'09 Mazda6 amps up the power; it's zippier, roomier, looks great

— -- Mazda says it redesigned its Mazda6 midsize sedan to fix everything people found wrong with the earlier model and to make it nice enough for move-down buyers leaving luxury cars for mainstream price tags and regular-grade gasoline bills.

So what was wrong with the old one, a commendable car that Ford Motor used as the basis for its popular Fusion?

In Mazda's surveys of people who considered a Mazda6 but bought something else, 25.1% cited a lack of quality, 16.5% cited lack of power and 15% cited lack of size.

Thus, the new 2009 — the firewall is the only piece of metal carried over, Mazda says — is bigger, better built, quieter, better equipped. And significantly more powerful.

Still, the 170-horsepower Mazda base four-cylinder engine is overmatched by the fours in chief rivals Honda Accord (177 hp and 190 hp) and Nissan Altima (175 hp). Mazda expects 75% of buyers to choose the four.

As for luring well-heeled folks boarding the less-is-more bandwagon? They might not find the sweet, luxurious grace they seek.

Driving three test cars — a four-cylinder with manual transmission, a four with automatic and a V-6 automatic — spotlighted these hits and misses:

• Styling. Marvelous. Not tortured, no gratuitous trim or sculpting. Clean flanks, tail and schnoz. Applause.

• Power. The V-6 steps out like Cap'n Billy's brand-new Whiz-Bang. It's so much fun to floor it that you'll surely ruin any hope of good fuel economy. But you'll smile a lot.

The V-6 is a Ford design Mazda tweaks and makes in Japan. The four, sufficient if not exciting, is a Mazda powerplant used by Ford.

Ford owns 33.4% of Mazda, enough for control, and the two share hardware.

The Japanese six-speed automatic transmission mated to the V-6 upshifted well but paused distressingly before downshifting under hard acceleration, as when passing another car. Mazda tried but said it couldn't duplicate the delay. The five-speed auto with the four-banger had no such delay.

The six-speed manual was terrific. A sublime blend of shifting ease and mechanical feel. The spring-loading that separates fifth and sixth gears from the first four could seem stiff to some but helps you shift correctly when in a hurry. Accommodating clutch operation made the manual easy to drive in traffic.

• Comfort. The bigger size, of course, makes it easier to improve comfort, especially in the back seat, where riders get more legroom. And the trunk's a big 'un, with a big opening. Better than some full-size cars.

The leather seats in the high-end V-6 test car felt comfortable at first but hard and lumpy after five freeway hours. Mazda disputes that, claiming the seats should feel good always.

Climate control in the V-6 didn't hold the desired temperature. Took a lot of one-tick-up, two-ticks-down fussing.

• Marginal storage. Nothing but a small bin ahead of the cup holders. Things too necessary to stow in the covered console have to go into the beverage bins, so you have to find someplace else for your latte.

• Suspension, steering. Mazda's the "zoom, zoom" company, remember, so it skews sporty. Normally OK, but smack a pothole or other sudden, sharp bump, and your fillings will rattle. Speed humps, drainage channels and uneven paving all were soaked up with aplomb.

"In a pothole scenario, it is firm, but we feel we gave it our best shot," says Kelvin Hiraishi, director of research and development engineering for North American operations. He refuses to concede that stiff equals harsh.

The body leaned more than expected, given the chassis' stiffness, during simulated emergency swerves and "yikes-that's-my-turn" maneuvers. The test cars generally felt composed and relatively flat otherwise, though.

Good on-center steering feel. No need to microsteer just to go straight. A tight turning circle carries the agile feel into parking-lot maneuvering.

• Features. You can get a keyless lock and ignition system, satellite radio, navigation, even a blind-spot-warning system.

But you can't get a backup warning buzzer or rearview camera. And the blind-spot warning can be triggered into irrelevance where guardrails or other barriers sit close to the road.

If you hopped into a Mazda6 with a mainstream frame of reference, it'd feel satisfying — a big improvement over the predecessor and a snazzy, sporty alternative to Altima/Accord/Camry.

If you'd just been in something truly premium, say an Acura or Infiniti, then the Mazda6 would be a step down.

The 2009 Mazda6

• What? Enlarged, powered-up redesign of the midsize, four-door, front-drive sedan.

• When? On sale since August.

• Where? Built at Flat Rock, Mich., Ford-Mazda plant.

• Why? Losing ground to rivals.

• How? Stretch the chassis, rethink, with emphasis on premium.

• Who? 30- to 55-year-olds.

• How much? Special-order SV base model starts at $19,220 with $670 shipping; upscale "s" Grand Touring at $28,930. Well-equipped "s" Grand Touring test car was $32,790.

• How potent? 2.5-liter four-cylinder rated 170 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, 167 pounds-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm; 3.7-liter V-6 rated 272 hp at 6,250 rpm, 269 lbs.-ft. at 4,250. Six-speed manual transmission standard on four-cylinder, not offered on V-6. Five-speed automatic optional on four, six-speed auto standard on V-6.

• How well-furnished? Usual safety gear: front, side, head-curtain air bags, stability control, anti-lock brakes. Base SV has traction control; air conditioning; power steering, brakes, windows, locks; AM/FM/CD stereo.

• How big? A hair shorter, narrower than Honda Accord; it is 193.7 inches long, 72.4 in. wide, 57.9 in. tall on a 109.8-in. wheelbase. Weight: 3,258 to 3,547 lbs.

Passenger space listed as 101.9 cubic feet, trunk as 16.6 cu. ft.

• How thirsty? Four-cylinder rated 20 miles per gallon in town, 29 highway, 23 combined driving with manual; 21/30/24 with automatic. V-6: 17/25/20. Trip computer in four-cylinder, manual test car showed 26.2 mpg in rural and suburban driving, 27.7 mpg in four-cylinder, automatic. V-6 automatic: 24.9 mpg highway, 16.3 mpg burbs.

Regular fuel (87-octane) is specified.

• Overall: Strong midsize contender.