Faults:

Nothing. Just regular maintenance - oil changes, tyres needed replacing, air filter.

General Comments:

Quieter and more comfortable than my previous car, a Corolla. This particular model only has a 2.0 litre engine, so for a fairly big car like this, I would have preferred the 2.5 litre. But it is a 6 speed manual, so that helps mitigate the lack of low down torque. It is good when it gets going, and the gearbox has a slick change. This car is quite a high mileage, but having owned 2 previous Mazdas (MX5s) I was confident that this would be reliable even at high mileages. I expect to get into the mid 250,000km before I think about getting a new car.

It has a great boot, with clever easy fold down seats in the wagon. Very practical and useful.

Handles well, looks good, and is extremely practical. It's not a sports car, but it does what it's supposed to do. They are popular wagons in NZ. The diesels that get a bad review on here are confined to the US it seems. Are they made in the US??

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car.

General Comments:

This car is testament to Mazda's ability to produce a vehicle of the highest quality standard.

Interior and exterior finishes are superb, and make you feel as if you are driving a high-end European.

The steering wheel controls, to be honest, were a little tedious initially; however, once I got a little more savvy with them, I found that they actually enable you to adjust most of the car's features, i.e. air-conditioning, stereo, and trip computer.

The seats are comfortable, and the wagon, surprisingly, carries a larger load than my previous Holden Jackaroo 4WD.

Since purchasing the car in April this year, it has done approximately 10,000 km of interstate driving. I find the car a pleasure to drive, especially over longer distances. It handles tight corners effortlessly and happily cruises at 110 km/h. I generally get between 550 to 600 km from one tank of fuel.

As I currently reside in the tropical climate of Darwin, air-conditioning is of the up-most importance: the Mazda has yet to disappoint. The standard dual-zone climate control is by far the best air-conditioning system I have seen in a car thus far.

To say that I am thoroughly impressed with this vehicle is an understatement. It is an impressive piece of machinery to look at, and just as impressive to drive.

As for Mazda, I was initially concerned that its sales and service teams were not on par with its production team, due in part to it taking nearly four months to fit all of my optional extras; however, I recently received a letter from Mazda Australia stating that due to the fact that I had been one of the first people to purchase the Mazda 6, prior to their decision to reduce the cost of the Mazda, I was entitled to three years free scheduled maintenance. A nice touch to a terrific experience.