Mazda6 Review & Road Test
October 9, 2009 by Karl Peskett
Mazda6 Review & Road Test
Solid build, solid performance, solid reputation
Model Tested:
- 2009 Mazda Mazda6 Diesel; 2.2-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel; six speed manual; wagon – $37,940*
Options:
- None fitted
Engine; gearbox; driveability; practicality
Ride a tad firm; no automatic option
CarAdvice Rating: 
The new MZR-CD diesel engine in Mazda6 – and let’s hope Mazda3 as well – is an absolute pearler. It’s quiet, smooth, and economical beyond belief. If every Japanese car company made a diesel like this, the Europeans would be mortified – and worried beyond belief. With this engine in the Mazda6 lineup, why would you even look at the petrol version?
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Mazda’s mid-sizer has had the magic diesel wand waved over it. Volkswagen, Skoda, Peugeot and Citroen have been doing this for years. The difference here, of course, is this is a Japanese car. The Japanese diesels in Australia haven’t really been all that flash. Toyota’s 3.0-litre, Nissan’s 3.0-litre, Mitsubishi’s 3.2-litre; they’re all a bit rattly, coarse and unrefined in comparison with their European counterparts – the word tractor comes to mind.
This turbo-charged 2.2-litre, though, is a revelation. Making 136kW at 4000rpm, the peak torque of 400Nm begins at 1800rpm and continues through until 3000rpm. There’s the usual initial lag, but being a manual you can account for it, so there’s a 2200rpm usable power band. It’s easily harnessed by the slick six speed gearbox, with close-ish ratios, and the light clutch means it’s a pleasure to throw the shifter around.
There’s been a few complaints about the lack of an automatic, and although it’s understandable, it’s probably only needed to capture sales from those who’d only option an auto – the manual is all you’d ever need.
Mazda Australia handed us the Wagon variant – there is a Diesel Sports Hatch as well – and although it’s still not as big as a Camry inside (even the Camry’s boot is bigger than the Mazda6 Wagon’s – 535 litres plays 510 litres) there’s enough room for most families, even those with older children. The shape of the wagon’s boot allows for higher loading, and the cargo blind, which can get in the way sometimes, can be easily removed.
Star Trekkers may be interested in the curious trim used throughout the cabin. Sure, it’s futuristic, but the “time-lapse night sky” feel is a bit odd. The neighbouring materials are very nice, though, with soft trim details and dashtop plastics that blend well. The wheel-mounted controls for the central information screen can take some getting used to, being less intuitive than necessary. The seats are comfortable, as you’d expect, and an ideal driving position is easy to find with plenty of adjustment on both seats and steering wheel.
The steering is nicely weighted, has good response and remains consistent throughout the lock, unlike the 6’s little brother the Mazda3. If there was a criticism, it would be that the ride is a little firm on broken tarmac, with a bit of jolting coming through. The pay-off, obviously, is the excellent handling on its 17-inchers at both low and high speeds. Combine that with decent brakes and you’ll find the Mazda6 is a dynamic performer.
But the reason you’d opt for this car over its petrol sibling is for fuel economy. The closest spec in petrol is the Classic Wagon. For a $1200 premium, you get 11kW more and, wait for it, 174Nm extra. The extra power for the extra money would be worth it alone, but with around town usage coming in at a tad under 7.0L/100km and an ADR figure of 6.0-litres/100km, it’s that fuel saving that makes it really worthwhile.
It’s this approach that sets Mazda apart. There are different schools of thought on how to spend less at the bowser, especially among mid-sized cars. Some manufacturers are opting for the most efficient petrol engines available. Others, like Toyota, are looking to the government for cash to spend on hybrid versions of existing mid-sizers. So if our tax is paying to save other people’s fuel bills, are we really saving in the end? An argument for another time, perhaps.
There’s another benefit with oil-burners. Mazda calls it “guilt-free performance”, referring to reduced CO2 emissions. The inherent thermodynamic efficiency from the diesel’s compression ignition means 30 per cent less CO2 is put into our breathing air. But the Mazda6 still offered brisk acceleration and punchy in gear performance – 8.5 seconds to 100km/h is moving in anyone’s books. No sacrifice there.
It’s not lacking in standard kit, either, with cruise control, dual-zone climate control, leather steering wheel, in-dash six-CD/MP3 and rain sensing wipers. The Mazda’s wipers are always alert, too, unlike some cars which need to have a bit of a kick start before the sensor picks up light rain.
The next step up is the Diesel Sports Hatch for $44,840 which gives you parking sensors front and rear, full leather interior, 18-inch wheels, electric front seats and premium Bose sound. Bearing in mind that Honda’s Accord doesn’t offer a wagon, hatch, or a diesel engine, if you want choice, Mazda’s got it covered. The surprise is that only five per cent of the Mazda6 range are diesel models. It should be a lot more.
Safety isn’t skimped on either, with six airbags, including two curtains, ESC, ABS and active front head restraints – certainly worthy of carrying the family.
Probably due to household budgets being squished, the Mazda6 range didn’t sell as well as last year (around 1300 units less for the same time period) however it deserves to be seriously considered. It’s built well, it performs brilliantly, and it even looks smart doing it. There are plenty of rivals vying for attention, but with the brilliant MZR-CD engine, there’s even more reason to whack the Mazda6 diesel on your shopping list.
Ratings:
CarAdvice Overall Rating:
How does it Drive:
How does it Look:
How does it Go:
Road Test the Rivals:
- Ford Mondeo (from $32,990*)
- Skoda Octavia (from $35,790*)
- Volkswagen Jetta (from $37,790*)
- Toyota Camry (from $34,500*)
- Honda Accord Euro (from $42,990*)
- Peugeot 407 (from $47,990*)
*Pricing is a guide as recommended to us by the manufacturer.
Specifications:
- Engine: 2183cc DOHC four-cylinder (16 valve)
- Power: 136kW@3500rpm
- Torque: 400Nm@1800-3000rpm
- Induction: Common-rail direct injection, turbocharged
- Transmission: Six-speed manual
- Driven Wheels: Front
- Brakes: Discs with ABS, EBA & EBD
- Top Speed: Not Tested
- 0-100km/h: 8.5 seconds
- CO2 Emissions: 159g/km
- Fuel Consumption: 6.0L/100km (ADR)
- Fuel Tank Capacity: 64L
- Fuel Type: Diesel
- ANCAP Rating: Five-stars
- Airbags: Front, Side & Curtain
- Safety: ESC with Traction Control
- Spare Wheel: Full-size
- Suspension: Double wishbone (F) / Multi-link (R)
- Cargo Capacity: 519L
- Tow Capacity: 1500kg (Braked)
- Turning Circle: 11.0m
- Warranty: Three years / 100,000km
- Weight: 1620kg (Tare)
- Wheels: Alloy 17 x 7.0-inch
Nice machine. An auto option would add to appeal.
Nice wagon but the lack of legroom in the rear is a bit of a concern!
I dont understand the lack of rear legroom?
Sure its not the acres of space like in a statesman, but I regularly put 6ft passengers in the back of my M6 hatch without any complaints
Well apart from knocking their heads on the pillar on the way in (hatch/sedan), I cannot believe that all would be riding in comfort. With the front seats reasonably pushed back like one would if travelling distance, the rear knee room is limited as evident in the pic above. Perhaps its just me used to larger cars?
maybe try riding in one instead of judging by a pic
technically the 6 is a medium car not a large car
despite being within inches of the falcon dimensions.
400Nm of torque and 6.0L of diesel per 100km is pretty impressive.
So is a HUGE Aussie 6 Falcon Wagon on LPG! :-)
Larger, more grunt, cheaper to buy AND RUN and RWD!
Beat That!
“Beat That!”
All you have done is give a description of what a taxi is…need I say more. Also the Mazda 6 diesel does have more in gear grunt than the Taxi.
Compare the figures a little closer to get the real facts
Mazda 136kw – taxi 156km
Mazda 400Nm – taxi 370Nm
Mazda 1620kg – taxi 1745Nm
Mazda 6 lt/100km – taxi 15.1 lt/100km
Mazda 156gm CO2 per km – taxi 244gm CO2 per km
Mazda 7.5/10 Green Vehicle rating – taxi 5/10
while its too early for the 3 year resale figures to available, the rest of the mazda 6 range score 60-63% resale while the BF3 scores 47%
Mazda 5 star safety – taxi 4 star
Mazda 6 airbags – taxi 2 airbags (side thorax airbags are an extra cost option and curtain airbags for the kids in the back are not available at all)
and the HUGE falcon is no more than an inch or two bigger than the mazda in almost every measurement.
The choice is simple.
(if you want to see how LPG can be efficient check out what hyundai and kia are doing with their LPGs and modern technology)
Whoah! I want to go for a ride in the taxi with 1745Nm of torque!
You forgot that Australia is much better endowed with LPG as compared to diesel.
Fuel security goes to the Taxi!
Seriously nice looking wagon the Mazda, I’d love it with my the ZF in my ‘taxi’. An FG XR6 wagon with next year’s LPG updates, even better… oh, it’s only Mondeos or BF3’s? Score another for the Mazda!
Golly, a tough task, but I’ll give it a go. Let’s see…the lovely grey vinyl seats are a stand-out, as is the vertically mounted spare wheel with vinyl cover. The semi-elliptical rear springs will make it better for towing and everything aft of the windscreen is interchangeable with a 1998 AU Forte, except for the Navman suckered half way up the windscreen directly in the driver’s line of sight. I think I’ll stop there. The Mazda is obviously beaten.
Rear vision goes to the 1998 AU update, easily. You forgot that.
Overseas Mazda offer this car – the 2.2L TDI, in 3 grades. The reviews point to the middle option as better than this despite having less power and torque. The rationale is it has a lot less turbo lag. Net result is it isn’t as fast but much easier and more relaxing to drive. Not waiting, waiting, turbo spooling then whack! A 400 NM surge of torque and in the blink of an eye, it’s time to change gears.
Another negative is the 10,000KM service intervals. Most, if not all euro’s have stretched it out to 15,000, a bit of a hidden cost.
No auto will compromise on sales. I’m sure a lot of people would make the stretch to the 6 TDI over the likes of the Cruze if it wasn’t for this short-coming.
Karl, did you test this on some mountains?
No doubt it would be a spot of fun to boot it in the hills.
Hi Simon.
Yes, it was fun to punt in the hills. Third gear, spooled up, there’s heaps of grunt.
Cheers,
KP
That 400 NM is equivalent to an M3(just saying). This is a really nice family hauler, but if the boot is that small i wonder if form has taken priority over function. If the Mazda cant beat he humble cardigan-mobile for boot space then thats really odd.
Boot is small Shak? What the… For information the 510L mentioned (actually the figure mentioned in the article is for the sedan, the wagon is actually 519L) is only the area UNDERNEATH the cover with the rear seats up (ie only about half way up to the roof). Take the rear cover out (quite easy to do) and there would be much more space. Also of note that area under the cover is larger than the boot of a VE Commodore sedan. Not to mention both the Mazda 6 sedan and hatch have a larger ‘boot’ than a VE Commodore (496L). Also the ‘cardigan-mobiles’ Camry/Aurion/Avalon have had one of the largest boots in the country for quite a few years (the current Falcon only equals it). Not surprising with a backside like that!
So if it is ‘odd’ that the SMALLER 6 has a smaller ‘boot’ than the larger cardigan mobile, what would you call the even smaller boot in the LARGER again Commodore?! :-)
Yes, auto please Mazda. Or better still, a DSG type gearbox!
BMW style DSG or ZF Auto. VW DSG is jerky and slow off the line. Otherwise – exceptional.
After-thought. The ZF is probably only suitable for RWD. But imagine a RWD 6 with the ZF and this engine.
The 6 speed auto from the wide-bodied Mazda6 sedans in the US with the ford/ Lincoln 3.7 V6 must come close to the ZF
I wonder how badly Mazda is going to botch up the next Mazda6 with one of those big smiley faces.
Yes please keep the smiley face away from this
Test drove one of these earlier in the year and liked it a lot. My biggest criticism would be the turbo lag below 1800rpm, but above that, this car really gets up and goes. In gear acceleration is excellent and it’s a stronger performer than say a Skoda RS TDi, but there’s not much in it. Rear seat legroom is a bit tight, especially when compared to the new Liberty which now has heaps of rear leg room. For a wagon the car handles nicely and it also stops well. If I bought one I’d get a diesel tuning module to help reduce the turbo lag and improve the top end.
The problem with this engine is not the top end, it’s the lack of low rpm torque. This is why the likes of Pajero and Prado have 3 and 3.2L 4 cylinder diesels but similar torque output to this, much smaller capacity engine. The Torque spread on the bigger engines is a lot flatter i.e. more punchy low end. This is the trade-off of hi-po diesels. They can be built to go fast but you need to keep them on boost high in the RPM range.
Wouldn’t the Renault Laguna Wagon be a rival?
If you’re talking about good cars then no sorry. I’m sure its nice to look at and the quality is good but I couldn’t buy one simply because of the way it drives (eg not well). Sorry!
Rivals – Skoda Octavia TDI Combi (2.0TDI if you want more value or the RS TDI if you want more sportiness or the Scout – give me the RS), Ford Mondeo wagon (the diesel is soon apparently), and maybe the Subaru Outback Diesel (until the Liberty Diesel arrives anyway) but with a face and interior plastics like that it’s just not worth it!
A Commodore 3.0L has 290Nm of torque at 2900rpm and use 9.3L/100.
A Falcon 4.0L has 390Nm of torque at 3250rpm and uses 10.5L/100.
A Mazda6 2.2D has 400Nm of torque at 1800rpm and uses 6.0L/100.
The UK Caravan Club Towcar of the Year Award for the £20,000 to £25,000 Class
Winner was: Mazda6 2.2D Estate TS2
“With a flexible engine, bags of low-down torque and a six-speed gearbox that is not only good to use but well mated to the engine, it’s no surprise this is a very worthy class winner. Towing 1347kg, the good-looking estate car romped up the long 14% hill in third gear and tackled a 17% stop-and-restart quite easily. A super car at a great price.”
How about doing a comparo with Suby Outback Diesel?
Does this car has a sunroof option?
If Top Gear’s opinion of the Subaru boxer turbo diesel is anything to go by, the Mazda 6 will wipe the floor with the Subey performance wise unless the new model has a completely new engine when/if the diesel is finally released here. An interesting thing I have found in research is that comparing exterior dimensions the new Outback is larger in every dimension except front and rear track, yet the 6 has a larger load area in the back with the rear seats up as well as folded down.
Would be an interesting comparo.
Wow, great review.
What a great looking wagon and power to boot….well done Mazda
wHat about a V9 Magna?
What about it?
Sounds like an excellent car and engine, but seems expensive compared to the 308 Touring.
Terrible star trek styling aswell…
sounds cheap compared to the 407, $10 050 cheaper
Can’t wait for the Mazda3 2.2!
Reading tests in the UK, its 7.9 sec to 100km/h in the top spec one.
Though I can’t help but get this feeling we’re gonna get screwed on the specs. Either we won’t get the top one or it’ll be $39,990 or something stupid like that.
Come on Mazda how about a nice 6 speed auto to compliment that sweet Turbo diesel. The Euro’s ans Koreans can match an Auto with a Diesel.
I would like to see a Mazda6 Classic Manual Diesel Hatch.
The current diesel hatch is expensive.