Mazda 6 Review 2013
Rather than gentle augmentation, what the 6 really requires is a generational leap forward – one that unequivocally projects it into new territory. This can be achieved in a number of ways, but for Mazda it is the full implementation of its oft-mentioned SkyActiv technology that is intended to dramatically transform the appeal of its flagship.
Consequently, the company boasts of a larger, lighter and much more economical saloon, endowed with the kind of performance figures and low emissions that make waves on a fleet manager’s spreadsheet. A good deal migrates from the CX-5 we tested last year, but there is fresh innovation, too.
As ever, the 6 will need every advantage going as it locks horns with heavyweights such as the Ford Mondeo and Volkswagen Passat.
Sitting in the 6, it seems a shame that little of the imaginative but unseen engineering work has successfully permeated the cabin. The cabin architecture is carried over almost wholesale from the CX-5, a car we deemed rather dingy when we tested it last summer. Squashing it into a slimmer saloon interior has not altered that judgement. If anything, the dashboard’s lumpy discord and undistinguished fascia materials are even more conspicuous in a segment moving steadily upmarket.
However, we have few issues with its functionality. From its easily legible dials to the chunky click of its heater controls, the Mazda 6 feels like a car built to resist uncaring high-mile punishment. The only exception is the multimedia system and its controller, which, thanks to a dull screen and clunky menus, is tiresome to interact with and persists with needlessly replicated touchscreen options.
The substantial wheelbase means there’s an abundance of rear legroom. It’s not class-leading (the Superb sees to that), but it’s within touching distance and there’s a similarly long 489-litre boot. It’s roomy up front, too, and the standard six-way adjustable driver’s seat in our top-spec test car keeps comfort levels respectable.
Leather trim is also an attribute of Sport spec, as is the reversing camera and 11-speaker stereo, but mid-spec SE-L cars get the dual-zone climate control, rear air vents and parking sensors needed to look credible against the Korean competition. Cruise control and Bluetooth are standard from entry level.
The result is a car with the fundamental bases covered – it’s a usable, spacious and unstressed environment – but not one that competes with the presentation or quality of class leaders such as the Passat or even affordable newcomers like the Hyundai i40.
The 6 settles into an idle so muted that you’d be forgiven for wondering if it’s a strangely refined diesel or quite a throaty petrol. It’s the former, of course, but it’s not the overall quietness that confuses, but the fact that it’s a different sort of sound that lacks some of the usual diesel clatter.
Move off and you’ll note that the response lacks the usual diesel low-rev tardiness, too. The motor responds to a push on the right pedal with pleasing linearity, and is mated in our test car to a light, positive six-speed manual gearbox. All three pedals have well matched weighting and predictable responses, making the 6 an easy car in which to pootle around.
Its performance is at least as strong as those initial responses suggest. At a dry but cold test track, the 6 sprinted from 0-60mph in less than eight seconds, which is a fine showing for a diesel – typically not the fuel of choice when it comes to standing starts. However, the 6 revs willingly, transiently at times, to more than 5500rpm, giving it rangey performance in each ratio.
Second gear stretches to nigh on 60mph; if it were a tad longer it would have further improved the acceleration time. Work the engine hard and the 6 eventually starts to overlay its performance with dieselly tones, but they are a sacrifice we’re willing to accept because of the nature of the delivery.
Useful though standing starts are as a measure of performance, it is in-gear flexibility by which the 6’s capabilities will usually be judged, and here it’s pretty acceptable, too. Its 173bhp is coupled to 309lb ft of torque at 2000rpm, although lengthy gearing means you might want to approach brisk acceleration in a lower gear than usual. In top, for example, a 50-70mph slip-road manoeuvre is best tackled in fifth (5.9sec), fourth (4.8sec) or even third (4.4sec), rather than sixth (7.9sec). Once cruising, though, the long legs contribute to both low noise levels and impressive fuel economy, which we’ll come to in a moment.
source : autocar