Be aware, if you’re shopping for the 6 in manual transmission guise, this car sports a “hard clutch.” This means, basically, that it’s more of a challenge to shift it smoothly unless you revving the engine pretty high up (which is fun to do alone, but makes you look like a bit of a maniac when friends and family are in the car with you!).

The symptoms of “clutch shudder” in the Mazda 6 is a little bit of a shudder you’ll feel, especially shifting from first to second gear. This appears more often first thing in the morning when the car is cold and hasn’t been used. It also seems to be more prevalent in V6 clothing, than the 4-cylinder.

After a year of ownership, I can still cause the Mazda6 to “shudder” when changing gears, although never intentionally. This appears to be another small quirk of the car and its current choice of shifter gear and transmission. (Some experts will claim it’s just a matter of being able to “match” revs with the shift point, but frankly, I’ve never had so much of a challenge doing this than I have in this car.)

Don’t get me wrong — this happens once in awhile and doesn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the Mazda 6, especially its smooth highway cruising (it always feels like you’re travelling slower than the speedometer reads!). Just something to be aware of…

The hatch is back: Mazda6 a fun ride

This is a fun review from the Ft. Wayne (TX) Journal Gazette:

Just when you thought you had seen every variation of the sport utility phase. When you thought you had driven past enough “crossovers” and “flexible” vehicles and all kinds of other odd, segment-busting names that usually send traditionalists running for cover, along comes a hatchback.

Yes, a hatchback.

Simple. Effective. And hardly in vogue, right?

Right. And wrong.

Around the time the Big Three started slapping badges on massively oversized vehicles, hatchbacks were considered passe.

They were uncool. They were old school.

Well, Mazda is trying to muscle into the American market with a flexible notion: Hatchbacks can be fun again. Hatchbacks can be useful. And the Mazda6 hatchback is a great case for bringing the five-door back again.

Developed using BMW, Honda and Toyota as benchmarks, the Mazda6 comes as a sedan, a five-door hatchback and a wagon.

Ignore the fact that they put a picture of the Mazda 3 5-door next to the review. D’oh!

Well, if you’re a Mazda owner, you won’t like these results. Beaten only by Suzuki, Mazda came in second to last in the latest JD Power Initial Quality Study for 2005. It was in good company, though, with the likes of Land Rover, Volkswagen, Porsche and Volvo. Luxury brands topped the list, including the not-surprising Lexus, Jaguar and BMW. Most American brands were worse than average.

Read the full story at USA Today. Funnily enough, almost every version of this news emphasized the top brands or how GM or Hummer fared. Few mentioned the worst brands, or discussed what the numbers really mean in context (USA Today did though).

“Neal Oddes, director of product research for J.D. Power, said the industry has been showing large gains over the past several years. The average was 176 problems per 100 cars in 1998.” So even the worst cars on this year’s list are better than what “average” cars were a mere 7 years ago. Quality is definitely improving throughout the industry.

Well, howdy doody! I just passed 30,000 last week, and still, not a single problem to report. The Mazda 6 brake squeal (okay, that’s a problem) from the front, passenger-side tire is a little more pronounced, but sounds like a loose clip holding the pad. It’s an annoyance issue, not anything more. As soon as I take it in for the 33,000 mile checkup, I’ll have that examined and fixed. The Mazda 6 is a sweet ride.

The Mazda6 engine runs smooth, the handling is out-of-this-world for a front-drive sedan, and my gas mileage has been hovering between 26-28 MPG (mostly highway driving) with the V6. Wish it were a bit higher, but I tend to drive a little aggressively and fast.

I’m also seeing more Mazda 6’s on the road, too. Still a lot less than the Accord (boring!) or anything else in this range. When I see the occasional Acura TSX, I think I got the better deal as the car really does look just like a sooped up Honda Accord (since that’s all it is).