Road Test: Mazda6 MPS

By Feann Torr - 18/Aug/2006

The Mazda6 MPS has enough power and torque to make a Subaru Impreza WRX do a double take, but unlike the Scooby-roo and other hard-edged Japanese sports cars, the Mitsubishi Evolution included, Mazda has dressed it's turbocharged 4-cylinder sedan in a less garish suit, which was purposely designed to attract less attention than the abovementioned vehicles.

With it's 2.3-litre turbocharged engine putting 190kW through the wheels via a slick 6-speed shifter, the Mazda6 MPS is not slow, yet it's aimed at a different demographic than the WRXs and Evos, and this can be evidenced in both the way it looks and the way it rides - subtle and smooth.

While the WRX and Evo models, what with their harsh rides, manic power deliveries and expensive running costs are aimed at young-ish males who are generally of a thrill seeking nature, the Mazda6 is a different sort of vehicle, despite what it's jaw-dropping vital statistics suggest. It was designed for the hot 4-cylinder driver who may have moved on or  - perish the thought - even grown up, looking for something with a bit more room, a touch more sophistication, less emphasis on the eye candy, yet with enough mumbo to satisfy the need for speed.

Mazda doesn't expect to sell thousands of these MPS vehicles each year, but the go-fast Mazda6 is nevertheless a gleaming halo model that sits atop the well received Mazda6 range, providing a nice flow-on effect for lesser models. Priced from under $50,000, the Mazda6 MPS makes a pretty good first impression, and with a number of relatively inconspicuous visual clues alluding to its increased performance - such as the 18-inch alloy wheels, the muscular bonnet and large exhaust pipes - it's not completely devoid of machismo.

It's closest competitor is the turbocharged Subaru Liberty GT rather than the oft mentioned Lancer and Impreza banzai mobiles, and this provides a better insight into what Mazda is trying to do with the MPS: a little bit of luxury, a good serve of refinement and solid all-weather performance. But sometimes good intentions don't always end up delivering a good result, and one wonders if the MPS is suffering from the 'jack of all trades, master of none' syndrome? Let's find out:

Drive: 3.5/5

The Mazda6 is equipped with a ballistic engine and gearbox combination, while the chassis is tuned to be a compromise between sporty handling and smooth ride

My experience in the Mazda6 MPS didn't start well - the seating position never quite suited my frame and I thought the engine was too quiet for something that cranks out almost 400Nm of torque - but as I discovered it's the kind of car that doesn't offer instant thrills, but slowly grows on you.

That said, the engine is quite satisfying from the get-go, and this 2.3-litre turbo 4-cylinder combination is hard to top for flexibility. Though there's a touch of turbo lag in the taller gears, but the MZR engine hit its torquey turbo sweet spot very quickly indeed.

Proving it's worth as more than just a turbocharged sports sedan, the Mazda6 MPS has a moderately refined ride that won't severely punish you for running over pot holes. Granted, the suspension is tuned to provide above average levels of grip round corners, but unlike some Japanese performance cars this one has good road manners around town. With more than modicum of suppleness to its ride the MPS can easily tackle the 5-day sojourn to work every week, and is surprisingly easy to drive slowly (another bugbear that sometimes plagues boosted 4-cylinder cars).

The interior is thoughtfully designed and the sporty front seats are comfortable (if a little raised) and together with the car's gentle ride the car creates a very relaxed ambiance that gives a dual personality of sorts.

The 18-inch wheels make a touch of road noise as speedo dial surpasses 12 o'clock, but with decent sidewalls the tyres match the suspension's easygoing nature, as do the smooth gear changes of the 6-speed manual transmission. Whether you're redlining the engine down country back roads or just trying to save fuel in nefarious peak hour traffic, the way the gear stick slips between gates is efficiently smooth. As well as being smooth the 6-speed gearbox has just a touch of notchiness as you initiate consecutive gates, which doesn't take away from the pleasant 'feel', it simply makes you aware of its mechanical nature.

On the highway, the Mazda6 felt equally at home and it's 60 litre fuel tank means that touring across the country is not impossible. As well as being quick off the mark, it's got very long legs to boot: maximum speed is said to be around 240km/h, but from my experience that is a conservative figure.

I remember thinking that the chassis felt a bit loose when I first gave the Mazda6 MPS a flick through a corner, but as mentioned it's the kind of car that takes a time to become comfortable with. Compared to the standard Mazda6, the MPS gets stiffer spring rates, revised bushing materials and thicker anti-roll bars, all of which give the car a significantly sharper feel than it's donor car.

At first however, it felt as though it was perched a bit too high off the ground, and this lead to a touch of apprehension when entering corners. After a few more days driving I came to the conclusion that it's neither loose nor sloppy, just different. And by day three man and machine had integrated nicely, and as it turns out the MPS has a decent attitude through corners and didn't exhibit dire levels of understeer.

The engine is the real trouble-maker here, giving the car a tremendous ability accelerate strongly from low in the rev range, while the chassis feels as though it's along for the ride, simply trying to ensure the engine doesn't do anything stupid. There's a touch of front end dive and rear end squat under hard deceleration and acceleration respectively, which highlights two things: a) the engine and brakes are the business and b) the suspension has been tuned to be somewhat forgiving. Though the front end rises up like a boat when you gun first and second gear, it should be noted that the frame is some 50 per cent stiffer than the standard Mazda6 which improves steering response.

Trusting the chassis took time as the steering's not incredibly direct and because of the somewhat light feel through the tiller, it can be hard to gauge what the car's doing underfoot. Despite the high level of torque that the engine generates, the MPS can be thrown into corners fairly confidently, as the 18-inch wheels shod with 215/45 profile tyres and and quasi AWD system afford the 1612kg luxury sports car with plenty of grip. Due to it's 1.6 tonne kerb mass, the Mazda6 MPS is quite clearly no hot hatch, and does feel a tad lardy when you try to push hard through flip-flops; rapid changes in direction induce moderate understeer.

Despite it's incredibly confident power delivery, my arms were not ripped out of their sockets from torque steer. Quite the opposite in fact. The Mazda6 MPS almost feels like it has trouble putting its power to the ground when turning into sharper corners and trying to dial in fat wads of torque. This could be the ESP system retarding power delivery, or the all wheel drive mechanism diverting power between both axles instead of just the front, but whatever it is, it sometimes detracts from the driving experience, diluting what should be a no-holds-barred powertrain. It may sound a bit gung-ho, but I'd rather the front wheels violently lose control than lose torque, as that way at least I can blame my erratic driving rather than the car's electronic nannies.

While a rear wheel drive vehicle is always going to be better at getting its power down through sharper, tighter corners, the Mazda6 MPS is the sultan of sweepers, able to really stretch its considerable legs through open corners, and it holds fast too. The rear end tracks nicely through most corners and follows the front wheels quite diligently, giving you the confidence to push harder that is absent in tighter corners.

The engine is deserving of praise, as it's such a smooth, refined unit, but with a considerable amount of muscle that is easily and enjoyably flexed. When the turbo gets the signal to start huffing an puffing at just under 2000rpm, the power builds steadily and strongly, but isn't fed to the wheels like the Mitsubishi Evolution models, which deliver a pile driving amount of force that literally slams into you. The MPS 6 produces more of a seamless journey into the lustrous turbo-enhanced powerband, and it suits the car's refined character nicely.

Though it's not a boring car to drive hard, the Mazda6 MPS didn't inspire me to the levels I was expecting. Rather than a highly strung performance sedan, it's a jack of all trades, and will appeal to a broader range of buyers as a result of its even handed approach. It's better described as relaxed than flat out rapturous. 

It's a bloody quick car all the same, and it'll torch most 2WD cars when the weather turns nasty. Indeed, the AWD system is useful on dry roads and keeps the car feeling relatively neutral through corners, but as soon as the road becomes sodden this thing is unstoppable, able to imperceptibly apportion 50% of the engine's torque to the rear axle for extra grip in the wet. We also took the MPS 6 on unsealed gravel roads and it handled itself remarkably well. The rear end gets a little bit wishy washy sometimes, especially heading into corners at high speeds, but otherwise it's hard to fault when driven in imperfect conditions.

After punting the turbocharged Mazda in the wet and over some dirt roads, I began to appreciate the steering feel on sealed bitumen roads, and even the chassis balance between front and rear started to grow on me and I came away feeling more and more positive about the Mazda6 MPS's handling abilities, which contrasts how it felt. 

At the end of the test, I still felt that the chassis was a bit soft in some areas (dive and squat especially), but considering the vehicle's ability to provide a smooth and relaxed ride through the 'burbs, and still deliver a spirited and sporty feel when the roads start to curve, it's hard to be reproachful. It's not too thirsty, is comfortable and quick, and can be highly rewarding to drive if the conditions are ripe. It's a good compromise that few automakers get right and, in retrospect, it makes a lot of sense. 

Engine: 4.5/5

This engine is the dogs bollocks, plain and simple. And unlike high power 2.0-litre turbo engines that need high levels of turbo pressure to develop big kilowatts - and which can make them snatchy and induce lag, reducing drivability - the Mazda's 2.3-litre turbo direct injection engine doesn't need big levels of boost to reach its 190kW power peak, which results in a very smooth and refined engine feel.

Thanks to variable valve timing and the DISI system (direct injection spark ignition in Mazda speak), the engine is very quick to spin up, and even when you redline each gear it doesn't take long to work your way through the smooth-shifting 6-speed gearbox. 

Mazda claims a 6.6 second 0-100km/h sprint but on the road it feels about two or three tenths of second quicker. It really gets up and moves very quickly indeed, and can keep pace with most locally built large V8s, especially if the driver's aren't on top of their game.

The 2.3-litre 4-cylinder engine gets 4-valves per cylinder and features a single-scroll turbocharger and a horizontally mounted air-to-air intercooler that, according to Mazda, provides the car with 90 per cent of its 380Nm of torque at just 2000rpm. 

We covered a good distance before we had to fill up the Mazda6 MPS's fuel tank, and methinks this has something to do with the tall 6th gear. At just over 100km/h the MPS 6 will sit on 2500rpm, which is pretty good for a 4-banger, and it doesn't drink too much petrol at 2500rpm in top gear because it only uses a small amount of turbo boost. Even so, at 2500rpm, if you push the throttle for a second and a half the turbo wakes up and you often don't need to change down into fourth gear to overtake, such is the broad spread of torque.

It's a very smooth revving powerplant and as such is easy to live with. The low levels of boost pressure are spread across a wide rev range which means even Uncle Jimmy with his fear of driving high powered cars can stir this thing along just by tickling the accelerator. It's very user friendly. 

Of course, it's also a very responsive performer if pushed, and you begin to feel the turbo working at around 3000rpm (sometimes earlier depending on the scenario and gear ratio) and it stays strong until peak power arrives about 5000rpm. The rev limiter is set at about 7500, a good 2000rpm after peak power joins the party, and this gives drivers a good deal of room to move when pushing hard through corners, as sometimes it pays to hold on to a gear mid corner rather than waste a precious second or so applying the clutch and looking for a new cog.

The clutch was perhaps the only minor letdown in what is an otherwise brilliant engine-gearbox combination, but I should caution that the car we tested had a very shiny new clutch, with only 1700kms on the clock. I prefer a more bedded-in clutch, and it's likely that this would occur with another 5000kms on the odometer, but it may be worth investigating during a test drive nevertheless.

Mazda's 'Active Torque Split' AWD system doesn't sound quite as cool as Subaru's symmetrical AWD setup (and it's not quite as effective either) but it does a good job at keeping the Mazda6 MPS on the road, and combines with the DSC to ensure the vehicle is one of the safest in the Mazda range. It's best experienced on snowy, wet, and gravel roads, and makes a big difference to stability.

What makes it tick? Well, the active torque system is more of a part-time AWD setup, combining an electronically controlled variable coupling that lives just in front of the rear differential and allows up to 50 per cent of the engine's output to reach the rear wheels. In normal driving situations 100 per cent torque hits the front hoops, and torque is diverted to the rear wheels under hard acceleration (such as from standstill) and when the fronts start to slip/spin.

Exterior: 4/5

Sitting on 18-inch multi-spoke aluminium alloy wheels, the Mazda6 MPS is a great looking automobile. The standard Mazda6 was never an ugly duckling, and so this MPS model - called the Mazdaspeed6 in North America and Mazdaspeed Atenza in Japan - begins with an already handsome platform and adds just a touch of beef to let keen-eyed drivers know that this is not your average mid sized Japanese sedan.

The Mazda6 MPS makes an imposing visual statement (top), plus it presents well (above) and feels good, suggesting high quality materials in use

As well as the multi-spoke 18-inch alloy wheels, the other major change that gives the car more visual potency is the new bonnet, which lends the MPS 6 a fuller and more emphatic look. I reckon the power bulge works tremendously with the Mazda6's form, with just a hint of menace in it's strong front end lines. The front end also gets a new apron, giving the car a lower, more confident stance and adds a larger central air dam flanked by bolder fog lights.

Other extras like the xenon headlights add a bit of polish, and side skirts fill the void between the deeper front and rear aprons, the latter of which feature seamlessly integrated large diameter exhaust outlets and a touch of black plastic to add contrast to the rear section. There's also a small boot lid spoiler with an LED brake light cluster that finishes off the cars revised look in a subtle but pleasing fashion.

Interior: 4/5

Inside the Mazda6 MPS, the dials appear similar to the Mazda6 Luxury's: chrome rimmed with red back lights, and the effect is nicely sporty when combined with features like the alloy pedals and the titanium and piano black accents. In fact, the crimson back lit theme permeates the entire cabin, and it works a treat giving the car a real sense of occasion, dare I say prestige. 

Everything's a smidgen fancier than the top shelf Mazda6 model, for instance the sport seats are better suited to enthusiastic jaunts into the mountains, with slightly more lateral bolstering. The overall feel is just right, with equal parts sport and prestige.

I'm also a big fan of the soft touch dials that make up the HVAC controls. They've got a nice level of tactility, made from high quality materials, and are dead easy to use. Fairly nice dash plastics continue the high quality theme inside the racy Mazda6, and the standard feature list is quite extensive, including items such as six airbags, power windows and mirrors, cruise control, a 6-disc CD stereo, remote central locking, and climate-control air conditioning. 

The interior is quite well specified for a car under $50,000, and for a bit more cash you can get the luxury pack that adds leather seats with electric adjustments, a sunroof and a few other bits and bobs like a juiced-up Bose stereo with 7-speakers. Mazda reckons some 70% of MPS 6 buyers will shell out the extra $6,000 for the luxury pack, which adds an extra 50kg or so.

There's actually a decent amount of room in the rear seats for three passengers and the boot is rather capacious too, which offers up 455 litres of cargo space, which is enough room to make traditional large car buyers take note. It's also equipped with a strong complement of safety systems including ABS, DSC, xenon headlamps and six airbags that include curtain jobbies that protect rear passengers too.

Overall: 4/5

While there were some aspects of the Mazda6 MPS that left a little to be desired, there's something to be said of a vehicle that is remarkably capable in almost any situation. Whether driven at a fast pace on sunny coastal roads, or trundling through the city gridlock, fighting a rainstorm on the highway or even hacking down a dirt road shortcut in the country, the Mazda6 MPS can do it all, and with style to boot.

Though I initially yearned for a firmer ride and heavier steering, the car would have forgone it's refined and smooth ride that makes it such a star performer during the commuter slog, and I think that the balance Mazda found for its upper-class athlete is a positive one. If you're on the lookout for a classy-looking ride with high levels of safety, ample interior room, and a vehicle that delivers 4-cylinder fuel economy with AWD turbo performance, this vehicle will certainly pique your interest.

It's got athletic performance with everyday practicality and for around $50,000 it compares very well to its major rival, the Subaru Liberty GT. But the question still remains, does the MPS suffer from the 'jack of all trades, master of none' syndrome?  I understand that it's poor form to answer a question with yet another question, but how about this: is there such a thing as a master of compromise? 

If so, the Mazda6 MPS has the market cornered.