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| 2006 MAZDASPEED6 (Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123.com) |
The sole transmission offered is a six-speed manual, reflecting Mazda's tendency to take driving very seriously, as part of the zoom-zoom ideology that is apparent in every car they make. Offering an automatic with such a car would be tantamount to a waiter offering you a squeeze bottle of ketchup for your forty-dollar steak. Offensive? No, but certainly inappropriate. There is no fancy paddle-tapping gearbox offered either, just a quick-shifting stick with a fairly short throw, great feel and a heavy, sometimes awkward and demanding clutch. That clutch makes the car that much more rewarding to drive once you get the feel of it. You don't want to learn to drive a manual on one of these, but once you do, the MAZDASPEED6 will make you realize why sometimes a manual box is the only real choice. It forces you to really, truly DRIVE, pulling you into the experience and getting you involved.
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| 2006 MAZDASPEED6 (Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123.com) |
The ride is firm, quiet and well-balanced. The big wheels pound into the bumps with a fairly muted sound, while all of the nasty parts of the road are filtered out, leaving you to only feel the grip of the tires, the precision of the steering, and the balance and poise at work beneath you. An active torque-split all-wheel drive system works away under your seat to control power delivery to each wheel on an individual basis. With the DSC system watching your every move, the MAZDASPEED6 feels confident in its path and quick on its feet. My tester was fitted with a set of Pirelli snow tires--an ideal match for my Northern hometown in December. Acceleration on snow and ice is smooth and straight, as the system distributes and re-distributes power all around to keep the car going on its intended path and prevent wheelspin. If you need a cover shot, for instance, you can turn the driving aids off, and find yourself an empty stretch of road or a big vacant parking lot and do some beautiful drifting in the snow. I was very impressed with how playful the MAZDASPEED6 was, in terms of the seamless blending of power, balance and feedback while exploring its limits. Have snow tires
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| 2006 MAZDASPEED6 (Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123.com) |
installed, keep the DSC turned on and drive sensibly in the winter, and the MAZDASPEED6 will be an unstoppable companion.
Unstoppable by the winter conditions, I mean. Because the complete opposite is true when you need to brush off speed in a hurry. The big brakes clamp down with startling force while the ABS unobtrusively keeps the cars attitude while braking in check. I can't think of anything else I've driven this year with such powerful brakes. They pull the car down with such absolute power and authority that passengers would be best advised to hang on before such a maneuver.
