Au contraire, I'd say there is an issue here (as someone who's both owned and raced BMWs and Mazdas in various series)
Mazda specifically markets themselves as fun to drive - the whole "zoom-zoom" thing
They put huge effort into making the driving dynamics both feel good and work well. Even the SUVs have a [Sport] mode toggle switch next to the shift lever that changes various shifting, suspension, and engine parameters for a different feel and performance profile.
It is no surprise that Mazda thought about this in depth and decided that the default should be to feel like a regular combustion engine/gearbox.
What is surprising, especially since it's available in other cars, is that that they do not seem to have included a Sport Mode, whereby a driver could access all the available performance.
Having both the default and sport mode would definitely make me more likely to consider the car, vs. the ICE-like mode only.
(also a bit surprising that the article never mentions asking Mazda about this option)
Mazda specifically markets themselves as fun to drive - the whole "zoom-zoom" thing
They put huge effort into making the driving dynamics both feel good and work well. Even the SUVs have a [Sport] mode toggle switch next to the shift lever that changes various shifting, suspension, and engine parameters for a different feel and performance profile.
It is no surprise that Mazda thought about this in depth and decided that the default should be to feel like a regular combustion engine/gearbox.
What is surprising, especially since it's available in other cars, is that that they do not seem to have included a Sport Mode, whereby a driver could access all the available performance.
Having both the default and sport mode would definitely make me more likely to consider the car, vs. the ICE-like mode only.
(also a bit surprising that the article never mentions asking Mazda about this option)