Category: Large Family 
Price Range: £15,685 to £22,460
Sharp looks, fine handling, refined and well built.
Expensive, 2.5's lack of go.
Talented and refined 6 could vie for class best, depending on the diesel.
Surfing a wave of confidence, Mazda is fiercely proud of its independence from parent company Ford and is keener than ever to showcase its engineering prowess. Instead of sharing the S-Max platform on which the new Mondeo is based, Mazda redeveloped the underpinnings of the old 6.
Like the current 2 the 6 bucks the trend of new cars being heavier than the models they replace. And with the 6, Mazda is no longer drawing from the well of European design: instead the brand has, in its own words, rediscovered its Japanese roots.
Curvaceous lines are dropped for a sharper, more clinical approach. There are hints of the Honda Accord, Lexus LS and Mazda's own RX-8, which loaned the new 6 its muscular front wings.
As well as ignoring the new Mondeo for a potential floorpan donor, Mazda ignored it as a benchmark too. Instead the brand was keener to examine the VW Passat for perceived quality and the Honda Accord for its sporty drive.
The saloon and hatchback go on sale before the end of 2007, with the estate following in early 2008. Expect prices to be about £1,000 more than for a comparable first-generation 6. At first there will be three petrol engines - a 118bhp 1.8, 145bhp 2.0 and 168bhp 2.5 - and one diesel, a 138bhp 2.0-litre.
We expect the 6 to gain stop-start technology and intelligent energy recovering alternators in as little as three years; there could also be a successor to the hot 256bhp MPS.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Mazda Mazda6 Estate
wrote on 15 10 2006
wrote on 20 07 2006