Mazda 6 road test (From Community Newsgroup)

Mazda 6 road test

11:17am Monday 22nd June 2009

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THE second generation Mazda 6 is one of the company's most important models - and if these cars don't bring home the bacon then there's trouble ahead!

At first glance the new model looks promising, boasting sleek looks, a larger range, and improved spec - although not surprisingly prices have gone up!

Pitched against the likes of the Mondeo and Insigia, it'll need to seriously impress if it's to woo commercial fleet managers.

In the looks department she's a cutie. Long, sculpted lines flow the length of the car, the front end has a meaty air about it, and sporty styling cues elsewhere means - as far as company cars go - the 6 has the competition licked, particularly the aging Vectra.

Robert Downes takes a closer look...

Performance/engine:

For the time being, Mazda have done away with the old 147 bhp 2.0-litre diesel model, replacing it with a less powerful 138 bhp version. Thus, the more fuel efficient model now qualifies for the £125 road tax band and will mean the ‘6 should be a popular fleet choice.

It also means zero to 62mph takes around a second longer over the old model at a slightly dissapointiung 10.5 seconds, but there's a bucket load of shove to make up for it. There’s bags of grunt on the motorway and the car actually feels much quicker than the zero-60mph time sugggests.

If you seek petrol power the range offers drives in a 1.8-litre, 2.0-litre, and 2.5-litre formats, but none of them come anywhere close to the 2.0-litre oil burner's monstrous 244 lb ft of torque, so in real world driving the single diesel variant packs the biggest punch, and by some margin too.

Come the new year though, Mazda will extend the choice of diesel derivatives with a new 2.2-litre oil burner weighing in with 123, 160, and 184 bhp outputs. Handling: 'Zoom, zoom' is the mantra at Mazda, but there's little to suggest the '6 serves up anything close to genuine thrill 'n' spills. Yes, it corners OK, has shed loads of grip, and the steering is pretty sharp, but the whole thing is marred by the body control which is unsettled on fast back roads if the surface isn't brilliant. It's a pleasant enough drive though and is certainly one of the better large family/fleet cars.

Drive refinement:

The Mazda6 is better than average at most things, but doesn't excel at any. The chassis soaks up dodgy road surfaces well enough, and there'll be no complaints about the ride from passengers. Stay below the national limit and the sound insulation is good, too.

The gear box is pleasantly short and crisp with a good, manly weight behind it, and the same goes for the steering. Mechanically the car feels sound too, and overall there's very little owners will have to complain about.

Quality:

The sophisticated cabin is certainly one of the snappiest lookers in the fleet market, perhaps aiming to tickle the fancy of younger drivers more so than say, the Passat, with its mixture of cool ambience and fizzy styling.

On the whole it's well made, but the gear box casing will wobble if tested, and some of the storage compartment lids feel and look cheap.

Mazda haven't strayed a million miles in design terms from what buyers got in the old model, which is a touch dissapointing considering the new, razor sharp cut externally, but what's there looks fresh enough and has been laid out well.

The instrument binnacle is the most pleasing here, a joy to peruse at night where the blue and red backlights lend a sporty feel.

Space and Practicality:

The boot is a whopper with 510-litres of load, but the saloon version's small opening means fridge sized items won't get past the lip.

Inside the car there's plenty of room, although it perhaps feels a little more snug than a Mondeo, and the Passat dwarfs it.

Practically, Mazda have a sterling reputation for reliability, so the '6 shouldn't cause you much hassle for a good few years, although Mazda's 60,000 mile/three year warranty is nowadays pretty routine, and bettered by other manufacturers, like the Renault Laguna which gets a 100,000 mile protection.

Equipment:

Even the entry level Mazda offers credible levels of kit, with some bits and bobs that only a few years back would have only been available on the top spec cars by most manufacturers - automatic headlights and a stability control (DSC) on the S badge model among them. There's also a CD-player and 16 inch alloys as standard. The TS badge adds plenty more gubbins like climate and cruise control, trip computer; while the TS2 brings automatic wipers, fogs, electrically folding wing mirrors, and leather seats to the fray. It also runs on 18 inch alloys, but expect the ride to suffer with such large rims.

Safety:

All Mazda 6s come with ABS and all the other braking aids, plus there's dynamic stability control to stops out of control spins. Six airbags inside, although a four star NCAP crash score is dissapointing when other rivals, like the Laguna, have been offering a full five stars since 2001.

Prices:

£15,180 gets you behind the wheel of the 1.8 petrol in S trim which sounds very sensible, while the entry level oil burners comes in at £15,830. The range goes on up to £21,000 for the luxury SL - or sport luxury badged model - with the petrol TS model at £16,640, and the TS2 £17,840. Diesel power adds circa £800 extra per model.

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