I found a 2005 mazda 6s, 30k miles for $15,998. It's white/tan interior. Thing is I live in PA and sometimes the winters get nasty. How does the Mazda6 s do in the snow? How's the gas mileage? Are the Mazda 6 (4 cyl) any better in the snow/ice?

 

Well i am just over the PA border in NY and my 6 handled very well this winter. However, we had hardly any snow, but when we got snow it was a lot. I also used the stock tires and did not get winter tires. I had a little bit of slip making turns, but nothing too great. Also, getting from a stop to start was hard at some places because with the racing tires you had to go very slow from a stop so the tires wouldnt just spin.. I am not too sure on how the gas mileage was. anyways.. Are you planning on buying winter tires for winter?

 

Well I was hoping not too. I have a '99 mustang now and a '89 oldsmobile as my winter beater car. I was looking to trade them both in on the 6. The 6i hatchback has the 17" tires as well, correct? Thanks for your reply so far!

 

I ran the tyres a little lower on pressure and my 6s was fantastic in the snow.

 

Ok so my experience in the snow wasn't quite as great as all that. I know it handled it pretty well, but one thing I noticed was excessive snow buildup in the wheel wells. This caused much rubbing on my tires and made an inordinate amount of noise when driving. I only noticed it after I thought I had broken something off of my car... only to realize that my wheels were snowed in by my wheel wells. It was rather dissapointing, but a well places pounding with a solid scraper took care of it.

D to the B

 

If you're that concerned, then why not get some steel wheels from a junk yard, or just some cheap wheels in general, and get some performance snow tires. The Blizzak tires seem to be a favorite for many people.

I too am from Pa and I must say, dealing with the little bit of snow that we have each year, especially this past winter, isn't really a big deal to me. I have a wrangler now, but have been through three winters with RWD. The one was with a mustang, which was horrible, the next was a 240sx with good snow tires that I just kept on it year round. It ran pretty good, considering the high amount of torque for such a light car.

 

I have an '06, 2.3L hatch and didn't have any problems in the snow this year (Ohio). I have the stock tires and rims and the only time I slid was when I was trying to. The only time I had a problem was pulling into my driveway (which has a slight hill to it) after getting about 5 inches of snow with ice underneath. Other than slight little mishap of getting stuck at the top, I had no problems. I also didn't notice any snow build up in the wells. I don't think my gas milleage really changed all that much either... I've always averaged 400 miles to a tank.

 

The build up of snow in the wheel wells was my main problem I had with the stock tires and rims. Other than that, everything else was pretty much great.

 

Mine did that also, but I just kicked it when I parked and got it out from the well...

 

I have a 06 V-6 with manual trans. and live in Canada. I use 205/55-16 Dunlop M2 snows on steel rims for our winter. Snows are not magic, but will always beat 4 seasons or summer tires. You can choose between winter tires that are great in deep snow (Pirelli Winter Carving)but just so so on dry roads or give up some snow performance for almost summer tire performance on dry roads as it does not snow everyday. The Dunlops are the later ones. If you are keeping the car for more than a few years, your actual cost for having snows is only the steel rims since you will need new regular tires less often because they now get a winter break sitting in your garage. For about $200 spent on new steel rims, you now have a much safer and enjoyable ride. Just one winter accident will cost you more. Look at the $ you pay today for the snows as prepayment for regular tires. And the road salt can't eat your alloy rims.