The average family four-door sedan leads a pretty humble life.
It’s the commuter, the grocery getter, the taxicab that picks up the kids at the airport when they fly in from their university back East. When you grab those keys, it’s usually for a chore, not an adventure. Mazda would like to change that.
So, one of these days, you’ll get that Soul Red MX-5 you’ve been dreaming about. For right now, what about this? It’s Mazda’s mid-sized Mazda6, complete with four doors, four cylinders, an automatic transmission, and front-wheel drive.
Ordinarily, these are your elements of choice when baking a loaf of pure bland. They’re useful staples for the everyday, sure, but about as exciting as dry white toast.
Prepare to repel boredom. Somehow, Mazda’s engineers have managed to transform our mundane workaday requirements into one of the most fun-to-drive machines on the market.
Design
First off, the Mazda6 is easily the best-looking machine in its class. Perhaps it’s because everything is so cohesive. While other manufacturers take a single element like a massive grille and try to use it to liven up a bland profile, the ‘6 looks like it was designed as a whole.
From the (admittedly large) shield-shaped grille, the ‘6 seems to flow backward in a series of swooping curves. The headlights blend into the chrome of the grille itself, an effect that’s duplicated at the rear of the car.
Never mind Honda and Toyota: Lexus and Acura could do well to study this machine. It’s handsome without being overwrought, something you don’t often see in the current sea of hyper-aggressive machines on the road.
The one misstep, however, is the wheel sizing. The top-level GT model gets a set of 19-inch alloys that perfectly complement the stylish exterior. Despite the looks, this is a regular sedan, not a luxury car, and the average consumer is going to wince when the bill comes to replace these.
Environment
Unlike its exterior, the inside of the Mazda6 is more of an acquired taste. The ‘6 certainly has the dimensions to stretch out in, but while most of its competitors are open and spacious, the Mazda’s interior has a more cockpit-like feel, closed in around the driver.
If you like to drive, this is no bad thing. All the important controls are within reach, your fingertips just brush the paddle shifters with your hands at 9-and-3 o’clock on the steering wheel, and there’s even a heads-up display.
This last is just a thin piece of transparent plastic which looks a little cheap next to the rest of the in-cabin appointments. However, it functions very well.
If you’re looking at moving up to the ‘6 because your family is outgrowing an older Mazda3, everything should feel familiar to you here. Mazda’s rotary dial and touchscreen infotainment system works better than other, flashier systems, and you still get redundant physical controls for most functions.
Rear seat headroom is perhaps a little less than you’d find in something like a Camry, but the ‘6 offers essentially the same space front, rear, and in the trunk as any of its competitors. It just happens to drive better.
Performance
Only one powerplant is available with the Mazda6, a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine that makes 184 horsepower at 5,700 r.p.m. and 185 foot-pounds of torque at 3,250 r.p.m. There’s no V-6, and no turbocharged four-cylinder.
On one hand, the numbers seem a little disappointing: you get more horsepower from the sport version of the Accord, more torque from the turbocharged versions of the Fusion, and then there’s the V-6 Camry which is an absolute straight-line screamer.
It’d be nice to have the power under the hood to match the swoopy looks, but then again this is the company that builds the MX-5. Power isn’t everything – momentum is.
In that regard, the Mazda6 is just wonderful. It’ll handle all your day-to-day tasks as well as any of the standard fare, but then you get to uncork it on a weekend trip up the Sea-to-Sky, and the magic happens.
Like the MX-5, driving pleasure here is not about outright speed, it’s about the flow. Just as the exterior of this car all flows together into a cohesive whole, the driving experience is a sum that’s greater than the figures on the chart would suggest.
The steering is perfectly weighted, heavier than most Japanese brands would dare, and just a tad lighter than you’d get from the Germans. The six-speed automatic transmission is completely conventional, but has been programmed very well. It shifts quickly and accurately, and makes you wonder why other manufacturers are trying to make nine and 10 speed transmissions work.
The four, while not possessed of huge power, is a willing and relatively torquey engine. Low end response is good for a naturally aspirated offering, and sounds good when you rev it up.
Really though, the powertrain is just there to support the handling, which is excellent. It’s not just the grip, which is more than ample for public roads, but the way the ‘6 responds to transitions and sweeping corners. This isn’t about flogging a car to within an inch of its life, this is about having fun at sane speeds on a sunny day with the road rolling out in front of you. Sure, the Mazda6 has to be your weekday ride, but it can be your day-off grin-machine as well.
Features
The Mazda6 starts out at $24,695, with the GT model topping out about $10,000 above that. You can even get a manual in the top model, which is totally unique in the segment.
Fuel economy is very good. Official ratings are 9.1 litres/100 kilometres in the city and 6.7 l/100 km on the highway. My real world results were very close to those numbers.
Green light
Great looks; lively handling; upscale interior.
Stop sign
Nineteen-inch tires will be expensive to replace; more power should at least be an option.
The checkered flag
The extraordinary, ordinary family sedan.
Competition
Honda Accord ($24,590): Once, the Accord was the fun-to-drive choice for your four-door sedan. Then, it ballooned, chasing Camry sales with space and comfort.
Happily, Honda’s now managed to get the best of both worlds out of its mainline sedan. The Sport version is genuinely enjoyable, though a half-step behind the ‘6 for driver involvement, and there’s the option of a powerful V-6 if you’d like.
