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We decided not to put our hopes on the Saab carrying us through the winter. So we dumped it and bought another Mazda6, this time a V6 with a manual. That was a very difficult combination to find -- we drove clear to the WI/MN border to get it. And I'm already starting to regret it, but probably not for the reasons one might think.
Buying this car is making me second-guess having bought a Speed6. In many ways the regular 6, at least as equipped, is a better driver's car. Obviously the Speed6 is a much quicker car, but drive them one after the other and you really feel the extra weight and the ponderousness of the AWD system shifting the torque around. With the regular 6, it's a much more direct feel. It will be a good 6 or 7 months before I can do a true apples-to-apples comparison because the regular 6 has a pretty fresh set of aggressive all-season tires, whereas the Speed6's tires are close to shot and it won't be wearing fresh high-performance tires until April.
It also took me a few days to appreciate how quick the regular 6 is. Getting used to the 6-speed in the Speed6 has shifted my perception of how fast the car should be traveling in which gear. In the Speed6, even at half-throttle in first gear, I have maybe a second and a half before I have to grab 2nd gear. You can't even do 60 in 2nd gear, you have to grab 3rd; whereas the regular 6 will wind out past 60 in 2nd. A stoplight/lane-position sprint against an Altima 2.5 finally gave me an appreciation for how quick the regular 6 is. An Altima 2.5 is no dog, but it's no drag monster either and knew I'd beat him out. I didn't think I'd smoke him as badly as I did.
Overall I'm very pleased with the new acquisition. Now that the wife has a 6 to call her own, I'd do a straight-up trade of the Speed6 for an LGT wagon or even a 5MT Outback XT in a heartbeat if I could. But in order to do so, I'd have to take on a LGT or OBXT with roughly 30-40K more miles than the Speed6 currently has, or come up with another 2 or 3 grand to get an LGT or OBXT with similar mileage to the Speed6. Not quite willing to do either.
I had a 6 Sport Wagon that I purchased new in 2005. It was a rare manual too and I really enjoyed it but traded it in 2007 for a Volvo XC90. My 6 had no options except for a body color sport grill. I wanted something a little more luxurious.
I know what you mean about AWD vs the standard car. My DD is an 04 G35x and I feel the difference when I get a RWD G35 loaner. I was still living up north when I purchased the G so I thought I might need it in the snow but I moved before the car even saw a snowflake.
I know what you mean about AWD vs the standard car. My DD is an 04 G35x and I feel the difference when I get a RWD G35 loaner. I was still living up north when I purchased the G so I thought I might need it in the snow but I moved before the car even saw a snowflake.
Now, imagine an AWD system that apportions all of the torque to the front wheels by default. That makes for a very reactive system with a wide torque gap to overcome when called on to do so. I had a WRX years ago and the nice, simple, strictly mechanical 50/50 AWD system, while still evident, was a lot more seamless.
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