These midsize sedans are similarly priced and have similar safety features and interior room, but they are very different in terms of how they drive. The Mazda6 is a performance-oriented midsize sedan that drives and looks the part, but sometimes with a sacrifice of ride comfort. The Sonata is definitely not as sporty as the Mazda6, but it offers a more comfortable driving experience.
The Mazda6 rides very firm and is sometimes bouncy, which is predictable if you want a midsize sedan that handles sportingly. The sometimes-bouncy ride could, however, be off-putting to those who don’t necessarily want a performance experience. If that experience isn’t on your list of “must-haves,” then the Sonata’s softer suspension and more comfortable ride might be a better choice. But as Cars.com editor Mike Hanley points out in his review, the “Sonata's suspension is loud when traveling on rough roads; from the driver's seat, it sounds as if the suspension has more than 100,000 miles on it thanks to all its rattling.”
The Mazda6 does have lower EPA gas mileage ratings than the Sonata because of its sporting nature. This is true with either the four- or six-cylinder engines.
Also worth noting is the Sonata’s warranty. Its five-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty are considerably longer than the Mazda’s three-year/36,000-mile and five-year/60,000-mile warranties, respectively.
With pricing so similar, the deciding factor may be incentives. As of this writing, the 2009 Mazda6 has a $1,000 cash-back rebate available, while the 2009 Sonata has $2,000 available. As always, we recommend that you test-drive both these models after absorbing all the information, including expert reviews of both, we list below.
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You mention the 2009 Sonata "bumper to bumper" warranty in this article. I heard that Hyundai changed their warranty and no longer offer the bumper to bumper"