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First, I think it’s a good looking car with taught body lines over a nice broad wheelbase. Funnily, I would never have noticed it was a hatch except I was early for a meeting and was poking around the car a bit. It looks almost identical to the 6 sedan.
The car drove well with controlled body motions and was really quite sporty. The four cylinder was a a touch light on power and sounded harsh, but was sufficient. I bet it would be a nicer match with a manual trans. I’d like to try the six cylinder, and I might have to run out and buy one if the turbo four was available with the hatch.
It had the ‘autostick’ or whatever it’s called in Mazda parlance. This was my first time with one. It was an interesting novelty, but a little slow to respond and could be a bit autocratic. I’m sure it would be nice for getting into the right gear for a corner and such, but auto trans really seem to be so good these days I’m not sure how much I’d actually use it.
One thing that could almost be a deal breaker for me is that I couldn’t see the instrument cluster well with the steering wheel adjusted to a comfortable position. I rarely have this problem, so it was annoying to come across. Another annoyance was somewhat grabby brakes. Is this inherent to all Japanese cars? They certainly weren’t as bad as some I have driven. I’ll also put in the obligatory ‘seats aren’t as good as in a Saab’ sentence; not bad but too short in the bottom cushion. The interior was nice, especially for the price segment. Possibly a little dark for some.
On to the all important hatch! The seats folded in a way that didn’t require moving the seat bottom (it seemed to lower itself a bit) or require moving forward the front seats, or messing with the headrest. The floor was very close to flat. The only downside I could see is that loose items could end up in the spaces between the folded back seats and the front seats. I would say the load area compared favorably to a 9k though it’s tough to say without a side-by-side. The opening was probably closer to a new style 9k than older 9k. The parcel shelf lifted up when the hatch was opened (a minor peeve of mine with my 9k), but was still easy to remove. All in all, very nicely executed in my opinion, though it would be nice to compare directly to a 9k.
This might my favorite rental in recent years, but I think the fact that this car is in the rental fleet at all, while I see the 6 sedans everywhere, makes me assume it’s a slow seller. Honestly, given that it looks all but identical to the sedan but is so much more versitile, I couldn’t imagine anyone opting for the latter, but I suppose I musn’t represent the car buying public as a whole. I noticed that the 6 wagon didn’t last over here either. If this car was available as a hatch with the turbo 4 I would consider it a very worth successor to the 9k.
Craig
posted by 69.134.202...
, Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:38:02
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