hello,
I'm going to be getting a car for my 16th birthday and one of the cars that I have on the list is the mazda6.
I have yet to test drive one, however I'm comparing getting an i grang touring and an s VE

is the v6 worth not getting all of the options?
beinga guy its in my DNA to drive fast and im just wondering if the 4 cylinder on this car is enough.
I know that I'll have to get my own opinion by doing a test drive, but I was just wondering what your opinions were.

thanks!

(BTW the other cars on the list are the nissan rogue, or my dad's 2007 altima 2.5sl)

 

Personally, I am of the opinion that Altimas are not even in the same class as the 6's... Anyway... The 4 cyl. has plenty of power and zip. and if you're 16, you may not have unlimited gas funds...

My first car was a 1980 malibou classic... sigh.

It was not good on gas.... But gas was free back then.

Good luck, and drive carefully!

SOS

 

I test drove both, and I think you should go with the 4-banger. Why:

1. 160HP in a 3100lb. car is plenty for a 16 year old.
2. All the extra power of the V6? It's at the top end just like the 1-4's, so you'll still need to rev it high to get anything out of it.
3. Gas is not free, my friend. A V6 will either kill your wallet or teach you to have a light foot almost all of the time (like I do).
4. Related to number 3, but with the 4-banger you can be more lax with your foot and not pay as much at the pump.

However, I wouldn't recommend the 4-banger in all sedans...mine for example ('04 Malibu). Some 4 cylinder engines just don't have enough power for the car...and I feel more secure knowing I've got the pickup if I need it on the highway. Chevy's 4-cylinders aren't that reliable anyway....rambling over. [8D]

Get the 2.3L I-4, and try to get the sport package (wheels and spoiler)! The 6 looks terrible without the spoiler, IMO. And wheel covers look ugly after a while...assuming no one steals them..

 

yeah i was planning to try and get the car to look sporty
we had a bmw m3 so i can drive with some speed
but we traded that in for the altima(which i test drove) and it seems to be what you guys are saying, the v6 is just too much power and its not really needed and 4 cylinders is plenty
thanks for the input

alex

 

Sigh...

The US really is another world...

Here inthe UK no 16year old is allowed to drive anyway - 17 is the age you can get a driving licence to start learning on the roads. But even at 17 hardly anyone would be able to contemplate a Mazda6 (1.8, 2.0, 2.3 or V6) or even a Mazda3 as their first car unless they belonged to a very small and elite class of aristocracy. Because of the cost of the car, the cost of petrol (that's what we call gas here and it costs about $2 per litre - if my calculations are correct thats about $7.50 per US Gallon) and the astronomical cost of insurance (often over $2000 per year for anyone under the age of 25 and driving small non-sporty car) 99.9% of 17year olds have to make do with ancient second hand small cars (e.g. 1.0l/1.4 litreVauxhall Corsa/nova, Ford fiesta, Renault clio, Peugeot 105, Nissan Micra etc) which some of them try to perk up with air intakes, exhausts etc but most of which could never aspire to being anything like as fast as any Mazda on the market!

So - whatever you end up with, mazda6i, count yourself lucky. And enjoy your birthday and hopefully many moreto come.

 

somethin to add to that is that a v6 isnt really even anything
a lot of my friends are getting v6's with turbochargers and hemis
and one of my friend is getting a v-10 with 400+ hp in a little convertible
frickin rich kids...

 

Well maybe I'm getting old, but you need to go easy on the speed man. It doesn't prove anything and gives the insurance companies further justification to charge rediculous rates especiallyfor young (male) drivers. Not to mention that you'll spend more money at the pump. Go with the 4-cylinder version or get a Mazda3.

 

You not getting old, just wiser....
I've had my license suspended once for 30 days in Fl, I was like 22 or so.... that sucked... Now I'm 34 and thought I learned my lesson. I now live in Denver and own a 6i...I decided to open her up, out on a road in the middle of nowhere on my way to work and I know my lil2.3L 4cyl '04 Mazda6i can do at least 94 MPH....... the cop told me so.....boy was thatexpensive... So in my opinion, the 4cyl is enuff...believe me.... So like 93greenstrat said "you need to go easy on the speed man." And I have been....lol

 

Fisrt things first.....SPEED IS FOR THE TRACK, IF YOU SPEED ON THE STREET YOU ARE RISKING OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES.

Having said that lest discuss the engines.


I have a V6 with the manual transmission, teh advantage is that its got a lot more troque (its a FORD engine), I park my car without gas at all, just ease off the clutch, I also travel a lot with groups of friends, so when the car is loaded it has enough power to move as well.

Thats really where the major difference between the I4 and the V6 is, with a V6 you will have power that you can use when the car is loaded bacause of thetorque and it will be easier to get it moving from a stopped position.

I had an I4 before and I really felt the difference when I had people in teh car, it felt significantly hevier, with the V6 that is a non issue.

As far as peed goes, you can accelerate anythign reasonable fast if you pay attention to your transmission and throttle, so for speed I4 and V6 would work just fine, althjoguh granted V6 would be fastre but you can get satisfactory results with teh I4 as well.

 

you traded your bmw m3 for an altima?........why?...