Faults:

The car seems to stutter and skip when going up and incline, and sometimes it will happen when driving on the highway when I try to accelerate. It does not happen all of the time, and this makes it incredibly frustrating when I bring it to the dealership and it will not repeat the problem.

We all know the problem of your car making a "ticking" noise, and then of course it won't cooperate when you bring to the mechanic to point it out.

I have brought the car into the dealer 3 or 4 times for the skipping problem.. and this last time, it was accompanied by a nasty rattling sound. Now, I am a woman, but I do know a few things about cars, and I'm thinking that it could be the tranny or the clutch. The slip makes me think tranny, and a few times I have missed a shift, so I worry that I've done damage to the gear box. I understand that it's a small gear box and the throw on the clutch is very short. It's difficult sometimes to properly time the clutch; it's so sensitive.

The dealer said that the slipping could be the car going from front wheel drive to AWD.. but I wonder.. is this car really front wheel drive with AWD kicking in when the turbo hits? That doesn't make much sense to me.

I have tried to find out if it was the type of gas I used.. only high octane.. but through different gas companies.. that doesn't seem to be it.. I've kept a log. How sad is that?

The dealer says that the car isn't throwing out codes, and the engine lights don't light and the car is fine. They look at me like I'm nuts. They say the car is in perfect condition.. nothing wrong. Excuse me? I drive this car everyday and I KNOW when somethings wrong. I may not be a mechanic, but a rattling noise during acceleration is not normal. I'm sorry, but it isn't.

On top of this nonsense, my remote keyless entry refuses to work sometimes. It will unlock the doors fine, but when I try to turn the engine, it flashes the little idiot light on the display panel, and basically says that I don't have the key. What's wrong with this picture? I just unlocked the doors with the key, and now the ignition won't turn over? I have had to take the key to the dealer to have it reprogrammed a couple of times. This is really beginning to get old.

I rack up more mileage on my car going to Mazda than I do anywhere else. Has anyone else had these problems, or am I just auto-phobic? Someone help, Mazda sure can't seem to.

General Comments:

On a good note, the car is fun to drive, and while I am an adult, I do enjoy having little Honda's with the noisy exhaust ride up next to me and try me at a light. I just look at them as if to say.."Silly little punk.. did you not see the Speed6 logo.. that means TURBO.. you idiot. I promptly make them eat dirt when my turbo kicks in... I find that a good whomping the first time around makes them look away in shame at the next light. The money for the car is well spent at that moment.

I also drive the car like a grownup, and I enjoy the smooth ride and a luxurious BOSE audio system. I get to be a kid with the turbo, and an adult with the fully loaded sedan at my finger tips.

All in all.. I think the car was a good buy.. but.. I don't think that I would do it again.. maybe a Lexus or Acura next time.. We'll see what Mazda says...

Faults:

Since the car was brand new, there have been numerous squeaks and rattles throughout the interior. Those include an easily-duplicated metal-on-metal squeak coming from one of the driver's seat brackets, that three dealers have not been able to rectify.

More serious was the failure of the 6-speed automatic transmission at 19,500 miles. The problem showed itself when I hit the gas to accelerate at highway speeds, and the transmission downshifted into FIRST. The car got me to my destination (350 miles away, driven very carefully) and the dealer promptly installed a new transmission (hopefully built after Feb. 2006, as noted by another reviewer.)

Apart from that, the car has held up reasonably well. I do wish Mazda had used higher-quality interior trim -- the silver-painted door handles started showing wear at less than 10K miles, and the leather-wrapped steering wheel is very easy to scuff, a problem I've not experienced on other vehicles in this price range.

General Comments:

Even with the problems noted elsewhere in this review, I love my 6. The car handles like a dream, and the interior is surprisingly roomy. Mazda seems to have done its job to impart a sense of the "zoom-zoom" marketing catchphrase to a mid-range family sedan.

I wish the engine had a bit more power than only 215 hp, especially as the gas mileage is rather gloomy -- only 21 mpg in the city. But the power available is very tractable, especially when shifting the automatic via its manual gate.

On a totally superficial note, the car flat-out looks great. There is not a single exterior line I'd have drawn differently. Mine is the base "S" model, without the rocker trim or garish rear spoiler. About the only things I miss are fog lights, if only so my car looked less like an Enterprise rental.

Despite their failure to diagnose and fix the driver's seat squeak, both Dallas, TX-area Mazda dealers I've taken the car to have offered fantastic customer service, including free loaners for even non-drivability-related issues.