This was published yesterday on AutoWeek.com. The 6's handling has been praised in European reviews, but apparently it was too firm for "American Tastes".

Here's the highlight:

I just hope they didn't completely ruin the great handling, but I'm sure it's not that drastic. What do you guys think?

Here's the entire article.

 

I don't see why Mazda can't just make a "Sport package" that upgrades it to the E-spec suspension. I would not mind paying ~$500-$1000 extra for this option. Tell the people who want the boat ride to drive a Buick.

 

I'm not at all unhappy if Mazda makes the suspension more comfortable in the N.A. Mazda6. What I want is BOTH a comfortable ride AND excellent handling. It's a crock of **** if people say you can't have both: The BMW 5 series does this very well, and I expect Mazda to deliver the same or the show's off.

But another area that I'm very unhappy with is Mazda's choice to drop the side indicator markers for the 6 in North America. As is standard on nearly ALL European cars (and on the 2002.5+ Proteges) are that side signal marker. Not only does it look cool, it also is much safer, as you can actually see what direction another driver wants to turn when you're on either side of the car. I mean, it's kind of a no brainer feature. Anyway, based on photos of the N.A. Mazda6, it looks like they dropped the European style side markers and stuck in a lame, front bumper mounted marker. That's lame! Not only does it not look as cool, it's surely not as visible as a true side marker. Why they dropped it here is totally beyond me. Whoever made that decision is a clueless dumbass who should be fired immediately.

Check it out:

WITH the proper side marker:


The way Mazda is going to shove it to us in North America:


What is their bloody problem!???

 

Their problem is the US laws. All cars must have an amber side marker indicator on either their bumper, fender, or inside a headlight unit.

 

Ah, that would make logical sense, rather than Mazda simply choosing to drop the side marker for any other reason.

That said, why not still include the side marker AND that lame bumper light. Last time I checked, VW does that. So does Audi. So does BMW. So does Mitsubishi. So does Saab. So does Jaguar. It's a reasonably common addition, and given that it looks better AND provides better visibility, why not include it!? They stuck one on the Protege, right?

<grumble>

 

Besides the obvious cut in the front bumper for the marker light, is there any difference in the shape of the US-spec and J-spec front bumpers? What about the rear? The US-spec 6's rear bumper in the picture above looks like it's sticking out half a foot!