One common factor we've discovered among many of today's best-handling production cars are long-travel suspension designs. We expect to find this kind of suspension underneath a rally car like Subaru's WRX or Mitsubishi's Lancer Evolution, but we'resurprised to find it here as well. Mazda engineers gave the 6 loads of travel in both front and rear (7.8 and 8.2 inches respectively). This might not seem like such an important characteristic, but it's exactly what makes it work right over real-world terrain.
Mazda tuned the European-spec car to satisfy most enthusiast drivers. Spring rates and damping combine to provide a handling balance that's extremely rare in a family car. Although we aren't authorities on soccer moms and how they like their suspension, high-speed compliance seems to be mom-friendly.
The big question is whether Mazda will retain this aggressive tuning on the U.S. version of the car. The answer, for now, is yes. Mazda says the suspension and chassis tuning, with the exception of the tires, will carry over to the U.S. market.
The next issue is how the added weight of a heavier engine will affect the car's dynamics. The 6 will be available with both of Mazda's new piston engines, the 2.3-liter four and the 3.0-liter V6. We drove only the four-cylinder version and were impressed with its dynamics. Surprisingly, the V6 adds only 48.5 lbs to the nose. Not insignificant, but not so heavy that a chassis engineer couldn't retain the car's superior handling. We'll have to wait for the U.S. introduction of the car to see how well the V6-equipped car handles and accelerates.
Both the 2.3-liter four and the 3.0-liter V6 utilize all-aluminum construction and forged rods. The four gets a cast crank while the V6 utilizes a forged steel unit. The four is rated at 150 hp and 152 lb-ft of torque, while the six cylinder steps up both power and torque to 219 hp and 202 lb-ft.
We took note of several interesting underhood bits during our time with the car. The 2.3-liter four uses a stainless-steel four-into-one tubular exhaust manifold, which is extremely rare on modern production engines. The manifold is two layers thick at the collector. This helps retain heat for quick cat light off while offering the performance benefits of a real header. The catalytic converter is located under the floor where it belongs. Also interesting is the use of a dual exhaust on the four-cylinder engine. Mazda engineers claim it further reduces backpressure in the exhaust system. The remainder of the exhaust system is stainless steel as well, which is good news for customers in cold or wet climates.
The four cylinder is available with either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. With the V6, you can have your five speed as either a manual or automatic.
On the road, the 2.3-liter engine does its job without issue, but it clearly isn't the engine choice for enthusiasts. As Mazda claims, the four delivers smooth power throughout the rev range thanks to its balance-shaft design, but we found ourselves constantly wanting more power to balance the rest of the car's performance demeanor. Carrying loads of speed into a corner quickly loses value if a less-than-enthusiastic engine mutes the exit. But remember, this isn't the hot engine. We have high hopes for what the V6's extra 69 hp can do for this otherwise capable chassis. Putting that extra power down may be a challenge, however, as there's no limited-slip option for any transmission.