Yeah the one i raced was fast... suprised me. With a few upgrades i could see it pulling me at my low boost setting. Thank god i have a high boost setting. If i didn't i'd never touch an evo. Dual stage is great!! The GTI's are cool and the 1.8T has some real potential. I still like the Mazda though... just looks better to me but i'm a sedan kindof guy i guess! SLT is yours an anniversary addition with the 10 extra hp? I believe it's 10 may be more??

 

No, just an '02. The anniversary eddition is sweet, I was looking at one at the dealership the other day, but it cost $26,000??! We paid $19,000 for ours and it came with seat warmers. Also, the anniversary eddition comes with the 6 speed which isn't as fast as the 5 speed.

 

We (my wife and I) went with the Mazda 6. We too were trying to decide between the two. These were our deciding factors:

Mazda 6:
- 4 doors (better for family car)
- nicer interior (quality was about the same but the 6's layout is a little nicer)
- sportier look

GTI:
- faster
- hatchback is nice for big things

We have had some transmission problems in the 6 but other than that it's been a really fun car to drive. The "zoom zoom" doesn't stack up to the EVO though.

 

I would say the GTI, I have a 98 GTI VR6 and I LOVE it! I would have to agree that the stock suspension is a little squishy and lacking but as soon as you replace those springs and put in good shocks/struts, the difference is amaizing. The power is great, the vr6 motor pulls so strong thru all the gears and all the way to red line. And I dont think for the money you could find a car with a better sounding exhaust. I'm waiting for Link286XT to get his turbo lancer up and running to race him to see who has a quicker and faster car. We both are skeptical on the race and both think it would go either way.

Just some FYI, a turbo'ed VR6 running around 1 bar will put down 300 hp to the wheels. And the stock internals will handle it.

 

I spanked a VR6 all the way to 120+ and he stopped trying as he was over 4 car lengths back... Of course i've had some mods done as well that make me pull hard. He seemed to have higher redline though... When we started he was right with me but 3rd i pulled and 4th really pulled. 5th he gave. I think Link will beat you if everything is tuned right and your not boosting to much! The one i raced had to be stock... What does stock car boost??

 

The stock VR6 doesn't boost - no turbo on it. It's just a 2.8L V6.
-N

 

that explains it... SoCal was just saying you can boost it and it's bad ***... like our lancers! Thats cool. You still should have seen the look on the guys face when i was pulling on him! Was classic and that stuff keeps me proud of my car everyday. I raced a boosted Lexas at Carlsbad... he ran a 14.1 right next to me on stock tires! With better tires he'd have been gone no prob! Don't know what type Lexus or boost he was running just saw the turbo under hood once and heard the damn thing. Was loud!

 

**Opinion Alert**
I think that hatchbacks are kiddy looking. If you like girls older than 16 go with the 6. J/K But seriously, I just like sedans better and the 6 is a VERY attractive looking car. It'd be hard to argue that. Not only that, but it's decent under the hood.

 

i would much rather have the 1.8turbo in the 20th anniversary. The vr6 engine is only a 100k mile engine. After that seals begin to go one after the other.

 

I would take the Jetta VR6 over the GTI. Im getting a new car soon and the jetta VR6 is one of my top choices. The GTI I think looks really ugly. Id take the mazda 6 over the GTI anyday. In either black or silver. I dont like the red they come in. Why not consider a WRX?

 

BrainDaBox....100K miles huh? Um, I dont think so... I've got 166K on the engine and stock OE internals. I did a cylinder preasure test a little while back and the engine is still within new engine standards. I also have a friend that has a 96 with 176k miles, stock internals and he has had a vortech supercharger, running 6 lbs of boost, I think he installed it at about 155k.

I'm just saying that when taken care of, even mod'ed they hold up really well. Timing chain doesn really need to be changed ever, its just he chain guides that can cause a problem. The clutch on the cars are known to last 150-200k miles.

 

Now that impressive and good info about the car

 

Well I would have bought a evo8 but money is an issure this year so I am going to pick up a mazda6 in the next few weeks for my gf, then next time this year I am going to pick up rx8 or evo or sti or what ever might be out for about 30k that is pure enjoyment

 

At the VW dealership I sold cars at, VR6 engines, be it in the jetta, gti or eurovan, were in the service department much more than any other engine in those models. I'm just regirgitating what the techs would tell me about the different cars.

 

i had the same problem choosing as u did rite before i brought my car...but i test drove both of them and i like hte smoothness of the clutch on the gti but the looks of the mazda 6s is nice wit the sport package...but i was a newb so i stall like hella on the 6 and i only stalled once on the gti...so i ended up gettin the gti instead but it was a 1.8t not hte vr6...heard there were more mods for the 1.8t...but i love my car and did not regert gettin it over the 6s