I recently had to travel from Sarasota, Florida, to Miami and back for Hispanicize Event, where I had a speaking engagement and also signed copies of my latest book with Harper Collins, “Tu mejor edad para tener una vida extraordinaria (Your Best Age to have an extraordinary life).”
My teen daughter and I share my car, so I was delighted to get this stunning loan from Mazda, the 2017 Mazda 6, Grand Touring, in Soul Red metallic, with parchment nappa leather interior.
The drive to and from Miami can be under 4 hours without stops or traffic, and with the Mazda 6 it seemed even shorter.
I did the trip solo, except for taking my business manager, Johanna Voss, to the airport in Fort Lauderdale on my way back home.
A fabulous and safety car
First of all, let me tell you about the look of the car. As superficial as it may sound, just the design and the color were absolutely sensual and fabulous. I felt like a movie star at the wheel, with my big sunglasses and high heels.
I noticed the car turned heads when I arrived in Miami. That’s a city where people will comment on your car if catches their eye!
The safety a car offers is important to me.
It was great to know that this one scored 5-stars in the government 5-star safety rating in the overall vehicle score, including frontal crash for the driver (4 stars for the passenger), and side crash; it had a 4 for rollover, which is still pretty good.
Some of the safety features I loved were the Rearview Camera, the Smart Brake Support with Collision Warning, the Lane Departure Warning and Lane-keep Assist.
Also read: Saying goodbye to my car after 14 years
It rained a bit on my drive to Miami, and I really appreciated the rain sensing variable-intermittent windshield wipers.
On the drive back, on a sunny evening I enjoyed the power sliding-glass moonroof with one-touch-open feature and interior sunshade.
I have seasonal allergies, so it was great to have the dual-zone automatic climate control with pollen filter! Just that week I’d been suffering from allergies and they seemed to subside after the trip.
I usually drive with a lumbar roll on the small of my back, but the 8-way power driver’s seat with power lumbar support made that unnecessary.
Other features I loved about the 2017 Mazda 6
Driver’s seat memory is a great thing when you share a car. It wasn’t the case with this one, but it would take away the annoyance of having to adjust the seat when my teen or my husband drive my car!
During long car drives on my own I love to listen to audiobooks, music or catch up with my sister on the phone.
The Bose® Centerpoint® 2 Surround Sound audio system with AudioPilot® 2 and 11 speakers made listening a pleasure.
The Bluetooth®24 hands-free phone and audio streaming capability helped me catch up on the phone while being safe.
The MAZDA CONNECT™ Infotainment System was also really handy, and included Infotainment system voice command, HD Radio™Pandora® internet radio integration, SMS text message audio delivery and reply and E911 automatic emergency notification.
I also had the opportunity to drive the kids to school in the car before I left on my trip and cruise around Sarasota with my husband.
They all loved the car and wished we could keep it! It was definitely one of those cars one falls in love with.
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