High-Speed Fun and Fabulous Style
OK, I'll admit it. While my job revolves around driving and reporting about vehicles that everyday people who make average pay checks might want to buy, I'm a not-so-closet enthusiast at heart. And due to this penchant
I've been pumped up about the Mazdaspeed6 since hearing official news that it was to be put into production a little over a year ago, and as soon as it arrived in showrooms couldn't wait to get behind the wheel. What has had me so excited?
It's simple really. Take one of the best looking, most engaging family cum sport sedans currently available, transform it from front-wheel to all-wheel drive while juicing up its base 2.3-litre powerplant with a big fat turbo capable of churning out 274-horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 280 lb-ft of torque at 3,000 rpm, mate it to a short-throw six-speed
manual transmission and price it at about what you'd expect to pay for a well-equipped family sedan, and Mazda has a winning formula.
To look at it, the Mazdaspeed6 comes across as a slightly more toned Mazda6 sedan. This similarity is no bad thing, as the regular 6 is a thoroughly attractive sport sedan and one that's managed to garner more than 100 international automotive awards since its inception. A few changes include a more bulbous hood, emphasizing the power that lay beneath, a more aerodynamic front bumper and lower grille section, a slightly modified five-point upper grille that also doubles as an intake for the intercooler, more pronounced side skirts, exclusive 18-inch alloy rims wrapped in 215/45R18 tires, and a aerodynamically enhanced rear bumper featuring an integrated diffuser surrounding the exhaust tip plus a rear decklid spoiler that Mazda says is "highly effective."
OK, I'll admit it. While my job revolves around driving and reporting about vehicles that everyday people who make average pay checks might want to buy, I'm a not-so-closet enthusiast at heart. And due to this penchant
 |
| I've been pumped up about the Mazdaspeed6 since hearing official news that it was to be put into production a little over a year ago. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
It's simple really. Take one of the best looking, most engaging family cum sport sedans currently available, transform it from front-wheel to all-wheel drive while juicing up its base 2.3-litre powerplant with a big fat turbo capable of churning out 274-horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 280 lb-ft of torque at 3,000 rpm, mate it to a short-throw six-speed
 |
| The 2.3-litre powerplant is mated to a short-throw six-speed manual transmission. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
To look at it, the Mazdaspeed6 comes across as a slightly more toned Mazda6 sedan. This similarity is no bad thing, as the regular 6 is a thoroughly attractive sport sedan and one that's managed to garner more than 100 international automotive awards since its inception. A few changes include a more bulbous hood, emphasizing the power that lay beneath, a more aerodynamic front bumper and lower grille section, a slightly modified five-point upper grille that also doubles as an intake for the intercooler, more pronounced side skirts, exclusive 18-inch alloy rims wrapped in 215/45R18 tires, and a aerodynamically enhanced rear bumper featuring an integrated diffuser surrounding the exhaust tip plus a rear decklid spoiler that Mazda says is "highly effective."