MAZDA 6

[arataka]

After almost 2 months of ownership and a little less than 3000km mileage on the Mazda 6 2.0L executive, I thought of putting up some follow up thoughts. The overall sentiment is truly value for money for what you get - the size, safety, handling, aesthetics, interior. Personally, I think it's impossible to find a nicer looking interior at this and even higher price points. When I went for my first service, I had itchy fingers and went to test drive the Lexus IS hybrid, and BMW 3 series. No doubt they are better drives due to the hybrid powertrain on the lexus and turbocharged engine on both. To be frank, the Mazda 2.0L is underpowered. But there is where I feel the advantage ends. I feel the difference in NVH, comfort, technology and interior is not substantial and at times not noticeable. And most definitely I am not getting 100k more worth of car. So on to my opinions: 

 

a) Engine and Power

The engine is loud. Especially at about 3-4k rpm, the engine gives out an unpleasant high pitch roar. I can't definitively say that it is underpowered because the car does move when you put your foot to the pedal. But the engine roar gives you the impression that is struggling. My wife who is heavier footed than me echoes this sentiment. The gear shift can also be a little unresponsive. It took me about 500km before learning the shifting pattern to avoid shift shocks, and I still get them occasionally when climbing particularly steep ramps or hills. This is the only characteristic of the car that gave me some buyer's remorse. Too bad, TEK has discontinued the 2.5L.

 

b) i-STOP

Because of the way I brake, I don't activate the i-STOP unintentionally. You have to actually press the brake pedal quite hard when the car is in a complete stop to activate it. As I come to a stop, I usually lighten up on the brakes to reduce brake jerk to give my passengers a more pleasant ride, thereby also preventing i-STOP from activating even in a complete stop. Therefore, I am able to decide whether I want i-STOP to activate depending on the traffic lights condition. Interestingly, the electronic brake hold activates at a slightly lighter brake depression than i-STOP making it very convenient for me to control whether I want to activate 'Hold' only or 'Hold and iSTOP' or none at all.

 

c) Infotainment

I find it perfect and absolutely love the simplicity of the design and the use of the rotary wheel to navigate. I have personally never liked the use of touchscreens in a car. I way prefer tactile feedback especially when driving. I have 2 gripes with the system: firstly its the slow startup, and secondly if the passenger wants to change the radio station, he/she needs to exit my navigation screen to get to the radio channel select screen. Anyway most of this is moot because with Android Auto, I am rarely ever on Mazda's OS. I control both my navigation and entertainment needs using Google Assistant.

 

d) Quality of Life issues

- Lack of boot release button in the cabin. This is just plain silly

- Lack of central locking button in the cabin. A small but surprising inconvenience because it is supposed to be a premium make in the Mazda line.

- Very small glove compartment. Can't even fit A4 documents. Also if there is a front passenger, it cannot fully open because it will be blocked by passenger legs.

- Very small central storage compartment. Cannot fit a box of tissue.

- Placement of front USB port inside the central storage is weird. This results in the only logical place to put the phone is in the cup holders.

- Cup holder location is weirdly designed too, a tall water bottle or large Mcdonald cup or my handphone with the cable pointing upwards would make it uncomfortable to access the gear stick.

- The rear hump is gigantic - not only is it tall, but its also very wide. To make matters worse, the centre seat is raised a little too high. With a child car seat installed, it can get uncomfortable for 2 adults to sit behind. The person in the centre will not be able to comfortably rest their feet on the hump but will need to straddle it.

- Interior lights not LED

- The walk away lock is far from perfect. Admittedly this is the first time I am owning a car with walk away lock. The distance from car that activates the autolock is so small. Just moving around the car from driver to front passenger side locks the car. And if any door is opened when you move away from the car, the autolock will never activate even after the door is closed. For example, after parking, my wife closes the front passenger door then goes to the back passenger side to get stuff while I close the driver door and wait for her in front of the car. Because I am now out of the autolock range when my wife closes the back passenger door, the car will never autolock. I found this out the hard way by finding my car unlocked after being parked outside for hours. Though it might just be me on this.

 

RON95 vs RON98 and Fuel Consumption

In an earlier post, I made a comment that 98 vs 95 was like night and day, and I would like to stand slightly corrected. I pumped 98 all the way till 2000km, then switched over to 95. It's not night and day, but there is a noticeable difference. The best way to describe it is that the engine feels less responsive with 95. All the issues that I described in Engine and Power is exacerbated. After 2000km of pedal muscle memory on 98, I needed to depress the pedal just a little more to get the same power with 95. The shift shocks came back as well until I relearned my pedal behaviour. Most interestingly, my wife was not privy to the change, but after her drive, she said the car feels different, like a bit heavy. So there you go, conclusive evidence there is a difference using a very unscientific method. haha. 

As for fuel consumption, it would be impossible to say that which one is better. I am an impatient driver and like to get up to maximum safe speed asap. So, I would guess that 98 would be more fuel efficient since I would be revving it less. But I am quite certain the difference will not justify the cost. 95 is still cheaper. I average about 11km/hr on both fuel types. Driving patterns have been varying wildly with all the change in WFH, gathering and dining in out rules, there has not been a routine in my driving or even daily life yet. That's why there is no way to directly compare between the efficiency of the fuel types.

 

Conclusion

No regrets and I am likely to get the same car on hindsight. Again, only remorse is not seriously considering a second hand 2.5L. I think the 2.5L would have been the ideal car within my budget.

Edited August 16, 2021 by arataka

[R32]

16 minutes ago, arataka said:

After almost 2 months of ownership and a little less than 3000km mileage on the Mazda 6 2.0L executive, I thought of putting up some follow up thoughts. The overall sentiment is truly value for money for what you get - the size, safety, handling, aesthetics, interior. Personally, I think it's impossible to find a nicer looking interior at this and even higher price points. When I went for my first service, I had itchy fingers and went to test drive the Lexus IS hybrid, and BMW 3 series. No doubt they are better drives due to the hybrid powertrain on the lexus and turbocharged engine on both. To be frank, the Mazda 2.0L is underpowered. But there is where I feel the advantage ends. I feel the difference in NVH, comfort, technology and interior is not substantial and at times not noticeable. And most definitely I am not getting 100k more worth of car. So on to my opinions: 

 

a) Engine and Power

The engine is loud. Especially at about 3-4k rpm, the engine gives out an unpleasant high pitch roar. I can't definitively say that it is underpowered because the car does move when you put your foot to the pedal. But the engine roar gives you the impression that is struggling. My wife who is heavier footed than me echoes this sentiment. The gear shift can also be a little unresponsive. It took me about 500km before learning the shifting pattern to avoid shift shocks, and I still get them occasionally when climbing particularly steep ramps or hills. This is the only characteristic of the car that gave me some buyer's remorse. Too bad, TEK has discontinued the 2.5L.

 

b) i-STOP

Because of the way I brake, I don't activate the i-STOP unintentionally. You have to actually press the brake pedal quite hard when the car is in a complete stop to activate it. As I come to a stop, I usually lighten up on the brakes to reduce brake jerk to give my passengers a more pleasant ride, thereby also preventing i-STOP from activating even in a complete stop. Therefore, I am able to decide whether I want i-STOP to activate depending on the traffic lights condition. Interestingly, the electronic brake hold activates at a slightly lighter brake depression than i-STOP making it very convenient for me to control whether I want to activate 'Hold' only or 'Hold and iSTOP' or none at all.

 

c) Infotainment

I find it perfect and absolutely love the simplicity of the design and the use of the rotary wheel to navigate. I have personally never liked the use of touchscreens in a car. I way prefer tactile feedback especially when driving. I have 2 gripes with the system: firstly its the slow startup, and secondly if the passenger wants to change the radio station, he/she needs to exit my navigation screen to get to the radio channel select screen. Anyway most of this is moot because with Android Auto, I am rarely ever on Mazda's OS. I control both my navigation and entertainment needs using Google Assistant.

 

d) Quality of Life issues

- Lack of boot release button in the cabin. This is just plain silly

- Lack of central locking button in the cabin. A small but surprising inconvenience because it is supposed to be a premium make in the Mazda line.

- Very small glove compartment. Can't even fit A4 documents. Also if there is a front passenger, it cannot fully open because it will be blocked by passenger legs.

- Very small central storage compartment. Cannot fit a box of tissue.

- Placement of front USB port inside the central storage is weird. This results in the only logical place to put the phone is in the cup holders.

- Cup holder location is weirdly designed too, a tall water bottle or large Mcdonald cup or my handphone with the cable pointing upwards would make it uncomfortable to access the gear stick.

- The rear hump is gigantic - not only is it tall, but its also very wide. To make matters worse, the centre seat is raised a little too high. With a child car seat installed, it can get uncomfortable for 2 adults to sit behind. The person in the centre will not be able to comfortably rest their feet on the hump but will need to straddle it.

- Interior lights not LED

- The walk away lock is far from perfect. Admittedly this is the first time I am owning a car with walk away lock. The distance from car that activates the autolock is so small. Just moving around the car from driver to front passenger side locks the car. And if any door is opened when you move away from the car, the autolock will never activate even after the door is closed. For example, after parking, my wife closes the front passenger door then goes to the back passenger side to get stuff while I close the driver door and wait for her in front of the car. Because I am now out of the autolock range when my wife closes the back passenger door, the car will never autolock. I found this out the hard way by finding my car unlocked after being parked outside for hours. Though it might just be me on this.

 

RON95 vs RON98 and Fuel Consumption

In an earlier post, I made a comment that 98 vs 95 was like night and day, and I would like to stand slightly corrected. I pumped 98 all the way till 2000km, then switched over to 95. It's not night and day, but there is a noticeable difference. The best way to describe it is that the engine feels less responsive with 95. All the issues that I described in Engine and Power is exacerbated. After 2000km of pedal muscle memory on 98, I needed to depress the pedal just a little more to get the same power with 95. The shift shocks came back as well until I relearned my pedal behaviour. Most interestingly, my wife was not privy to the change, but after her drive, she said the car feels different, like a bit heavy. So there you go, conclusive evidence there is a difference using a very unscientific method. haha. 

As for fuel consumption, it would be impossible to say that which one is better. I am an impatient driver and like to get up to maximum safe speed asap. So, I would guess that 98 would be more fuel efficient since I would be revving it less. But I am quite certain the difference will not justify the cost. 95 is still cheaper. I average about 11km/hr on both fuel types. Driving patterns have been varying wildly with all the change in WFH, gathering and dining in out rules, there has not been a routine in my driving or even daily life yet. That's why there is no way to directly compare between the efficiency of the fuel types.

 

Conclusion

No regrets and I am likely to get the same car on hindsight. Again, only remorse is not seriously considering a second hand 2.5L. I think the 2.5L would have been the ideal car within my budget.

Coming up to my second year of ownership of a 2.5 wagon so here's my responses

a) Strained engine seems typical of the exhaust system, if I try to accelerate harder, it will be a not-nice kind of loud too. However the natural torque of the larger capacity means I don't really need to use the higher ranges of RPM. The auto gearbox is as you describe - dimwitted at times especially if you change your mind last minute. If you're smooth and predictable, it can keep up. 

b) That's a good way of describing it. Some owners disable iStop completely, but it resets after each engine off. For me, I have iStop on and brake hold off. 

c) The infotainment is pretty driver-centric but if you have a mobile phone holder your passenger can control the entertainment from your phone (I use iOS). 

d) Wagon gets no tailgate release either. 

- Your driver's door lock is the central locking switch

- Storage space is generally lacking but at least the central armrest and cupholders are large enough to store odds and ends.

- Rear space is cramped compared to other mid-size sedans. Its worse for wagons as the wheelbase is slightly shorter. However there is slightly more headroom when you enter the car due to the wagon shape.

- I personally prefer non-LED, but its personal preference as LED can make the interior look quite stark even if its not bright white. Something to do with diffusion of light I guess.

- The walk away auto lock is biased towards the rear of the car - you can walk all the way around the rear without triggering it to shut off. Walking around the front as you have found out, you leave the detection range and the car won't auto lock because it doesn't detect the key leaving while the door is still open. Look out for the beep sound or set your wing mirrors to fold as an easy visual indicator that the car is locked. 

Petrol and engine choices

I found that the 2.5 is much more thirsty than the 2 litre in urban driving (lots of stop and go) and will consistently underperform the 2 litre by about 20% across all types of driving conditions. My average is around 9.8km per litre, 10.5 if I really concentrated on driving efficiently. However I consistently use only 95 octane and have swapped between Shell, SPC and Sinopec with no discernible differences. 

I would look out for noise issues concerning the front suspension of the car. I hear it when I have coming down a MSCP ramp while turning, and also crossing humps head on when the suspension is wet. Both issues were reported to TEK during servicing and rectified under warranty. Other users report side mirrors failing to fold properly, seems to be a common Mazda fault as my friend in a Mazda 5 suffered the same issue. My solution is simply not folding the mirror, as none of my other cars had auto-fold mirrors anyway.

Other nice features I enjoy are the head up display, the much-maligned 360 degree parking camera, and ventilated seats. 

[RogerNg_185295]

On 8/4/2021 at 10:35 AM, Snagguy said:

@ER-3682 thanks for the advice!

the car is at 93300 mileage actually.. didn’t hear much sound for the suspension though.. 

 

will check out the side mirror and battery! Is there any reputable workshop in the west that I can visit? Hahhaa

The mileage usually has been tampered with . Not to scare you, but preowned cars all like that one.

[richard_crl032]

1 hour ago, RogerNg_185295 said:

The mileage usually has been tampered with . Not to scare you, but preowned cars all like that one.

Almost standard procedure by used car dealers and 100% if mileage is exceptionally high ...😏

[richard_crl032]

10 hours ago, arataka said:

Conclusion

No regrets and I am likely to get the same car on hindsight. Again, only remorse is not seriously considering a second hand 2.5L. I think the 2.5L would have been the ideal car within my budget.

Hi Arataka,

I was given a choice to pick up nice looking hatchback 2.5L only vs the executive 2.0L which I ended when buying new for my wife.

Main reasons as follows:

- 143k+ vs 108k, recurring higher roadtax, higher FC

- smoother and more responsive drive due to 2.5l but not anything like my forester xt

- other option e.g. toyota 2.5l hybrid etc. if indeed to spend 143k+ and better resale value

Indeed used 2.5l will be a better option.

Cheers.

PS: keep reading about creative way to avoid istop but advise sincerely not to mess around with how to manage safety related braking but brake as intended and naturally .. just get sgd50 disable module from aliexpress that I had installed for last 3 yrs

Edited August 17, 2021 by richard_crl032

[Kopickosong]

@arataka Quite a fair review, we've got a mazda SUV in our "stable" (although not the sedan 6) so I can relate to some of the points. We've also got other horses in the stable, a 3 series, Camry and another conti ride that leans toward the "cold door category" which replaced a VW previously. 

In particular - Value for money
In complete agreement here, have yet to find anything in the price bracket that matches what Mazda offers, from the exterior (I think as of today, be it their sedans or SUVs, they're still THE sharpest looking or would be in top 2/ 3), interior, handling and drive. You don't really need to be an owner to appreciate the looks;  the new Mazda line ups almost always stands out in a good way at parking spaces. 

On interior and features, it puts some of the conti rides to shame (esp on their entry models). In fact I have friends on conti rides that get amazed when they hop in, or find out about stuff they don't get in their rides which Mazda gives. NVH and refinement is really brilliant at the price point but I understand that's because Mazda focused on NVH for the facelift for the model I'm on. And you are spot on that its not that conti rides or other alternatives cannot match it or do it one better.  Such rides definitely exist, but it is pretty much guaranteed they all come at steep price premiums. As far as ROI goes, the diminishing returns on $ spent for those to me at least, are insanely huge. 

Are the incremental pros enough to justify dropping another say 30-40k? Mileage varies, and to be frank the folks that can "afford" those types of rides probably don't care since money isn't much of a concern. But it is the segment that buys into the entry conti rides because of the badge prestige that really lose out big time in my view. 

iSTOP
Agreed on iStop, versus some other makes and models, I found that the iStop is completely within my control (there is a "trigger point" on the brake based on how hard I depress) and I typically choose to activate it on my own at the lights depending on conditions. If I know it's going to be red for awhile, I'd activate it. So perhaps its on older models or makes for Mazda which might be different in terms of the activation. So I am perplexed as to other people spending extra money to disable this completely. Again might be because the older models worked differently.

On the quality of life issues, am also broadly in agreement with what you've mentioned, 
Space is generally not a strong suit for Mazdas across all the classes, you'd never find anything class leading in this area, but I wouldn't necessarily say its an issue to the point of usability. For the shapes and design of their rides, the cost of it is no doubt space. 

Agreed that the gear shifts can be finnicky when navigating carpark slopes esp in certain conditions as it "hunts for the right gear". Haven't yet figured out how to 100% replicate those situations, so I'd say it's not too huge a "daily" issue for myself other than the 2% of the time perhaps. On the roads, its smooth as hell for me, heck I didn't even realise it was 6 speed originally when I first test drove it. My friend's GTI Golf is also a 6 speed, and I'd say there really isn't a discernable difference in the smoothness.  

Walk away lock - Have encountered what you encountered before when I first got the car, there is a "blindspot" when you move towards the rear as you have rightly called out or if you move a distance away before all doors are closed. I've learned to listen for the first beep which signal's that all doors are closed and its ready to auto lock when you walk away. 

Edited August 17, 2021 by Kopickosong

[Lotr8445r]

Does anyone encounter while driving the car front suddenly sensor start to alert even though the front car is not very near ( more than 2 meter away? This happen today when raining heavily. ty
 

[Kopickosong]

@Lotr8445r Like you say, raining heavily, and going by this morning it was legit heavy. Does happen at times, best is test again after the rain, wipe the sensors clean and see if it still continues.

[shawn207]

On 8/17/2021 at 12:29 AM, R32 said:

Coming up to my second year of ownership of a 2.5 wagon so here's my responses

a) Strained engine seems typical of the exhaust system, if I try to accelerate harder, it will be a not-nice kind of loud too. However the natural torque of the larger capacity means I don't really need to use the higher ranges of RPM. The auto gearbox is as you describe - dimwitted at times especially if you change your mind last minute. If you're smooth and predictable, it can keep up. 

b) That's a good way of describing it. Some owners disable iStop completely, but it resets after each engine off. For me, I have iStop on and brake hold off. 

c) The infotainment is pretty driver-centric but if you have a mobile phone holder your passenger can control the entertainment from your phone (I use iOS). 

d) Wagon gets no tailgate release either. 

- Your driver's door lock is the central locking switch

- Storage space is generally lacking but at least the central armrest and cupholders are large enough to store odds and ends.

- Rear space is cramped compared to other mid-size sedans. Its worse for wagons as the wheelbase is slightly shorter. However there is slightly more headroom when you enter the car due to the wagon shape.

- I personally prefer non-LED, but its personal preference as LED can make the interior look quite stark even if its not bright white. Something to do with diffusion of light I guess.

- The walk away auto lock is biased towards the rear of the car - you can walk all the way around the rear without triggering it to shut off. Walking around the front as you have found out, you leave the detection range and the car won't auto lock because it doesn't detect the key leaving while the door is still open. Look out for the beep sound or set your wing mirrors to fold as an easy visual indicator that the car is locked. 

Petrol and engine choices

I found that the 2.5 is much more thirsty than the 2 litre in urban driving (lots of stop and go) and will consistently underperform the 2 litre by about 20% across all types of driving conditions. My average is around 9.8km per litre, 10.5 if I really concentrated on driving efficiently. However I consistently use only 95 octane and have swapped between Shell, SPC and Sinopec with no discernible differences. 

I would look out for noise issues concerning the front suspension of the car. I hear it when I have coming down a MSCP ramp while turning, and also crossing humps head on when the suspension is wet. Both issues were reported to TEK during servicing and rectified under warranty. Other users report side mirrors failing to fold properly, seems to be a common Mazda fault as my friend in a Mazda 5 suffered the same issue. My solution is simply not folding the mirror, as none of my other cars had auto-fold mirrors anyway.

Other nice features I enjoy are the head up display, the much-maligned 360 degree parking camera, and ventilated seats. 

If Singapore had brought in the 2.0 wagon that would be my first choice for a car , hands down. Can’t afford the 2.5 road tax 😭

[shawn207]

On 8/17/2021 at 3:29 PM, Kopickosong said:

@arataka Quite a fair review, we've got a mazda SUV in our "stable" (although not the sedan 6) so I can relate to some of the points. We've also got other horses in the stable, a 3 series, Camry and another conti ride that leans toward the "cold door category" which replaced a VW previously. 

In particular - Value for money
In complete agreement here, have yet to find anything in the price bracket that matches what Mazda offers, from the exterior (I think as of today, be it their sedans or SUVs, they're still THE sharpest looking or would be in top 2/ 3), interior, handling and drive. You don't really need to be an owner to appreciate the looks;  the new Mazda line ups almost always stands out in a good way at parking spaces. 

On interior and features, it puts some of the conti rides to shame (esp on their entry models). In fact I have friends on conti rides that get amazed when they hop in, or find out about stuff they don't get in their rides which Mazda gives. NVH and refinement is really brilliant at the price point but I understand that's because Mazda focused on NVH for the facelift for the model I'm on. And you are spot on that its not that conti rides or other alternatives cannot match it or do it one better.  Such rides definitely exist, but it is pretty much guaranteed they all come at steep price premiums. As far as ROI goes, the diminishing returns on $ spent for those to me at least, are insanely huge. 

Are the incremental pros enough to justify dropping another say 30-40k? Mileage varies, and to be frank the folks that can "afford" those types of rides probably don't care since money isn't much of a concern. But it is the segment that buys into the entry conti rides because of the badge prestige that really lose out big time in my view. 

iSTOP
Agreed on iStop, versus some other makes and models, I found that the iStop is completely within my control (there is a "trigger point" on the brake based on how hard I depress) and I typically choose to activate it on my own at the lights depending on conditions. If I know it's going to be red for awhile, I'd activate it. So perhaps its on older models or makes for Mazda which might be different in terms of the activation. So I am perplexed as to other people spending extra money to disable this completely. Again might be because the older models worked differently.

On the quality of life issues, am also broadly in agreement with what you've mentioned, 
Space is generally not a strong suit for Mazdas across all the classes, you'd never find anything class leading in this area, but I wouldn't necessarily say its an issue to the point of usability. For the shapes and design of their rides, the cost of it is no doubt space. 

Agreed that the gear shifts can be finnicky when navigating carpark slopes esp in certain conditions as it "hunts for the right gear". Haven't yet figured out how to 100% replicate those situations, so I'd say it's not too huge a "daily" issue for myself other than the 2% of the time perhaps. On the roads, its smooth as hell for me, heck I didn't even realise it was 6 speed originally when I first test drove it. My friend's GTI Golf is also a 6 speed, and I'd say there really isn't a discernable difference in the smoothness.  

Walk away lock - Have encountered what you encountered before when I first got the car, there is a "blindspot" when you move towards the rear as you have rightly called out or if you move a distance away before all doors are closed. I've learned to listen for the first beep which signal's that all doors are closed and its ready to auto lock when you walk away. 

There’s a lot of NVH improvement in the new mazda3 and cx30 as compared to the old Mazda 2/3. Previously the cars admittedly were rather noisy. 

istop on the new mazdas seems to be capped at 30s, it restarts very fast. Seems different from the older mazdas.

Agree that space is never a strong point of Mazdas, my cx30 looks big from the outside vs Kicks, HRV but inside I wonder where the space went to? I guess it goes back to their philosophy of exterior being a very important part of the design (long bonnet) and therefore this compromises on the space. For me I’m a sucker on design so i choose to live with this. 

[R32]

2 hours ago, Lotr8445r said:

Does anyone encounter while driving the car front suddenly sensor start to alert even though the front car is not very near ( more than 2 meter away? This happen today when raining heavily. ty
 

Water droplets on the sensors. It happens quite frequently. 

[Tlks]

@arataka very comprehensive review bro. Thumbs up!

[Davidklt]

On 8/20/2021 at 10:22 AM, shawn207 said:

There’s a lot of NVH improvement in the new mazda3 and cx30 as compared to the old Mazda 2/3. Previously the cars admittedly were rather noisy. 

istop on the new mazdas seems to be capped at 30s, it restarts very fast. Seems different from the older mazdas.

Agree that space is never a strong point of Mazdas, my cx30 looks big from the outside vs Kicks, HRV but inside I wonder where the space went to? I guess it goes back to their philosophy of exterior being a very important part of the design (long bonnet) and therefore this compromises on the space. For me I’m a sucker on design so i choose to live with this. 

Not just space but the ability to keep their engine quiet at source. Once I came across a review and I agree. The reviewer said for those that cross over from Accord and Camry (NVH) would find the Mazda "crude".

[Kimmeng]

@arataka 

On 8/17/2021 at 3:29 PM, Kopickosong said:

@arataka Quite a fair review, we've got a mazda SUV in our "stable" (although not the sedan 6) so I can relate to some of the points. We've also got other horses in the stable, a 3 series, Camry and another conti ride that leans toward the "cold door category" which replaced a VW previously. 

In particular - Value for money
In complete agreement here, have yet to find anything in the price bracket that matches what Mazda offers, from the exterior (I think as of today, be it their sedans or SUVs, they're still THE sharpest looking or would be in top 2/ 3), interior, handling and drive. You don't really need to be an owner to appreciate the looks;  the new Mazda line ups almost always stands out in a good way at parking spaces. 

On interior and features, it puts some of the conti rides to shame (esp on their entry models). In fact I have friends on conti rides that get amazed when they hop in, or find out about stuff they don't get in their rides which Mazda gives. NVH and refinement is really brilliant at the price point but I understand that's because Mazda focused on NVH for the facelift for the model I'm on. And you are spot on that its not that conti rides or other alternatives cannot match it or do it one better.  Such rides definitely exist, but it is pretty much guaranteed they all come at steep price premiums. As far as ROI goes, the diminishing returns on $ spent for those to me at least, are insanely huge. 

Are the incremental pros enough to justify dropping another say 30-40k? Mileage varies, and to be frank the folks that can "afford" those types of rides probably don't care since money isn't much of a concern. But it is the segment that buys into the entry conti rides because of the badge prestige that really lose out big time in my view. 

iSTOP
Agreed on iStop, versus some other makes and models, I found that the iStop is completely within my control (there is a "trigger point" on the brake based on how hard I depress) and I typically choose to activate it on my own at the lights depending on conditions. If I know it's going to be red for awhile, I'd activate it. So perhaps its on older models or makes for Mazda which might be different in terms of the activation. So I am perplexed as to other people spending extra money to disable this completely. Again might be because the older models worked differently.

On the quality of life issues, am also broadly in agreement with what you've mentioned, 
Space is generally not a strong suit for Mazdas across all the classes, you'd never find anything class leading in this area, but I wouldn't necessarily say its an issue to the point of usability. For the shapes and design of their rides, the cost of it is no doubt space. 

Agreed that the gear shifts can be finnicky when navigating carpark slopes esp in certain conditions as it "hunts for the right gear". Haven't yet figured out how to 100% replicate those situations, so I'd say it's not too huge a "daily" issue for myself other than the 2% of the time perhaps. On the roads, its smooth as hell for me, heck I didn't even realise it was 6 speed originally when I first test drove it. My friend's GTI Golf is also a 6 speed, and I'd say there really isn't a discernable difference in the smoothness.  

Walk away lock - Have encountered what you encountered before when I first got the car, there is a "blindspot" when you move towards the rear as you have rightly called out or if you move a distance away before all doors are closed. I've learned to listen for the first beep which signal's that all doors are closed and its ready to auto lock when you walk away. 

Well detailed written. Couldnt agree with you more on the quality of life issues haha.

[DOBIEMKZ]

On 8/20/2021 at 10:22 AM, shawn207 said:

There’s a lot of NVH improvement in the new mazda3 and cx30 as compared to the old Mazda 2/3. Previously the cars admittedly were rather noisy. 

istop on the new mazdas seems to be capped at 30s, it restarts very fast. Seems different from the older mazdas.

Agree that space is never a strong point of Mazdas, my cx30 looks big from the outside vs Kicks, HRV but inside I wonder where the space went to? I guess it goes back to their philosophy of exterior being a very important part of the design (long bonnet) and therefore this compromises on the space. For me I’m a sucker on design so i choose to live with this. 

The space although not generous is sufficiently good.

"...inside I wonder where the space went to?..." I think beside design and the huge engine bay, another factor is those huge wheel wells.

[arataka]

On 8/17/2021 at 12:29 AM, R32 said:

Coming up to my second year of ownership of a 2.5 wagon so here's my responses

a) Strained engine seems typical of the exhaust system, if I try to accelerate harder, it will be a not-nice kind of loud too. However the natural torque of the larger capacity means I don't really need to use the higher ranges of RPM. The auto gearbox is as you describe - dimwitted at times especially if you change your mind last minute. If you're smooth and predictable, it can keep up. 

b) That's a good way of describing it. Some owners disable iStop completely, but it resets after each engine off. For me, I have iStop on and brake hold off. 

c) The infotainment is pretty driver-centric but if you have a mobile phone holder your passenger can control the entertainment from your phone (I use iOS). 

d) Wagon gets no tailgate release either. 

- Your driver's door lock is the central locking switch

- Storage space is generally lacking but at least the central armrest and cupholders are large enough to store odds and ends.

- Rear space is cramped compared to other mid-size sedans. Its worse for wagons as the wheelbase is slightly shorter. However there is slightly more headroom when you enter the car due to the wagon shape.

- I personally prefer non-LED, but its personal preference as LED can make the interior look quite stark even if its not bright white. Something to do with diffusion of light I guess.

- The walk away auto lock is biased towards the rear of the car - you can walk all the way around the rear without triggering it to shut off. Walking around the front as you have found out, you leave the detection range and the car won't auto lock because it doesn't detect the key leaving while the door is still open. Look out for the beep sound or set your wing mirrors to fold as an easy visual indicator that the car is locked. 

Petrol and engine choices

I found that the 2.5 is much more thirsty than the 2 litre in urban driving (lots of stop and go) and will consistently underperform the 2 litre by about 20% across all types of driving conditions. My average is around 9.8km per litre, 10.5 if I really concentrated on driving efficiently. However I consistently use only 95 octane and have swapped between Shell, SPC and Sinopec with no discernible differences. 

I would look out for noise issues concerning the front suspension of the car. I hear it when I have coming down a MSCP ramp while turning, and also crossing humps head on when the suspension is wet. Both issues were reported to TEK during servicing and rectified under warranty. Other users report side mirrors failing to fold properly, seems to be a common Mazda fault as my friend in a Mazda 5 suffered the same issue. My solution is simply not folding the mirror, as none of my other cars had auto-fold mirrors anyway.

Other nice features I enjoy are the head up display, the much-maligned 360 degree parking camera, and ventilated seats. 

 

Yes, I noticed that there is this soft 'tak' sound coming somewhere from the front during the very first turn of the day. It doesn't happen often, but if it does, its only during the very first turn. Then for the rest of the day, no more sound. Dry or wet, there is this sound. I believe this is a suspension thing. Is there anything to be worried about and worth mentioning during next service?

Also, almost all my friends who own a Mazda has the folding mirror issue. I think it was covered under warranty after which the problem never recur. Before purchase, I actually spoke to the SE about this, and he is aware of the problem. Dunno if true, but he said Mazda rectified the problem in all the new cars sometime in 2020 and no longer has this issue. Fingers crossed that is the case.

[Banz86]

On 8/21/2021 at 2:34 PM, Davidklt said:

Not just space but the ability to keep their engine quiet at source. Once I came across a review and I agree. The reviewer said for those that cross over from Accord and Camry (NVH) would find the Mazda "crude".

I'm driving a 2015 model year Mazda 6 (2nd hand) and I do find the NVH slightly better than my old 2010 Kia Cerato Forte. I do agree that the NVH isn't as good for cars of that segment, but I understand that they have added more stuff to reduce the sound in newer models. Even the Altis has better NVH than my Mazda 6. 

I remember sitting in my friend's new Camry. The ride quality is sooooo comfortable and the NVH is top notch (the price as well).

However, I love the driving dynamics of the Mazda. It is an extremely fun car to drive which I can close 2 "ears" on the NVH. 

[Kopickosong]

On 8/21/2021 at 2:34 PM, Davidklt said:

Not just space but the ability to keep their engine quiet at source. Once I came across a review and I agree. The reviewer said for those that cross over from Accord and Camry (NVH) would find the Mazda "crude".

Our hybrid Camry no doubt quieter, but it is afterall a hybrid. Although point to note, if you try to floor it, there isn't anything more refined about it. And with CVT, well... you get CVT. A lot of sound before you get moving. That's the stark difference between them and the Mazda; but don't mistake linear acceleration with turbo or rocket speed, the Mazdas sold here aren't meant to be first off the line but I'd say they're responsive when you do step on the pedal. 

I'd say these cars (here in SG at least because of our VES and road tax) aren't meant to really thrill you in terms of performance when you floor the pedal, but they generally are really great to cruise in. The Mazdas definitely excel in handling though. 

If you're okay with CVTs and looking at hybrid, the Camry definitely worth a look at. I'd pass on the Accord, its grossly overpriced here in Singapore compared to the Mz6 and Camry hybrid. I don't know what Kah motor is smoking, but I'd like some of it for my weekends. And I reckon a lot of folks agree, given you hardly see the Accords around compared to the Camry and Mz6.