And I gotta tell you that climbing behind the wheel of the TL was like heaven. OK, the Mazda was an '08 and it had the wimpy 4 cylinder engine. Admittedly we're talking about a ~$20k car vs. a $35k car here but man oh man, what a difference. The Mazda was sprightly enough from 0-40 mph, but after that.....forget about it. The ride was jittery though it had a commendable lack of body lean in corners. By comparison the TL has less body lean, rides more firmly but feels more "tacked down" and less jittery over small road imperfections. And the interior? Holy crap. I see why the TL won Wards Automotive "Best Interior" honors. It was like going from a Model T to Star Treck's Enterprise. The seats in the TL are sublime in their comfort (note that I have the less heavily bolstered FWD/Tech car, not the overly bolstered SH-AWD vehicle). I previously thought the best front seat in the business belonged to Volvo (they still make an awesome front seat) but no more -- top honors now goes to the TL. Better than the offerings in the BMW 5 and M-B E-class, both of which I've driven. And they are both superb, so that's high praise indeed.

In sum, I never thought I'd enjoy getting back into a car as much.

I continue to maintain that for the price, the TL is an absolute steal. By all rights, this car should cost at least $10k more than it does.

 

I agree I 2 have driven the old mazda 6 and there is a big difference even from my 3G but i recently test drove a 09 V6 Mazda 6 and they made major improvments it feels more like a Honda/Acura. Still like my TL though so ill keep it for another year

 

I have a previous gen Mazda 6 and I agree that the interior cannot be compared to that of the TL. However, after getting almost $5000 off MSRP, I paid all of $16500 for the 6, so I could have purchased two for the price of a TL.

After driving a 3G TL extensively, I like the steering and handling better on the 6. The steering is weighted very well and the car's lack of weight (less than 3100 lbs. for the 4-cyl) gives it a nimble feel. The steering and handling was what sold me in the car over competitors like the Accord and Camry.

I also agree that the 4-cylinder engine feels underpowered. This is one of the reasons I'm looking to replace the 6 with a SH-AWD TL.

 

I drove an SLK the other day..and although its acceleration crushes my TLs, the handling was A LOT better on the TL than the SLK.

 

Doc how can you even compare a TL with a Mazda 6, a car that Hertz uses as their prime rentals. There is a reason why Acura is considered a luxury brand if not tier 1 as if anyone knows what that means they still make luxry cars Mazda does not. An Accord will outhandling and crush a Mazda's interior

 

You are right about it being a Hertz rental. Definitely preferable to a Corolla or a PT Cruiser (ughh). But it really did remind me what a huge ocean of difference there is between a middling $20k car and a TL. It's almost like they should be called different things. To think that the difference is just about $15k spread over at least 5-7 years it seems like a no brainer to me.

 

Enough said.
TL vs mazda6

 

Ditto........LOL

 

Lol , yeah let's not compare acura w/ mazdas please

 

Lol PsycDoc was just trying to express his observations on how much a car class can change. He's not REALLY trying to compared the two cars or the two brands. Think of this thread as a thread to compare the TL with cars in its class like my comparison with the SLK!

 

If a new mazdaspeed6 came out, that would be something to look at. Too bad no one bought the last one..

 

not sure what i would do if i was even given a 6... i'd prob cry...

 

Since when have the TL and the 6 been in the same class?

Anyway, has anyone else here actually driven a 6? It drives a lot sportier than competitors in its class, like the Accord and Camry.

 

Actually, the new Mazda 6's acceleration #'s are pretty similar to the TL's. I'd prefer it over a Camry and maybe the Accord. The sportier Mazda is definately the Mazda 3 however.

 

I have driven the new Mazda 6 (V6 Version) extensively and i feel its much better in performance and handling than the Accord or Camry and even design and luxury is equal too or better than Accord. Even in comparo's the Mazda 6 gets the edge.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=131667

What i found surprising on the Mazda site when compared to the 4G was that rear seat space and interior passenger volume is much larger than the 4G TL. This was a reason why a few here think the 4G is a direct competitor to the A6, 5 series E-class etc......If these certain peoples logic is correct then the Mazda 6 is definitely in the same class as the 4G TL when you look at both cars overall considering price, luxury, options etc.

......And just for the record I dont believe that the 4G TL and the Mazda 6 are in the same class, just like how the 4G and the A6, 5 series etc aren't either.

 

I'm glad that someone else here has driven the 6 and isn't blindly criticizing it because it does not compete well with the TL. That would be like comparing a M5 to a TL and then criticizing the TL because it does not do 0-60 in less than 5 seconds. The 6 is a family sedan; it is meant to compete with the Accord, Camry and Altima, which is something it does quite well.

Another strength of the 6 is its immense truck; it has significantly more cargo room than any Acura sedan, including the RL. The combination of fold down seats and a large trunk have proven to be very useful on large trips. I'm a bit disappointed that the TSX is the only Acura sedan with folding rear seats.

 

Just spent part of the weekend in a new Mazda 6rental and I must say, while the improvements to the interior are highly commendable, they completely ruined the driving experience. The old Mazda 6 sport drove extremely well, feeling much like the 1st-gen TSX in terms of crispness of handling and steering feedback. The new 6 feels too much like the appliance they tried to make it closer to (Toyota Camry anyone?).

I think that for what it is, the Mazda 6 is fine. But it is not intended to compete against Acuras (although the local Mazda dealer in my area charges the same hourly rate as the Acura dealer for labor) and it shows. Decent car overall, though I was disappointed they lost so much of the sport aspect in this new iteration.

 

I've read the same thing in most auto magazines. It looks like I won't be replacing my 1G 6 with another 6. I feel like Mazda made some of the same mistakes with the 6 that Acura made with the TL, adding size and weight in attempt to appeal to a wider market.

 

All i read is the title and this all I have to say Mazda =

 

PsychDoc - you are a crackup with your repeated "overly bolstered AWD seats" sprinkled throughout your posts... you're always getting a chip in against the AWD model... come clean with us... you have AWD envy, don't you?!?!

 

Truth be told I really, really wanted to love the AWD car but I really did find the suspension to be way too hard (for NYC streets at least) and I didn't like the bolstering of the seats. I could have lived with the seat issue, but not the suspension part.

I love the quad tail pipes if that makes you feel better!

And your 18" rims are sharp too....although I'm not among the camp that hates the 17"ers on the FWD car....I think they're very sharp too (not as sharp as your 18's...but sharp nonetheless).

Oh, and I love your steering wheel but I'm not a fan of what I feel is the overly heavy steering in the AWD car.

So, like I said, the FWD car is the perfect vehicle for me. TheAWD car would have caused me to get an A4 if that had been the only 4G TL available.

Admittedly, if you live in many parts of the US with glass smooth roads, the AWD car may be your ticket to nirvana, here in NYC, not so much.