First Drive: Mazda 6

[Akash]

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(This is not an official review. The views are based on my driving experience of that particular rented car)

Mazda: A Japanese car company well-known for producing cars focused on towards driving pleasure and performance. The first company to have produced the powerful rotary engine (Wankel Rotary). A 1.3L block which pumped out enormous amounts of torque. With MX5, Mazda set a bench mark for the sports coupe/convertibles.

Fun facts:
Founded in 1920, this company had a pretty weird name. Toyo Cork Kogyo. Imagine yourself calling Mazda Miata as Toyo CORK Kogyo Miata. I am literally rolling on floor laughing!
The Company’s first automobile, (if 3 wheelers can be considered as a proper automobile) was a Go- autorikshaw.



Mazda became the sole manufacturer of Wankel-type Rotary engines for the automotive market. The engine which powered the legendary 1.3L RX8.
RX8: An engineering marvel with a 13L Rotary engine which produced close to 230 horses (227bhp).



Its review on Top gear on worth watching!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5FNjyaLfC8

Oh, was this supposed to be a review of Mazda 6 or a biography of the company!!
Relax, here we go.

 

[Akash]

Mazda 6


Lets look at the other cars of the segment.

Honda Accord


Toyota Camry


Nissan Altima


Kia Optima


Hyundai Sonata


Chevrolet Malibu

 

[Akash]

How it looks

The previous generation of the Mazda 6 had a safe styling. Not worth going crazy but at the same time, no one could possible hate it! Have a look by yourself.

First Gen:


Second Gen:


The 2015 Mazda 6


The latest generation, however, has some strikingly sharp features. I find them futuristic.
The first thing that you will notice about this car is the long nose. The bonnet stretches almost for a mile! It doesn’t look out of place, but definitely catches ones eye.
The modest smiley grill from the previous generation has been replaced with a big grin which now sports a split radiator grill. The chrome insert garnish that runs through the grill to the headlamp fills the awkward gap that would have existed otherwise. The project headlamps have been encased in what appears to be the furious looking eyes.

If you give a careful look to the front of this car, it seems to be having a huge smug smile on its face as if it’s trying to politely convey to its rivals: “I have got it all right, you can start worrying now!”

As you move to the side, you will notice that car appears to be quite long. Thanks to height of 111 inches and a length of about 191 inches, Mazda 6 might make a non petrol head assume that this is a luxury premium sedan.
The beefy muscular front fender gives way to the simple styling which flows till the back! The first look at the side profile gave me a feeling that the car has been focused towards better room for the rear passengers. The rear opens wide and gives way to the spacious seats that can easily accommodate 3.
Come to the back and the Mazda 6 continues to surprise with its appearance. Tail lamps sweep to the sides and I personally wont mind driving behind this car in traffic. A look at the pic below will make you understand what I mean by that!

 

[Akash]

How it drives?

The Good: Engine

The car I drove was a 2.5L, 184BHP, Skyactive engine. An utterly smooth engine with a slight grunt and thats what is the best part. On low revs, the car feels like a traditional mid-size sedan built to deliver good efficiency. However, as soon as you put your foot down, the car surprises you with its power which is accompanied by a musical grunt that definitely makes the drive an extra-ordinary one.

This is a fast car which offers a good fuel economy. Till date I have driven this car on quite a number of occasions. Each time, i averaged about 28-30miles/gallon (city traffic mostly). Now this is definitely an impressive figure from an engine, this big!


The Bad: Autobox

While everything seemed great about Mazda, as soon as I got on a highway, things started to feel a bit annoying.
I was driving the Automatic version and as soon as I put my foot down (hard), I discovered that the 6 speed automatic transmission isn't as intelligent as I had read about in many reviews. The shifts are laggy and the car takes a fraction of seconds to actually sense that there is a need to shift even after you have directed the car to move faster (read: after pressing the accelerator). I happened to drive a Mazda 3 a week later, and the story is just the same. The car had similar laggy gearbox. I am yet to drive a manual version, so cannot comment on that gearbox.

Overall, Mazda 6 is a wonderful car to drive (minus the annoyingly slow autobox).

 

[Akash]

How it feels to be inside one?




Cruise control settings


Central locking controls, window and mirror control


Easy to read instrument cluster


AC control (Auto AC on higher trims)


AC vents look great. The screen could have had less buttons like in Mazda 3


The welcome screen


The clock (extremely useful if have rented the car by hour)

Mazda 6 is a midsize sedan. Now bearing that in mind, I did not expect the interiors and the equipment levels to be top notch. However, I was impressed with way everything has been put together inside. Step into the car, and you will be welcomed by view of that awesomely grippy steering wheel. The wheel has the audio and phone connectivity controls. The instrument cluster is simple and functional. The displays are pretty neat. I loved the fact that the kmph readings on the speedo were distinctly readable unlike most of the other car where they are written in a microscopic font.
Additionally, you get a cruise control, push start, Bluetooth hands-free phone and audio capability, Satellite radio and many more feature for the price you pay for the car. I cant name each and every feature on the list, but the entire range of Mazda 6 gets decent features for its price.


Moving on the some of the centre of the dashboard. You get an dash integrated screen which has a bunch on menus on it. Although, most of the people are a fan of integrated screen, but I like the screen on the Mazda 3 better than on this car.
Below the screen are the Climate control knobs. Easy to use and reach.

The seats are comfortable, both in the front and the back. Although, I had an impression (looking from outside), that it might not be as spacious as an Accord, especially the head room at the rear which is a problem for a people over 6ft! I was wrong. The rear seats are a good place to be in a Mazda 6.

 

[Akash]

Summing up:

Good bits:

• Has the best in class looks
• Peppy engine
• Fuel efficient
• Fun to drive
• Japanese badge (which translate to reliability, good resale value)
• Good on equipment
• Reasonable pricing. VFM (Starts $21XXX)

Not so good bits:

• Laggy gearbox kills the fun
• Styling might not be appealing to everybody (especially not so young people)
• Ride quality could have been better (compared to Accord, Altima)

To conclude, I would strongly recommend this car to people looking for a reliable, fun to drive car in this segment. Another recommendation definitely would be to get a manual gearbox.

Pics:

 

[Akash]

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