Hi Robert. Care to give your driving impressions of the new 6?..........................
Well I've driven both the S and I and every trim level, so this may take a while.
The car is much larger than the outgoing model. The new 6 is very quiet compared to the outgoing model. The new car has a Cd of only .27 and consideration was goven to every aspect of the car to keep things down to a minimum. There are even small wind deflectors on the front fo the wheel wells to move air around the tires!
The car has grown signifcantly and the ride shows it. The longer wheelbase provides much better ride comfort than the old car. The suspension is basically the same. All new parts but the design is very close. All that said, this is not a Lincoln and the car handles very well considering it's size. The suspension has been tuned to dial out a lot of the understeer as well as the nose dive when braking.
Brakes are enlarged and improved as is the steering. The turning radius is much better than the 03-08 car. This is quite a feat since the car grew so much in size.
The interior is cloth is, um, different. The material is almost a velour (sp) and feels funky. The pattern on the seat centers is a sort of maple-like strip and in beige it really looks out of place. The black cloth is better. I personally think leather is a muct for this reason alone.
The keyless start/ entry system is awesome. There are sensors in the front door handles that know when your hand is incerted into them, before you even pull on them, and unlock the doors. The interior instruments are a high point for the car. Everything feels high quality. People feel immediately comfortable in the car. The reason for this could be the Feng Shue (sp, again) that Mazda used in it's design. Everything is balanced from the controls on the steering wheel and the instument pod to the radio controls. It's really neat when you take notice.
The 2.5L 4 cylinder is a very nice engine. It has 170HP and moves the car around ok. It does get a little buzzy at higher RPM but it gets the job done. The 3.7L V6 on the other hand is simply awesome. It's matched with a great 6 speed auto box with a sport shift capabaility that actually works! It loves to hold gears and will downshift in a turn so you have tons of power to come out of it.
Some of the initial cars had some paint issues but the last few batches have been perfect. VIsually the car is stunning and, just like the Elise, no picture does it justice. The car has a great road appeal. It always gets looks on test drives. It looks much more expensive than it is.
Robert