MOTORNETNEWS  ROAD  TEST  -  JULY  2007

MAZDA6 DIESEL HATCH

The Mazda6 has almost been as big a success for the company as the very popular Mazda3.Thi is quite easy to understand as the car is a roomy, well-equipped large/medium vehicle with a comfortable and pleasant interior and an attractive and stylish exterior. By adding an economical and torquey diesel engine and keeping the price just over $38,000, Mazda has a winner. 

OUTSIDE:

There's no argument that the Mazda6 is an attractive car. The 'no-fuss' styling is complimented by solid 5-spoke alloy wheels, projector headlamps in slanted nacelles and with built-in fog lamps, wide lower air intake and body-coloured mirrors and door handles.

Even in 'company car white' the Mazda6 looked great! The wide panoramic rear window aids rear vision, the rear hatch has a 'sedan-look' about it and the taillamp treatment is extremely neat and visible from the sides.

The insulated bonnet doesn't have a gas strut but a rod - perhaps a bit of a penny-pinching omission in an otherwise luxurious and well specified car. The engine layout is neat and tidy and access is very good. The bumpers would do a fairly good job of protecting lights and panels.

INSIDE:

The black leather interior has a luxury feel and this is highlighted by the use of nicely grained, high quality plastic trim. Above the window line the trim is in a pleasant light grey that adds an airy ambience to the cabin. The leather-wrapped, fully adjustable steering wheel has remote audio system controls as well as the buttons for the cruise control. 

The hooded binnacle houses the instrument dials that have white lettering on black and the steering wheel cross bar is curved to provide maximum visibility. Audio and air-conditioning controls are neatly set into the centre console that has silver edging and silver rims on the controls. 

The front seats are very well shaped and comfortable and the driver's side has full electric controls with a three-position memory system.

There are door pockets with bottle holders, a covered bin on top of the dashboard, a good glove box and a two-tiered bin in the centre front armrest. There are two cup holders in the front consol and two in the rear centre  armrest. Twin covered vanity mirrors in the sun visors and and LCD display in the centre of the dash at the same height as the main instrument dials, completes the picture.

Head and leg room in front are very good and, while there is ample leg room for most adults in the rear seats the sloping roof line means that tall people will have to stick to the front compartment. The rear seats are very comfortable for two adults - the centre section is better suited to a small child.

LUGGAGE AREA:

Being a hatchback there is plenty of space for a family's luggage in the Mazda6. This huge area can be augmented by dropping the split fold rear seats to swallow an enormous amount of cargo. There is a good cargo cover to keep your goods out of sight and a light to help find things in the dark. 

The full sized spare (full marks Mazda) is well fixed under the solid, carpeted  floor and six tie-down lugs are provided. The rear seats can be released from inside the boot area as well as from inside the passenger compartment.

 The loading lip is quite a bit higher than the floor of the luggage area and would make it more difficult to lift heavy luggage or the spare wheel out.

ON THE ROAD:

The 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine develops 105kW but both power and torque are developed at relatively high revs which means the Mazda6 needs quite a few of them to get off the mark. Once moving, the effortless diesel gives excellent performance and economy - 6.3 litres/100kms on the highway and an overall average of city and country driving (a lot of it in quite steep mountain territory) of 7.2 l/100km. The diesel performs equally well trickling along in traffic as it does in 6th gear on the open road.

The 6-speed gearbox is very user friendly as is the light but positive clutch. Steering is quick and there is plenty of 'feel' although the turning circle , like many front wheel drive cars, is a bit wide at 10.8m. The ride is firm and rear seat passengers complained that it tended to be quite rough on broken surfaces. Handling was faultless and even very rough, potholed roads failed to upset the car's equilibrium and one stretch of gravel road with badly corrugated corners was taken in its stride. The excellent fog lights came into their own on a section of mountain road at night in quite thick fog.

The diesel engine did become noticeably noisy at times particularly if you used the engine revs to get sportier performance from the 6-speed box. Tyre noise on coarse bitumen was also noticeable but there was no wind noise. On smooth, hot-mix bitumen the car was whisper quiet.

PRICE:                    $38,205 Plus on-road costs (6-speed manual)) 

STANDARD:         Dual front, head & side airbags; ABS brakes with Brake Assist System & Electronic Brake Distribution; air-conditioning; 16"alloy wheels;  cruise control; central remote locking; 6-stacj CD player; fog lights;  engine immobiliser; leather upholstery and steering wheel; powered driver's seat; power mirrors, steering & windows; front seat belt pre-tensioners; premium sound system; traction control; trip computer; Xenon headlights. 

OPTIONS:                No factory options listed.