 240. There is a strong on-center feel when driving curves and twisty roads. It corners well and crisply with little lean; the former may be a function of the 17" wheels shod with fairly sticky (for main line passenger tires) Mazda6s stock Michelin tires as well as the suspension -but it doesn't matter as the net effect is one of steady, solid, taut control.

It's a comfortable car to drive, especially for the diver. The driver's seat is a 10-way power adjustable leather-clad long-distance chair. The passenger's seat is manual, but two work colleagues who drove with me to Orlando found it a comfortable and easily adjustable seat for the 5-hour trip. Both seats are heated, but here in Florida that only assists if you've got a sore back and want the warmth to help loosen up. The steering wheel is not only conventionally adjustable, it also adjusts in and out, so much more refinement can be made in driver positioning.

Driver road view is good, but compared to other recent cars of our, side and rear vision seems oddly uncomfortable to me. By no means is it disabling, but by "uncomfortable" I mean I'm always double or triple checking the mirrors and views out the windows to the rear and rear quarters when backing up. This may just be me.

Back seat comfort is above average, due largely to the surprising amount of both rear seat legroom and headroom. The rear area, however, is not nearly as nice as front seat comfort.

The cargo carrying capacity belies the cars size. I can get more in, and get it in more easily in the Mazda6S Sport Wagon’s rear cargo area that I can for our Jeep Grand Cherokee. It easily fits my golf bag and pull-cart, our grocery bags, and our kayaking gear. And that's with the rear seat still n the up position. We have yet to need to drop the rear seat to carry stuff. The only drawback to this area is the tonneau -something in its mechanism rattles, and it is low, so you need to bend down to see things deep in the cargo area when the tonneau is extended.

The controls are extremely easy to use and display well, day or night, thanks to a lighting system that illuminates the dials and gauges all day long, though it took a day or so to get used to the red-lit gauges, dials, and LED information displays. However, once one adjusts to them, they are clear and easy to read, and the most controls -especially the radio and AC controls -are intuitive and easy to adjust. I had no problems with them the first time I sat in and test-drove a Mazda6S.

The AC works well even in midday Miami in summer in Sunny South Florida. Our system is an automatic AC 'set it and forget it' system that we will sometimes put in manual mode to increase airflow or redirect it. It easily adapts to both manual and thermostatic control.

The radio works fine for us -we usually listen to classical music, jazz, and Caribbean pans, and the subwoofer works well, but not to the window-vobrating extent that bazookas do, of course.

The cabin is pretty well laid-out, with sufficient storage nooks hither and yon. The negative is that there are no in-dash or dash-mounted drink holders; they're in the doors at the front of the door's fixed plastic storage bins. The rear seat has a center fold-out drop-down arm rest and drink holder which is convenient. The rear seat is a 60-40 split fold-down.

Downsides? Well, sure there are a few -that accelerator lag is one, as is that rearward vision I've yet to truly adjust to. I don't mind the drink holder positions -I've got long arms, but others may object. The car transmits more road noise than we'd like -as has been noted elsewhere as well, and gas mileage is only average at around 25 or so.

But all-in-all, we very heartily recommend the Mazda6S SportWagon to our kayaking friends, among others, and the Sedan (or 5-door) to those who don't need the extra storage areas. It's a truly sporty, comfortable, and pleasurable -and we think quite handsome! -car to drive.

Zoom Zoom!