http://www.edmunds.com/mazda/mazda6/2012/
Last few days, I have been on the Big Island of Hawai'i for a nice getaway. Being the savvy consumer, I went through Hotwire to reserve a "Ford Fusion or similar" rental car on the cheap. Once the reservation was placed, I was notified that it was through Hertz. Of course, my first thought was Hertz is a reputable rental company, so I should get a pretty nice car.
When I arrived, the lady at the counter saw that I went through Hotwire (probably paid about half their normal rate) and gave me the keys to an Altima. Let me tell you, this car was BEAT UP! The car was probably a couple of years old at least and had close to 50K miles. The paint was fading, scratched up everywhere, and the rear bumper was dented. Regardless, I put my stuff away and was ready to mark off all the nicks, dings, scratches, etc. and saw that couple of the tires had bulges on the side wall! I quickly pointed the tires out to a gentleman on the lot and he had someone put me in another car, 2012 Mazda6.
Like that Altima, the Mazda was black on black (great job picking a color on a HOT, sunny island!) with lots of dings and scratches. I pretty much ended up circling all the panels on the worksheet and was on my merry way. I was at least excited to drive a Mazda6 since I've rented the Altima a couple of times before. The car was the base trim "i" with no options, as far as I can tell – a humble $20K family sedan.
Back when I was shopping for a new car, I did test drive a Mazda6 with the 3.5L V6. I could have gotten a great deal on a fully loaded 2010 model, but I could not get over the cheap plastics and the lack of an iPod connection (AUX jack only). Fast forward to 2013, the 4-banger from Hertz didn't seem so bad. The touch points were covered with padded plastics, but other parts of the dash looked a bit unrefined. All that seemed much easier to take in a low-$20K car than in a low-$30K car.
Enough with the background info... how does it drive? Well, pretty predictable family sedan stuff here. The 2.5L I4 puts out 170 hp into a 5-speed auto. It's a simple transportation with ample power for island life. On the Big Island, this is especially true, since there is no major freeway. I found the steering to be decently weighted and it took corners reasonably well. The ride was comparable to any family sedan I've driven, but on the glass-smooth roads on the Big Island probably would have made an RX-8 ride liked a limo. The backseat is huge and there is plenty of head room since there is no optional sunroof. The trunk is also big enough for all the luggage.
The Mazda6 pretty much does what it is supposed to do and blends into the crowd. Perhaps that has been the big problem for Mazda. Mazda is a company that makes the Miata, RX-8, and the clown-faced Mazdaspeed3. These cars all have unique personalities that the Mazda6 simply does not have. This is a company that prides in itself to built unique cars, and yet, this particular generation Mazda6 is buried too deep in trying to appeal to the masses. Even the fully loaded V6 version I test drove a couple years ago didn't really impress me as much as the Accord or even the Sonata Turbo. It felt unrefined and the interior looked second rate. If a lesser known company like Mazda builds forgettable cars, people will not notice. Mazda does build some awesome cars, but they certainly need to sell a lot of these family sedans to keep afloat. I truly hope that the glowing reviews on the 2013 Mazda6 are true and that more people will take notice of the new 6 as a competent Accord-beater.
