Underpowered. Not as refined as the competition. Fantastic looks. Excellent handling. It’s hard to find a review of the Mazda 6 midsize sedan that doesn’t include at least two of these observations.
For 2018, Mazda’s hoping the first criticism goes the way of disco (or of the midsize sedan segment). Ahead of its November 29th debut at the L.A. Auto Show, the zoom-zoom brand is letting everyone know that buyers enamored with the 6’s flowing lines needn’t suffer from mediocre grunt. Mazda’s blowing the 6’s 2.5-liter four-banger for the upcoming model year.
Contained within the ever-so-slightly refreshed 2018 Mazda 6 is the Skyactiv-G turbo 2.5-liter found in the company’s well-regarded CX-9 crossover. In that application, the engine generates 250 horsepower and a generous 310 lb-ft of torque.
Just compare the output of the optional engine (exact specs will have to wait) to the standard powerplant found in the 2017 model. That direct-injected 2.5-liter, which becomes the entry-level engine for 2018, makes 184 hp and 185 lb-ft of torque. Should the new 6 make CX-9 levels of torque, that’s a two-thirds increase in twist.
For what it’s worth, Mazda claims the new motor “offers an effortless performance feel that is equal parts composure and excitement.” Certainly, past reviews of the 6 describe an agile vehicle with a chassis that’s willing to dance, but lacking in desired muscle.
Also joining the powertrain lineup for 2018 is cylinder deactivation. Mazda aims to boost the base engine’s fuel economy by shutting down two cylinders under light loads.
You might not be able to tell from the provided photo, but there’s styling tweaks on hand for 2018, too. Yes, there are actually quite a few differences seen in that partial front shot, including a remolded lower bumper, new grille mesh design, and restyled headlights. The curvaceous flanks continue unchanged.
As part of its continuing effort to bring the Mazda brand upmarket, designers working both inside and outside the vehicle aimed for “a look of greater maturity and composure,” the company claims. That means more refinement in the cabin, including the use of Japanese Sen Wood — something furniture aficionados might know a thing or two about. There’s also more content.
For 2018, Mazda’s midsizer adds a wider range of i-Activsense safety technologies, as well as Mazda Radar Cruise Control (MRCC). This system will bring the car to a full stop and back up to speed again. A newer 360-degree view monitor keeps tabs on things lurking closeby.
Mazda’s attempt to instil more athleticism into the 6 is an admirable one, but it comes at a time when the rapidly shrinking midsize sedan segment is increasingly gravitating towards two models: Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. Those two models accounted for 39 percent of the segment’s sales in October, a month where the segment’s market share sunk below 10 percent.
Sales of the Mazda 6 in the U.S. sank 27 percent, year-over-year, last month. Over the first 10 months of 2017, sales are down nearly 23 percent.
[Images: Mazda]
It’s about time. I’m glad someone in Hiroshima is listening.
What’s really shocked me is that they’ve removed the black plastic inserts where the foglights are usually placed. I’m so glad someone is going the opposite direction of Honda and Toyota, with their large and pointless black inserts placed seemingly at random on the outside of their new vehicles.
Excellent. Now if they’ve also added soundproofing, they just might have nailed it.
Actually, I think they did that with the refresh for the 2017 model. “Noise levels are reduced in the new Mazda sedan, with thicker front-door glass and improved seals and weather stripping, plus the automaker says it has added more noise-baffling material in the car’s headliner.”
When this car first came out Mazda was promoting the use of thinner glass as a weight saving feature.
I was dumbfounded that Mazda was that tone deaf about attention the NVH of the 6.
Mazda did the same thing with my previous Miata. They apply that same reasoning to all their cars, for better or worse. They can’t help it, they want to build fun cars.
TMA1, they did say that, but road testers have reported it’s improved but not enough. Per Consumer Reports: “Although the new 6 is still not as hushed as most sedans in this popular segment, it’s no longer strikingly noisy.”
As of 2017 the 6 has been as quiet or more so than the competition.
Wow, a turbo-4 car I’m actually interested in. Hell is freezing over.
And real wood trim? This is promising.
Yeah, turbo-4’s for everyone….except you Toyota!
I’d like a Toyota please.
Obviously, Toyota treasures its sterling reputation for long-term reliable and relatively low-cost maintenance and repair. Eventually, they too will probably have to relent. Until then, I’m happy to avoid turbos, DCTs, and direct injection for as long as possible. The unavoidable “driver assistance” crap is regrettable.
Likewise, this is probably the first current generation turbo 4 that piques my interest.
Don’t be dissing Disco. As the onward march of ear bleeding hipcrap/edm/falsetto autotune continues, I have an renewing appreciation with the danceable and singable songs of part of my era.
With that, I think I am going to pull out my KC and the Sunshine Band tracks and get a groove on!
Was this article about something else BTW?
That’s the way I like it.
He’s your Boogie Man.
Bah. Donna Summer or GTFO.
Wasn’t SkyActiv a Peaches and Herb song? That was my jam back in the day.
Any word on a 2.5T and 6-speed combo, or is the 2.5T going to be limited to some auto-only “signature” trim?
I’m more interested in finding out if its in CANADA.
No I’m not canadian, but I’m hoping a canadian buys a 2.5T 6 Speed GT and then sells it to me in approximately 3 years… haha.
(They don’t sell the GT in manual here, but they do in Canada)
I’ll bet money you won’t be able to match the turbo with a manual transmission in the U.S.
This is frustrating: Turbo and sweet shifting Mazda manual? – Yes please.
Turbo and auto with flappy paddles? – Uggg I might as well go buy a copy of the latest Grand Turismo game.
As far as I’m concerned, the current engine is perfectly fine when paired with the stick. The turbo makes sense, to me, primarily in the context of stop and go radar cruise; where more low end power makes for less busyness. And stop and go radar cruise is tough to combine with a manual….
Do you own one? My son has the 2.5 in his Mazda 3 and it is completely adequate in that application but by modern standards a non-turbo 4 is a very modest engine for mid sized sedan.
Unlike the CX-9 being slower than every V6 in it’s segmwnt, the 6 might even be faster than the CX-9?
Step in the right direction.
So far, I haven’t seen anything that definitely points to this engine being the same one offered in he CX-9. The Mazda click bait only referenced a “turbo”.
I question if the power delivery of the 2.5T as found in the CX-9 would be welcome in a midsize sedan. It seems that a sedan wouldn’t need all that low down torque, and (personally), I’d rather a much broader midrange, or top end. I wonder if that CX-9 mill fizzles out in the higher RPM bands. I also wonder if the 6 variant will be a downsized motor (2.0 I presume) to sacrifice torque for a more linear power band … and to keep with foreign country engine laws …. and to improve MPG. With all that said, I would be utterly shocked if it was the same 2.5T, and not a worked over variant.
Although I don’t think this car/engine will carry on the Mazdaspeed moniker, I am perfectly happy with a sensible midsized Mazda6 with 250 horses on tap to compete with the rest of the 2.0 Turbo midsized crowd (and Camry/Altima V6).
However, all I can say is “about time”. I had my finger on a pen to purchase a 2014 Mazda6, but couldn’t do it. One, the interior wasn’t very good (corrected in the 2016 version), and two, it just wasn’t enough umpf for me, coming from am 06 MS6.
You can keep the AWD … just give me a manual, otherwise Mazda will have given me nothing that separates it from the Fusion 2.0T, or Malibu 2.0T.
“So far, I haven’t seen anything that definitely points to this engine being the same one offered in he CX-9. The Mazda click bait only referenced a “turbo”.”
It seems unlikely that Mazda is going to engineer a new turbo 4 engine for the existing platforms when most of their current engine development is directed at their new Skyactive platform rumored to be coming in 2020. More to the point, when the CX-9 was released Mazda mentioned that they specifically made a point of ensuring that the CX-9 2.5L turbo powerplant (as well as the 2.5L NA and the Skyactive Diesel) would fit in many of their cars, specifically calling out the Mazda6 and Mazda3. There’s no point in reinventing the wheel when they can slap in the engine from the CX-9 and give it a different tune to hit whatever their desired targets are.
notwhoithink, I didn’t mean to think they developed a completly new engine. But I believe this will be an adaptation of the 2.5L, either downsized, or without all the wizbang tech of the 2.5T. Putting in a bigger turbo, or removing the variable nozzle feature could accomplish that, while potentially making the engine easier to manage. The CX-5 was designed to move 5000 pounds, without ever needing to go above 3000 RPM (Mazda engineers stalked tons of soccer moms to find out no one was winding out their V6s to redline). Not to mention, if Mazda were to keep the 6 FWD, that kind of torque delivery would have serious implications on torque steer. I’m thinking they will go the route of the previous MS6/CX-7 … the CX-7 had a smaller turbo for more low end grunt, but sacrificed top end power.
Everything is speculation right now, but I don’t think the 6 engine will be “the same one from the CX-9”. There is a lot of room for Mazda to play with.
Well damn … I’ll eat my words. You’re right. Here is the full press release.
https://insidemazda.mazdausa.com/press-release/mazda6-to-debut-at-la-auto-show/
“In addition, the SKYACTIV-G 2.5T direct-injection turbocharged gasoline engine that debuted in the Mazda CX-9 crossover SUV has been added to the engine lineup in North America and some other markets. Producing torque on par with 4-liter V8, this engine offers an effortless performance feel that is equal parts composure and excitement.”
28 cars later, dude, this isn’t 1978. Wake up and step out of your bunker
2.5L turbo in a Mazda 3 with a stick? Yes PLEASE!
Until you’ve felt 400 lb-ft of torque in a car like my ecu tuned ATS4 2.0T and it never rains where you live, you really don’t know what you are misssing.
I’ll wave at you from my Toyota when you’re waiting for the tow truck.
28, what are you talking about? Surveyed reliability on Japan-built Mazdas has been very good.
@Tony I’ll assume 28’s comment was directed at Norm’s latest Trifecta Tuned Nonsense.
Art thanks for that, you are correct sir.
28 cars later, dude, this isn’t 1978. Wake up and step out of your bunker
Based on what was described, I felt it appropriate.
Interesting but their new power plants are at least a year away. So im guessing this w be a similar layout as the Cx9. Software tweaks, maybe a few other small changes.
Half way there, where’s my wagon? I’ll take it in AWD.
Sorry, you have to choose a CX-blah if you want a Mazda wagon.
You can always go to the UK and rent one.
Regal TourX 2.0T for $29,999.
Excellent, a car that’s practically an orphan before the first one comes off the production line.
How do you figure? The Regal remains GM intellectual property. They can still re-locate production to Canada like they did with the previous Regal.
The name, yes, but how does that apply to an Opel badge job, a company that they no longer own?
I guess you don’t understand the principle of intellectual property.
It’s about damn time. I’m sure they will tune it for more HP and less torque. The CX-9 is meant to be driven differently than a sporty sedan.
Now bring of the Mazda 6 wagon.
The only reason the 6 was labelled as underpowered was the lack of a optional higher output engine. The NA 2.5 certainly was not underpowered against its competitive set. I’ll even go on a limb and claim that 2.5 + 6spd auto as the best base automatic powertrain in the midsize class.
The turbo will improve an already good car, but I doubt it will do much to move the needle on sales. The average consumer is picking other cars for reasons completely unrelated to the engine.
It will be interesting to see the difference in power delivery and character of this 2.5T versus the smaller 2.0Ts everyone else is using.
I agree – the turbo probably won’t make this car instantly popular, but without the turbo, it was completely uncompetitive with higher-level or sportier midsizers (Accord/Camry V6, Sonata/Optima turbo, etc). They were literally giving sales away – not a huge number, of course, but these are the higher-priced, higher-margin models.
At minimum, Mazda dealers have something they can credibly show someone who’s looking for a higher-performing midsize. Before, they had nothing.
My best friend set out to buy a Mazda6 (stickshift) from the dealership in Las Cruces, NM, but the sales staff were unable to set a price that my best friend found acceptable.
He liked the “sport sedan” concept that Mazda6 presented but both of us thought it was underpowered.
To get any spirited performance he really had to wind the engine to redline. But even passing on four-lane I-10 required downshifts to lower gear to get an acceptable response.
IOW, not the kind of performance you’d want to attempt on two-lane winding mountain roads when passing 18-wheelers, slow-pokes and Sunday drivers.
Cash prices on a 6 (or 3) should be very attractive.
Leases are another story, or at least they were last year when I was shopping the 3.
On either car, as long as you’re willing to rev the s**t out of the engine, there’s certainly adequate power. But it’s not the kind of effortless torque wave you get with a modern turbocharged engine.
“Cash prices on a 6 (or 3) should be very attractive.”
At first I thought that too. But in this recent case I thought the dealership was ~$300 over what would have been a “fair” profit.
IIRC, the dealer offered to sell ~$23,379 out the door. The biggest selling point was the pretty Blue color and the stick shift.
The point of contention was that the dealership stuck to their price on the Mazda6 but offered to sell him an Accord stickshift for what he wanted to pay because the dealership had more “margin” on Honda.
My buddy has since bought a new Avalon to replace the 1989 Camry I drive these days, and he also bought my 2016 4-door Tundra SR5 TRD 4×4 which I won’t be needing since we’re leaving for another trip overseas.
Probably got a heck of a deal on the Avalon. And that’s a damn nice car.
I’m just curious, though…how did they get $23379 “out the door” on a 6? Those have $2500 on the hood right now, for starters. Assuming it was a Touring, the net price with the rebate alone should have been well under $23,000. Was that including tax or something, or did it have the Tru-Kote?
He bought the Avalon from Vescovo in Las Cruces for <$33K out the door.
I have found Vescovo to be a great dealership. Fair pricing, excellent follow-up after the sale, and very prompt registration and license-plate service (like within the same week my buddy received his plates in the mail from the dealership.)
"how did they get $23379 “out the door” on a 6? "
As you know, dealerships like to pad the MSRP with stuff like 20" wheels&tires, special coatings, dealer installed options like chrome exhaust tip, chrome sill protectors, mats all around, etc.
It also included the tt&l, a full tank of gas, and a free 5000-mile oil&filter change.
“I want a sports sedan.”
+
“I bought an Avalon and a used Tundra.”
—————-
[Dr. Evil-mimicking pinky to the mouth with eyebrow raised]
Right…
Highdesercat, I hope your yet another overseas trip will be in business class. Otherwise – it’s no achievement
The 6 is manufactured in Japan, so it’s conceivable that Mazda loses money on every one sold here. I remember when the Honda Fit was was made in Japan I read that Honda didn’t push sales because they lost money on every sale.
Also, the resale value of the Mazda6 is also not so hot.
SatelliteView, we’re flying El Al to Israel.
The plan is for my wife and I to spend Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s with my Roman Catholic sister and her Jewish husband, who reside outside of Tel Aviv.
My wife and I are both tall, so we asked for opposite aisle seats over the wings. I don’t think they offer Business Class, but I’m too cheap to pay for First Class.
We’ll spend Monday night with my brother in Manhattan, NYC, and leave the following day for a night flight (so we can sleep during flight).
They told us the flight is not packed, so there should be some room to stretch out in the center aisle toward the back of the plane.
And, dude, I don’t need to achieve anything any more. I achieved everything I wanted to achieve, and then some, over the past 71 years.
JohnTaurus, often real life is stranger than fiction.
I thought I was done buying new cars. But now I see myself buying yet another new truck upon our return from the upcoming trip.
Maybe.
Unless another extended trip looms over the horizon, like Ensenada, BC, Mexico, for Spring. That last trip there was a lot of fun for Spring 2017.
So I’ll cross the buying-a-new-truck bridge when I come to it. It doesn’t make sense for me to buy another new truck and not drive it because I’m out of the country.
But who knew that these traveling opportunities would arise? I certainly didn’t.
Took them long enough. They really owned themselves by thinking the diesel would have been the hi-po option and just couldn’t get that engine to work in the USA at all (and barely in other markets). Final nail in the Skyactiv-D coffin.
If they offer this car with a manual and the turbo engine, I could be a buyer. I would be especially enticed by it if it were offered in the top trim with a manual. I drove a 6 speed touring model and it looked and felt nice but it just felt slow and sort of wimpy. The same car with 250 horses would be awesome.
I looked at the Mazda 6 and loved the way it looked, inside and outside. There only two things I didn’t like about it was road noise and the anemic engine. I was willing to live with one of these things, but not both. So last year I bought a Fusion instead. And now they’re finally fixing the 6. Grr…
How many more are they REALLY going to sell? How many of the turbo 4s are they going to sell?
“Mazda’s blowing the 6’s 2.5-liter four-banger for the upcoming model year.”
If you didn’t laugh when you read or typed this, re-read it.
Settle down Beavis
I had the displeasure of driving an MY14 CX-5 2.0 last night, my dog performance was pathetic. I know for a fact the later Dodge Aries had better pickup. So, it really does appear the strategy is turboz everything because the motors are so bad now they *have* to have it.
To be fair, Mazda dropped that engine in all but the poverty-spec CX-5’s. It was an early complaint about the car that they quickly remedied by replacing it with the 2.5 in all volume models.
Yeah, the 2.0 is a bad engine for anything larger than the 3. And even then, the 2.5 is much better.
Thanks for the tidbit.
My experience with the 2.2/2.5 in various K related cars is that they always felt far quicker than they actually were, well, at least until the revs began climbing. But off the line they felt much peppier than the high winding 2.0 SOHC in the Neon despite being down like 30+ peak horsepower.
Not surprised at all that the 2.0 feels sluggish—I thought they were kind of pushing it by making it the only available engine for the AWD CX-3, so I’m wondering what genius thought it a good idea to make it available for the even heavier CX-5.
I need this in the 3, with a bias more towards the top end. 300HP/lb-ft with a double pivot knuckle and mechanical LSD for <$30K would be awesome.
Now they just need to make the same engine available in the 3 and CX-5 and the NA 2.5 engine in the CX-3 and we have a ballgame.
This comment section slays me. “Goddam it Mazda! Put the turbo 2.5 in the Mazda6 and I’ll buy it!”.
They do.
“Goddam it Mazda! I’m only gonna buy that 2.5 turbo Mazda6 if I can get a mint green stick shift with 19″ wheels on a base model equipped with satellite radio! Why won’t these assholes give me what I want!”
**facepalm**
I would definitely take a look if I were in the market. But I would have looked at the 2.5 NA model, too, so…
Mint green with chocolate chip flakes baked into the paint?
Now to talk my wife out of her Santa Fe and into one of these. She complains the Hyundai is slow (2.4 non turbo), so there is a chance here.
No, I am perfectly content with the less powerful engines that are available for the Mazda 6.
What I want is the Mazda 6 Wagon. Are you listening, Mazda?
Mazda wants to go up-market? No matter how good their cars are, unless they radically upgrade their dealer network, they haven’t got a prayer. Iv’e lived all over the USA. Almost everywhere, the Mazda dealer is the most run down facility with the sleaziest staff. The incentives (or lack of) are a joke. They better at least achieve Honda/Toyota levels of dealership experience before they venture “up market.”
Up-market just means you charge more for the same thing and instruct your propaganda department to declare you are better than you actually are.
That’s at least a whole lot better than interpreting upmarket to mean coffee shops and ladies handbags….
Too often, upmarket is used as an excuse for lack of competitiveness. As long as every extra penny charged is earned, the hard way; upmarket is fine. But if a single penny is not, upmarket may as well read death watch. The guys at Mazda know this. As does, more importantly, the guys they know they need to appeal to in order to keep attracting tier 1 hires.
Subaru is vying for up market to with a $34,000 Forester XT with leather and roof. Mazda can’t do much better as they have no engines that are needed. And Toyota partnership is not helping any.
@stuki
I agree.
“…unless they radically upgrade their dealer network, they haven’t got a prayer. Iv’e lived all over the USA. Almost everywhere, the Mazda dealer is the most run down facility with the sleaziest staff. The incentives (or lack of) are a joke. They better at least achieve Honda/Toyota levels of dealership experience before they venture “up market.””
Then you must not have stepped into many Hyundai/Kia dealerships; they are, by far, the worst. Kia bathrooms are reminiscent of a truck-stop bathroom.
And Mazda *is* making efforts to improve their dealer network, which is actually affecting their ability to add dealers- they’re beginning to ask a lot from their dealers with their current plans.
But Kia aspires to become luxury car maker asking $50K for their cars and competing with BMW (who does not?). I never been in Kia dealership, just asking.
Honda dealers? don’t kid yourself. I was trading in BMW. Dealer – we give you $9K. I – what are you talking about? Dealer – OK, 10… Also, Honda salesmen hardly know their product.
In my experience, and I had a lot of it in the last year, Hyundai is sleaziest, Honda thinks I will buy their car no matter what. Jeep ready to talk any low price… One Mazda dealer was great. Another seem not interested selling anything. Lexus… what a duchebags.
Would be great if Mazda makes the new engine an option for the CX-5.
Mazda wants the 2.2L diesel for the CX-5! of course, Mazda could offer three engine choices too!
Bring on the stick so that the Accord Sport 2.0T has a competitor!
How long after the Mazda 6 with the Skyactiv-D diesel, release now scheduled in late 2017, will the Mazda 6 with the Skyactiv-G gas 2.5 turbo be released? Will it be sequenced before or after the introduction of the Skyactiv-D in the Mazda CX-5? Late in 2018?
There’s nothing wrong with the 6 that a nice Ecotec turbo wouldn’t fix…
had i known i would have held off buying my 2017 fusion se with the 2.0 ecoboost.
but, i’m pretty darn happy with it and got it for a great deal, of course.
looked hard at used mazda6 sedans, but just couldn’t settle on the 185 hp. fine probably 80-90% of the time, but i like having power in reserve.
The Fusion is a really nice car with the 2.0T. But I was surprised to see that the 6 and Fusion 2.0T have nearly identical acceleration figures up to 60, with the Mazda apparently pulling away after that and hitting higher trap speeds and achieving a quicker 50-70mph passing time. The Ford 2.0T has a nice & relaxing torque curve, but somehow the 185hp Mazda keeps up with its 240hp.
As I understand 2.0 Ecoboost is optimized for torque and then there is a turbo lag. But after turbo kicks in I don’t think Mazda can keep up. Fusion might also be heavier than Mazda which is not a bad thing since it feels more substantial and solid. On the other hand accelerating Mazda is not a pleasant experience – too much annoying noise – upmarket car sounds more like Fusion than Mazda6. Mazda has to make car heavier if they want to approach anything German designed. Light weight is why car enthusiasts like Mazda but it turns off other customers.
Knowing the 2.5T is going under the hood of the 6 finally bodes well for the rest of the lineup, as they are likely to put it in more models. I’m looking forward to seeing and owning a new MS3. Mazda will likely pull a bit more horsepower out of the engine, given the 6’s lighter weight and the engines larger displacement, which should easily surpass some V6s.
As a former 6 owner, this is a positive step. Some remaining issues that would need to be fixed for me to re-purchase:
-Did they fix the road noise?
-Is the highway ride still super rough on the 19″ wheels?
-Does the left elbow rest extend back far enough for tall people?
-Does the steering wheel telescope far enough for tall people?
-Can I get the turbo with a manual?
-Can I please finally buy the wagon 6?
I have to compliment Mazda for the improvements to their vehicles since the breakup with Ford. The cars continue to improve and they listen to consumers.
Take the CX5, buyers complained of road noise and too harsh a ride and Mazda fixed both in the new CX5.
I agree with previous comments about the Mazda dealerships generally being crappy. That has been my experience. They are few and far between also. I know of two Mazda dealerships in my area that have disappeared while Hyundai and Kia have moved in. I consider subpar dealerships the biggest impediment to Mazda sales.
Anyway, I am cheering for Mazda and hope with their intended improved dealerships they sell more cars and maybe one to me. Being a smaller company than Toyota and Honda, Mazda can’t as easily make changes in the offerings. There is more pressure on them to get it right.
It also doesn’t help that the Mazda dealerships in my area all share their service areas with brand that the dealer is more focused on, Ford in one case, VW in the other.
In a segment that is in free-fall, the last-place seller offers an optional engine in order to stop double-digit sales declines month over month, every month. They may sell 3 or 4 of these, depending on price and how it is packaged. But they will likely be sold to people who would have bought the current model anyway, the fanboys. This car is invisible to everyone other than auto journalists and true believers.
Why Mazda6 is troubled? Mazdas never were big sellers anywhere.
With most manufacturers tripping over themselves to create an electrified driver-less pod perhaps this could drive some sales for Mazda.
A true drivers sedan.
Mate that 2.5 turbo with a 6/7MT and AWD (and actually allow US to option out the MT model)
Sign me up.
I like the new Mazda 6 with the 2.5L Turbo but the cylinder deactivation is a big negative for me! Now, I have to wait to see what the new buyers think about it! Mazda seems to alway sabotage their marketing efforts to sell their cars with a big negative to counter a big positive that of a long awaited turbo engine. It is so ridiculous that Mazda management just cannot leave a good thing by itself.
Of course, offering AWD would get to buy it but knowing Mazda, it not going happen!