Meet the new boss, almost the same as the old boss.
Refreshed for the 2016 model year, the Mazda6 has a revised smile, LED headlamps, and nine colors from which to choose. Meanwhile, the inside provides the driver with a first-ever-for-the-brand electric parking brake, minimized gaps between interior panels, and a 10 percent reduction in NVH levels on rougher roads, 25 percent on properly paved highways.
Motivation is reduced to one engine: the 2.5-liter four-pot capable of moving 184 horsepower and 185 lb-ft of torque to the front. Six-speed auto and manual transmissions make the connection possible.
Tech goodies include the Mazda Connect infotainment system and the automaker’s i-Activsense safety suite, which has features such as blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and smart braking.
Almost bought a 2014, great driving car, but only having the “black hole” interior available unless you buy the very top line model killed it for me.
The black lung and depressing gray interiors of today’s cars are getting really boring to my eyes.
Does anyone know if Mazda suddenly stopped offering the sand interior last year or something? I bought a base model with sand interior in spring 2013, and everyone acts like that was impossible…
Still available on the base model, at least in the US.
There’s not a sedan within 10k of this that has as nice an exterior or interior.
And for us troglodytes who don’t need brake assist or cooling cup holders we’ll be able to score a manual transmission 6 with an honest to God hydraulic clutch for 20k or even 18ishK.
Win, win, win, win & more win.
I’d really like one of these if I could just be persuaded that Mazda has actually addressed their rust problems. I think the 6 with a manual is a great package in all other aspects.
I’m heading into my 7th midwestern winter in a 2008 model that I wash about once a year. No rust so far. A lot of those old Proteges were starting to show rust after 5 winters.
2007 model, midwest as well with no rust.
The US made ones seem OK. The Japanese and possibly Mexican ones have been bad. I owned a 2005 Mazda 3 made in Japan which I sold before falling apart entirely. My Michigan made 2007 Mazda 6 holds up well so far.
I heard the 5 and other Japanese built ones are equally as bad as the 3.
Obviously I now avoid hit and miss companies. Don’t want to play Rusting Roulette……
Weird. My made-in-Japan 2008 Mazda3 still drives almost like new with 121k miles. Solid, few rattles or creaks, interior still looks great. At this rate I expect to drive it for at least another 100k miles without major drama.
Takes a long time to lose a reputation. What, ten, twenty years? Do people change their minds, or, die and be replaced by the younger who don’t remember things the old way?
The body panels will not perforate in normal situations in normal lifespans, say 6-10 years.
Items bolted to the unibody will quickly begin to rust, as they are not also galvanized, but tend to be out of sight from the curb. As on other modern cars.
I myself was shocked at the 2001 Protege in my garage back in the day, its fenders did bubble then perforate.
“Do people change their minds, or, die and be replaced by the younger who don’t remember things the old way?”
The latter, mostly.
I’m open to actual info that tells me that Mazda has improved materials and processes so that their corrosion resistance is no longer so much worse than industry average. It’s not rocket science – they just have to match what other manufacturers like VW/Audi do.
Here in Quebec Mazda rust isn’t just unpleasant rust stains around the wheel wells – they fail safety inspections and get sent to the junkyard prematurely. Not to mention that after four or five years every fastener under the car is essentially unremoveable. What should be simple suspension repairs become epic battles with broken bolts, drilling and re-tapping rusted bolt remnants or needing to replace additional parts like front subframes because they have broken bolts embedded in them in inaccessible places.
Been there, done that and not really interested in doing it again until I see some evidence that they have matched the industry in things like corrosion-resistance of exposed suspension fasteners.
Of course you don’t need brake assist. We are all above-average drivers. Given how great we all are at driving, we probably don’t need air bags or seat belts either. Ha.
Brake assist has been out for long enough for there to be actual useful data, and it’s pretty significant. Cars with brake assist get in far fewer accidents. It’s statistically significant. Unlike BLIS systems, which as of yet haven’t shown to be effective at reducing accidents despite being available for a longer time and in even more cars.
I remember reading about Volvo’s brake assist and how it tends to override the driver’s inputs and stop the car even though it would be perfectly possible to go around the obstacle, causing accidents, only not to the front of the Volvo but to the rear. I doubt that Mazda’s is much better.
Brake assist may be great for Distracted Debra and her ilk but I am fairly confident that most of us here pay enough attention to the road to not benefit from brake assists much. Conversely, I would guess that most of us would benefit more from a vehicle that follows our inputs accurately. And I won’t even get into the discussion about how brake assists make us expect the car to drive for us and indirectly encourage distracted driving.
And about the airbags, I know you were being sarcastic, but you were actually right. We do not need them, we just came to expect them by default. Our civilization has that peculiar habit of consdering everything that has become popular as something “needed”.
My S40 has been in an accident in Florida sometime around 2007. To this day, I don’t know whether there are any actual airbags in the car. If there were, it would be a pleasant surprise for me.
The red with white leather hearkens back to a brougham age, and is unsuitable for this modern Japanese sports saloon.
Then opt for the black interior.
Nice to see effort made in nvh too. I already thought it was the best looking inside and out. The manual available on all trim levels is also great. Improved infotainment should help a lot. If nvh is now class competitive, then I think I’m out of complaints. It’s almost like Mazda listens to it’s (potential) customers!
Look at that interior, simply gorgeous! Elegant without being derivative, modern without being gimmicky, truly a place I wouldn’t mind spending my morning and evening commutes. Other carmakers should take note.
Mazda promised it had taken care of the NVH problems when it was introduced. i hope they are telling the truth this time.
Part of the NVH problem was a window sealing issue in the 2014, that was addressed in the 2015. Much of the rest of the NVH comes down to tires, especially on the 19″ rims. Take off the lower-budget all-seasons it comes with and replace them with a quality set of Michelins and your NVH issues are gone.
Interior no longer looks like a high trim level mazda 3 so that’s a plus BUT the trend of “tablet infotainment screen” continues here…. it looks like you just want to rip it out of the dash.
Exterior,,,,looks the same…ugly snarly schnoz, butt looking front fenders, and 2011 sonata knockoff rear end.
Wheres this diesel we were promised 2 years ago?
The diesel is in the wagon we’re also not getting. Ever…
Good looking car, dissapointed they won’t offer their V6, the 2.5 is just adequate on the 3, No doubt the 2.5 would be pretty stressed on the bigger 6.
And again with the electric parking brakes, seriously? Why not just put a carburetor on it, just as counter intuitive.
It’s all dressed up with no place to go, where is the zoom-zoom?
…i believe mazda’s former MZI V6 was a shared ford duratec; now that they’ve split off, mazda needs to roll their own drivetrains for updated models…
I’m sure they still have rights to build it (after all, they still use it in the CX-9, and Ford still uses some Mazda-derived powertrains iirc).
It’s more about the tradeoffs that come from building a car large enough to accommodate a V6.
Sigh…Why don’t they throw the turbo 4 from the Speed3 in there?
Hyundai and GM also tried to go this NA 4-cyl only route with the Sonata and the Malibu, didn’t pan out. I guess people go to the dealer looking for the hi-po version and then somehow talk themselves down to the more pedestrian version.
Word is that they are developing a new turbo-4 for the CX-9 that will also go into a new Speed3. That should show up in 2016/2017 time period. If they never get the diesel sorted for the US, then it would reasonable to drop it into the 6 as the upgrade engine.
What’s with the trend toward WHITE seats? Can’t think of a more impractical color choice. I agree that lighter colors than black should be available, but WHITE? Really? How about tan/saddle, red maybe, light taupe possibly. But WHITE?
No different than the existence of crossovers, none of them are going anywhere dirty, and the lease will be up before the leather shows any normal use dirt.
I kind of like it, but I actually enjoy working on vehicles, and machines, and basically doing real work, those white seats wouldn’t last longer than two weeks being white in my hands.
It’s what happens when people constantly rag on grey/black interiors. Let’s face it, black/grey are the most practical for interiors. Mercedes has an almost white interior color, and I hate getting close to those cars, because they seem to get fingerprints on them from looking at them from 20 feet away.
Agreed, 10,000%, MBella. I’m not a fan of most grey interiors because they look dingy, but black or brown, especially with a lighter colored headliner, will hold up vastly better than white or beige.
Everyone I know with a beige or white interior does nothing but complain about how impossible it is to keep clean.
I’d gladly take a gray interior. All-black is too dark, and off-white will look filthy in no time. I’m also perfectly fine with a rich brown pallet.
http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l634/phytheaux/CosyVehicleImage.jpg
This. White will get so dirty if you actually use it, or have children.
Then why not just opt for the black interior if that will make you happy. While the two-tone almond/black interior looks sharp, it does require additional care. Some of us don’t mind.
That’s a better dashboard design. It finally looks like it was intentionally penned that way rather than being the by-product of an exhausted budget.
The gigantic wheels with ribbon tires on an 4-pot family sedan still kill me though. It’s just ridiculous.
The interior looks nice, but it seems like the priority was form over function. The center armrest looks useless. Too far back, and no longer adjustable.
” Motivation is reduced to one engine: the 2.5-liter four-pot capable of moving 184 horsepower and 185 lb-ft of torque to the front.”
That engine is all this generation Mazda6 ever had in North America, so there’s no reduction, but it sends, not moves, 184 hp to the front wheels (while exhibiting squawky aural distress at power peak in the one I sampled).
Surely these non-synonyms for the proper words, while sounding mildly hip, and at times creating completely misleading headlines, could be reserved for menus in artisanal-style vegetarian restaurants?
Please?
Very handsome interior – good looking car. Wish there was a different motor option beyond the 185 HP 4-banger.
As the old lady says in the Wendy’s commercial “wheres the beef” I have to ask Mazda “wheres the zoom”?
It’s still a possibility, but not for a while. The CX-9 replacement should be revealed next year, and whatever engine ends up powering that, whether it’s V6, I6, or turbo4, could end up in the 6.
Wagon version looks amazing. Please bring to North America! (with a decent engine… doesn’t even have to be diesel)
Will they still sell 17″ wheels on the base model? Or is it all madness from here on out?
I like the looks of this compared to the Accord. However its too slow, 0-60 in about 7.9 seconds. The Accord with similar HP is over a second faster, has a better clutch, reliability and resale value. However, if they had a manual in the upper trim models, I might buy one.