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None of them may be as dedicated at handling as the "zoom-zoom" brand (not all of America goes AutoXing), but as far as painting black lines on the pavement, the Honda Accord EX and Nissan Altima 3.5SE will certainly give the 6 a run for its money. Hell, 6s little brother, the 3 isn't all that far behind with a few key modifications.



Both the Accord and the Altima really push the envelope for being within $5000 of the Mazda6, with the similarly-equipped Accord being over $27,000 and the Altima being almost $29,000. Both companies gouge on option packages. Granted, on paper, the prices aren't that far off (about $2,000-$4,000 more each by sticker), but Nissan and Honda budge very little compared to the deep discounts that Mazda offers off the sticker. In the end, you pay $7,000 to $9,000 more for the Accord or Altima.

And I'm not one to pay many, many thousands more to get a car that's lacking in such key areas as handling and driving experience -- Emphasis on Driving Experience. I may not need the Mazda6s handling every day (or power for that matter), but I spend a lot of time in my car and nothing under $40,000 conveys the same experience in driving as what Mazda has been known for for years. The Accord ain't too terribly shabby (lack of MTX takes away a great deal), the Altima you don't drive -- you ride.

I'll agree with you on the Mazda3. If I wasn't a fan of larger sedans, and a little turned off by the look of the stock 3 (compared to the available bodykits), I would have gotten the Mazda3 (I bought my car the day the Mazda3 hit my dealer). The Mazda3s MTX will run a 1/4 right up there with the Mazda6s ATX -- with a 15.8 or so and turns-in far better than the front-heavy 6s.

It's hard to convey the driving experience and feel that Mazda somehow manages to build into their cars. I travel constantly, renting different cars every week, and have driven literally every current domestic car model and most of the imports. At the end of the week no matter what I've been driving, I am always literally looking forward to driving my Mazda. Everything else is just missing the immersiveness.

Semi-Related, and a tidbit of interesting trivia I read the other day -- Less than 8% of cars sold in the US are MTX but over 33% of Mazdas cars are equipped with MTX. Kinda gives a little peek into the demographic that buy Mazda.

2003 Mazda6s 3.0L MTX Webpage 2004 Mazda3s 2.3L ATX