2004 Mazda6 Sport GT V6 Road Test

Mazda has made a name for itself as one of the sportiest Japanese nameplates, zoom-zoom marketing aside, and the 6 Sport's suspension calibration continues the heritage. It's a fully independent setup, of

The 6 Sport lives up to Mazda's heritage as one of the sportiest Japanese brands. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press)

course, with a double-wishbone front and E-type multi-link rear suspension. Mazda claims the car's wide front track and stabilizer bar help it to resist body roll and side-to-side weight transfer, while minimizing understeer, a claim I have to substantiate. It's great through the curves, helped along by low-profile coil springs and angled shock absorbers as part of the E-link rear suspension design. The Sport also comes standard with 17-inch 5-spoke alloy rims wrapped in P215/50R17 performance tires.

Part of its agility also has to be attributed to standard power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering, tuned in the Sport to be "precise, linear and responsive" according to Mazda. What's more, the steering system's 2.54 turns lock-to-lock means the car reacts to input quickly, which combined with variable power assist, a process that causes the

Even after repeated high speed stops there is no sign fade when the brake are applied. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press)

steering "weight" to vary dependent on speed, allowing for light maneuverability in parking lots and stiffer, more controllable actuation at higher speeds, makes for optimal handling in pretty well any circumstance - weather permitting.

The Sports standard ABS equipped 4-wheel disc brakes are especially good in inclement weather, mind you, optimized with 11.1-inch ventilated discs up front and 11.0-inch solid discs in the rear. They work very well, and don't develop much in the way of fade even after repeated high speed stops. The brakes feature Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) as well; a system that automatically compensates for varying wheel loads, taking advantage of the tires with the most grip.