Just the same, due to driving at least fifty other cars with the reverse pattern this year alone, I kept rowing the shifter the wrong way up or down the gears, a constant frustration that caused me to leave it in drive most of the time. I even spoke to a friend who just purchased a Mazda6 with the sequential automatic shifter, thinking that maybe if not used to driving with this type of transmission in the first place and having not experienced as many alternative shifters as I have it might not be as much of a problem. To some extent this was true, but he still said that he didn't find the pattern intuitive. So Mazda, either BMW, Audi, Acura, Infiniti, and everyone else are wrong, or you've got the automotive equivalent of the Beta video tape. My guess is that it will go the way of the doomed electronic device, conforming to the status quo so that a consumers first impression of the shifter, which usually only happens once on the all important test drive, is a good one. Fortunately Mazda offers a 5-speed manual shifter on all 6 models, the best choice if sport is a high priority.
While the shifter was obviously my Mazda6 pet peeve, the rest of the interior is quite well executed. The overall design is attractive, with the requisite metallic interior bits and soft touch plastics. I like the thin horizontal LED display at the top of the center stack. It doesn't take up much room but still presents the important information for all eyes to see - imperative if your right hand partner likes to adjust audio and temperature controls. The large opaque plastic dials that surround the HVAC knobs are especially stylish - kudos to Mazda for attention to detail. The top-line in-dash 6-disc Bose audio system, by the way, is stellar.
Just the same, due to driving at least fifty other cars with the reverse pattern this year alone, I kept rowing the shifter the wrong way up or down the gears, a constant frustration that caused me to leave it in drive most of the time. I even spoke to a friend who just purchased a Mazda6 with the sequential automatic shifter, thinking that maybe if not used to driving with this type of transmission in the first place and having not experienced as many alternative shifters as I have it might not be as much of a problem. To some extent this was true, but he still said that he didn't find the pattern intuitive. So Mazda, either BMW, Audi, Acura, Infiniti, and everyone else are wrong, or you've got the automotive equivalent of the Beta video tape. My guess is that it will go the way of the doomed electronic device, conforming to the status quo so that a consumers first impression of the shifter, which usually only happens once on the all important test drive, is a good one. Fortunately Mazda offers a 5-speed manual shifter on all 6 models, the best choice if sport is a high priority. 
While the shifter was obviously my Mazda6 pet peeve, the rest of the interior is quite well executed. The overall design is attractive, with the requisite metallic interior bits and soft touch plastics. I like the thin horizontal LED display at the top of the center stack. It doesn't take up much room but still presents the important information for all eyes to see - imperative if your right hand partner likes to adjust audio and temperature controls. The large opaque plastic dials that surround the HVAC knobs are especially stylish - kudos to Mazda for attention to detail. The top-line in-dash 6-disc Bose audio system, by the way, is stellar.