An open letter to Mazda 6 owners, form a Mazda 6 owner (twice over):You bought your Mazda 6 because it's beautiful. You bought it because it straightened out every corner. You bought it because the steering is addictive. You bought it because the exhaust note is intoxicating. You bought it because the intake growl is better than Iron Maiden. You bought it because it's the most honest, well engineered piece of machinery this side of a BMW. You bought it because it never left you stranded on the way back from your favorite mountain switchbacks. You bought it because you loved it. Forget everything.Zoom Zoom matures! Mazda's tagline on the new, second-generation 2009 Mazda 6 says “Zoom- Zoom Evolution.” But the new car is much more than that. It's by no means a revolution. But it's a revelation. In all honesty, I believe that there are a few things the old 6 actually did better than the new car. After all, I should know, because I own two lovely 2005 specimens. Fellow 6 drivers know exactly what I mean. That said, I have to admit that the new 6 is the better car. The new 6 was the one car that managed to both bedazzle and baffle me. Maybe I was baffled because I'm biased. Maybe I was bedazzled because nothing ingratiates me like a truly good product. But the new 6 is truly amazing. I had high expectations from the new 6, and that high level was exceeded, but some of my expectations were different. While I expected an even more focused, sportier drive than either of my 2005 cars, I found that Mazda had poured so much sweet syrup over the new 6 that the “Edge,” that visceral, razor-sharp emotion that spewed out of the circular air conditioning vents got slightly diluted in all the refinement. When I drove the new 6 for the first couple of kilometers, I thought at first it had lost that sporting edge that made the old 6 such a pretty little kitten. I was wrong, but only somewhat. The no-apologies sporting character of the old 6 that was manifested by its scalpel-sharp handling, nicely made up for whatever shortcomings it had in refinement. The new 6's handling tools may be slightly blunter, but it more than makes up for that with its nickel-sheen refinement. While the old one gripped through corners like a leach and rode like hard-worn old blue jeans, the new 6 drives like it just robbed a bank wearing a tuxedo. Don't get me wrong. I love everything about the new 6: the looks, the new 2.5's power, the comfort, the refinement and, particularly, those front seats. Those seats alone are a good-enough reason to buy this over any other midsize sedan. But if you were trading in your old 6, you might have to scratch your head a few more times. It wasn't just the looks that made the old 6 so endearing. Nor was it the simplicity of design or the honesty of engineering. It was how it all came together: the most enjoyable sedan you can buy for this little money. Show it a corner and instead of balking and crying for dear life, it jumped into it headlong. The chassis always told me exactly what it was doing through the cotton fabric of my cheap underwear. The steering told me about every pebble, every ding, every cigarette butt the front tires squashed into the asphalt. The new 6 is slightly different. Just like the old one, it doesn't try to be something it's not: German. Unlike the old one, it steps so deeply into premium territory that the Germans don't matter anymore.Do you really need more? In a straight line, the 2.5 pulls so hard that you wonder if there were two extra cylinders hiding under that hood somewhere. The power kicks in early in the rev counter, and keeps on coming all the way to the 7000-rpm red line. What helps is the fact that with some innovative engineering, the new car is actually a few kilograms lighter than the old one. The five-speed automatic shifts crisply and smoothly, exactly when it should, even though it shows occasional reluctance to drop down a gear on kickdown. The manual mode works as advertised, and the +/- are in the right places: forward for shifting down and backward for higher gear.Get on with it! It is at the corners that the slight difference between the old and new cars is most apparent. Mazda has retained the same general setup as the old car, but instead of the dual lower control arms up front, Mazda used a proper single-point wishbone. At the back, the engineers kept the sophisticated, highly effective multi-link setup, but replaced the tilted, short, diagonal shock absorber with a longer, upright one. The result is the same stratospheric levels of grip as the old car, but with more pronounced body lean, considerably more comfort, and slightly less chassis and steering feedback. Another welcome result is even more control of cornering lines through the accelerator pedal. It's very easy to trim mid-corner arch lines just by controlling the engine with your right foot, a lot of fun in the new 6. The only chink in the 6's armor is those ho-hum Dunlop SP Sport 2050 tires, which give the illusion of understeer and don't help straight-line tracking. I don't know what it is with those Dunlop people, but I've had a similar experience with other Dunlops. A change of tires would make this car just about perfect. The 2009 6's cabin is a study in quality. For these price levels, the quality of assembly and materials probably exceed those of VW Passat's and the Honda Accord's. But the 6 is better: while the Passat and Accord is all austere and businesslike, the color schemes, mixed red and blue lighting, shapes and lines of the 6's cabin sooth you an airy, fun ambiance. Ergonomics are virtually faultless, and all the controls fall into hand readily, although I personally think that this start button thingy is just a gimmick. So, there. Here's a car that comes about as close to the perfect midsize family sedan as humanly possible. If you're no sucker for German cars and don't have enough extra cash lying around for a BMW or an Audi, this is the car to have. And take it from me, the Mazda promises many years of enjoyment.Uppers: Commendable refinement Great seats Strong performance Smooth, crisp transmission Still phenomenal roadholding and poise Quiet, soothing comfort Ultramodern, beautifully understated stylingDowners Steering lighter than I'd like Suspension softer than I'd like More body lean than I'd like … And those tires surely have to go! __
