For the anti-SUV crowd
A few decades ago, wagons were king of the road. Trucks were built for work and SUVs, well, didn't exist. And with 3 or 4 kids, we couldn't head out on vacation in dad's big two-door coupe that we washed and polished every weekend.
The Dodge Monaco, Olds Vista Cruiser and Ford Country Squire have since long been replaced by minivans in the '80s, and by the new trend of the 90s, sport-utility vehicles.
But the station wagon braved the storm and survived. The vast majority on the market today are mid-sized. At Mazda, this type of vehicle was pretty rare in North America; we had the GLC and 323 in the eighties and the Protegé5 in 2002-2003. In 2004, the 6 Sport Wagon and 3 Sport appeared, although the latter might simply be considered a hatchback by some people.
As sporty as the sedan
The 6SW sacrifices nothing in terms of performance compared to its 4- and 5-door sisters. We can even purchase one with a manual transmission, or a 6-speed automatic with manual mode. My test car was equipped with the latter, and 0-100 km/h dashes take about 8 seconds.
The 3.0-liter V6 is quite pleasant. Its 212 horsepower always seem accessible, and during full-throttle acceleration, the engine's roar is fun to hear. However, I don't understand why the 2.3-liter engine isn't available with the wagon, which would allow the car to be more affordable.
The only problem that I noticed is when you want some passing power, the transmission doesn't seem able to instantly downshift two gears at once; it shifts down one gear, takes a second to think about it, and then downshifts again, which wastes time.
A few decades ago, wagons were king of the road. Trucks were built for work and SUVs, well, didn't exist. And with 3 or 4 kids, we couldn't head out on vacation in dad's big two-door coupe that we washed and polished every weekend.
The Dodge Monaco, Olds Vista Cruiser and Ford Country Squire have since long been replaced by minivans in the '80s, and by the new trend of the 90s, sport-utility vehicles.
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| The GT is easily recognizable with its 18-inch alloy wheels. |
But the station wagon braved the storm and survived. The vast majority on the market today are mid-sized. At Mazda, this type of vehicle was pretty rare in North America; we had the GLC and 323 in the eighties and the Protegé5 in 2002-2003. In 2004, the 6 Sport Wagon and 3 Sport appeared, although the latter might simply be considered a hatchback by some people.
As sporty as the sedan
The 6SW sacrifices nothing in terms of performance compared to its 4- and 5-door sisters. We can even purchase one with a manual transmission, or a 6-speed automatic with manual mode. My test car was equipped with the latter, and 0-100 km/h dashes take about 8 seconds.
The 3.0-liter V6 is quite pleasant. Its 212 horsepower always seem accessible, and during full-throttle acceleration, the engine's roar is fun to hear. However, I don't understand why the 2.3-liter engine isn't available with the wagon, which would allow the car to be more affordable.
The only problem that I noticed is when you want some passing power, the transmission doesn't seem able to instantly downshift two gears at once; it shifts down one gear, takes a second to think about it, and then downshifts again, which wastes time.
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| The Wagon is only available with the 6-cylinder engine. |