Mazda 6 review and buyer’s guide
The Mazda 6 is a smart, affordable and practical family sedan and wagon with lots of modern features, an elegant cabin and capabilities that rival any medium or small SUV. Popular doesn’t always equal better and Mazda 6 proves that.
The Mazda 6 is an excellent value, well-equipped and luxurious medium sedan which also offers a wagon body for SUV-rivalling luggage space and versatility. The sedan is also quite nice to look at.
Many people buying a medium SUV might be surprised at just how much space is available in the boot and in the cabin of a Mazda 6. To then drive one and realise how many features it gets - for the price - it represents a saving of thousands with very little in the way of compromise.
If you’re shopping for a Toyota Camry or Hyundai Sonata, perhaps a Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage or Mazda CX-5, it’s worth taking a look at the Mazda 6 if you also want a vehicle that’s a nice to drive as it is good value for money.
Mazda sold just over 1500 units in 2023, which was about one Mazda 6 to nine Toyota Camrys (10,000 units sold in 2023). But Camry makes a large portion of sales to the fleet sector, so it’s hardly a fair fight. And the Skoda Octavia was only about 100 sales behind Mazda 6.
This vehicle has been updated five times in the last eight years, including minor external tweaks. But is it irrelevant in the current market infatuated with SUVs? Not necessarily. Does that mean there’s a chance Mazda could cease making or selling it here in the short term? According to Mazda Australia:
We will continue to build Mazda6 in Japan for Australia and some other markets. This also remains unchanged for its local assembly in Vietnam.
What works in favour of the Mazda 6 is the nature of it being smaller and therefore cheaper to produce than, say, the CX-8 large 7-seat SUV which ceased to continue being on sale at the end of 2023. There are still sales to be had that are worthy of keeping the 6 around. And Mazda has the capacity, clearly, to keep making and selling it here with 1500-odd sales per year.
Mazda Australia acknowledges the 6:
…was our best-selling model behind the Mazda3 in the mid-2000s…
but
Mazda6 retains a loyal following of fans
Generally speaking, a car brand having fans usually means one of two things. Either the company A) doesn’t have the capital to continue making the vehicle and has to let that product go; or B) those fans are currently making them enough profit to justify keeping that product going.
The Mazda 6 has a longevity and practicality in its elegance, simplistic layout and functional design. There are 10 possible combinations divided by two body styles - the sedan or wagon - with 5 models grades for each.
FEATURES AND PRICING
Putting to one side the wagon versus sedan discussion for a moment, let’s look at the highlight features you get in each respective variant of Mazda 6, starting with the base model called:
SPORT (G25): $40,700 driveaway (approx.)
manually adjusting cloth seats, electric heated & auto-folding door mirrors, 3 x USB charging (2 front/1 rear)
push-button start, rear parking sensors, tyre pressure monitoring
lane-keeping, auto emergency braking, blindspot & rear cross-traffic detection, driver attention warning
Adaptive cruise control, head-up display, paddleshift
8-inch hands-free infotainment screen, satnav, Android Auto/Apple CarPlay (cabled), DAB+
Dual-zone climate control, auto wipers, LED headlights & taillights, auto high beam
17-inch wheels, space-saver spare wheel
The sedan has an impressive array of equipment that makes it entirely relevant to the modern world of busy commuter traffic, stop-start city driving, suburban school drop-offs and even a bit of regional touring.
Roof rails offers versatility in the form of roof racks and luggage pods, there’s good legroom and headspace, the boot is generous, and the cabin is refined, quiet and functional without being an agricultural plastic factory.
And without engaging in motoring journalist gushing, the Mazda 6 is a fairly pretty vehicle to look at, from all angles. It certainly looks as well placed in a corporate carpark as it does the school yard taxi rank. End of platitudes.
TOURING (G25): $45,500
LED daytime running lights
Premium BOSE sound system
Leather seats
Proximity key
Front parking sensors
Front seat electrical adjustment
GT SP (G35): $54,100
2.5-litre turbo petrol 4-cylinder
Heated seats (front & rear)
ATENZA (G35): $57,700
Nappa leather
Ventilated (cooled) seats
7-inch digital driver screen
360-degree camera
Heated steering wheel
Sunroof
Frameless rearview mirror
The Atenza makes a good case for skipping on the equivalent CX-5 Akera which is only $1000 more, but really only gets on-demand all-wheel drive as the primary differentiator. More on this in a moment.
Then there’s the 20th anniversary edition which gets two special paint colours (‘Artisan Red metallic’ or ‘Rhodium White’) and 19-inch alloys, plus leather headrests with the 20th anniversary Mazda 6 wreath embossed into them. The leather is also tan coloured with suede inserts. And the requisite badging on the outside.
The 20th Anniv. special is $2000 above the standard price of the Atenza, making it effectively less than $60 grand for a BMW 3-Series or Mercedes C-Class - only without the nightmare of visiting a Mercedes dealership for your annual service.
There are a couple of reasons a Mazda 6 outclasses the CX-5, particularly in the context of the 20th anniversary model. The cooled rear seats are the main victory for value-hungry consumers who need their new car for a medium-size family to do everything pretty well.
There’s no such thing as the perfect car, so let’s see what Mazda gets right, and then look at the drawbacks.
INTERIOR
It’s important to consider legroom when buying a new car because of the nature of having to use the vehicle every car and be suited to it. If you’re fully able-bodied and getting up and down isn’t a struggle, getting into and out of a Mazda 6 is going to be easy. Wheelbase is the main metric we use to look at cabin space, particularly occupant legroom.
The Mazda 6 wagon and sedan have a wheelbase of 2.75 metres, which is actually 50mm longer than the CX-5. And given that modern cars (especially ones from mature car companies like Mazda) are designed to accommodate the 90th percentile human body shape. So you will absolutely be able to find the correct, comfortable driving position in a Mazda 6, just as in a CX-5.
And sitting in the Mazda 6 cabin is just as plush as a CX-5
The electric steering rack is perfectly balanced between being weighty enough to appreciate tipping it into a mountain road’s sweeping bends, and using the tiniest of inputs to change lanes and perform low-speed parking manoeuvres.
Everything you need to use and operate is conveniently located either at your fingertips, or within easy reach. It’s rare you get any washout reflections on either the main infotainment screen or the driver’s display, and there are very few materials likely to send laser-like beams of sun straight into your eyes by refracting of an endless patchwork of chrome and piano black plastic.
The centre transmission tunnel feels practical in terms of the slide-back cupholder roll-top which feels robust and like it will actually last. The centre console is spacious enough without being capable of swallowing your whole arm. And the location of everything is damn-near perfect as well - the cupholders aft of the screen control dial, the transmission selector unimpinged by either your phone in the cubby forward or anything behind it.
The seats are very comfortable, even after an hour or more of driving, the visibility is quite good despite what some people would wrongly think as being ‘too low to the ground’, and it’s actually quite clever of Mazda to stick the door mirror on the actual door (rather than in the corner of the window) meaning you can glance below the A-pillar at the road as you navigate tight mountain roads.
It’s also nice to see Mazda put only the most pertinent functions in buttons on the steering wheel, and everything is located on the correct side. Audio/visual/entertainment on the left (where those things are also located on the dashboard), and all critical vehicle driving functions like cruise control and radar distance adjustment etc.
If you want to understand why Mazda’s infotainment screen, operated using the rotary dial and button binnacle setup, works really well, listen up. It’s about what your brain can process - and cannot process - while the vehicle is in motion, or at least while it’s ‘in drive’.
Hand-eye coordination is a remarkably complex thing and without getting to deep into it, basically, Mazda’s, system ultimately reduces the amount of cognitive demand. See, the more demand placed upon your brain, the harder it has to work to process information. Not only does this accelerate fatigue, it also increases distraction - because your brain is trying to remain attentive of all the different potential threats, matters of importance and aspects of survival. We’re mere mammals after all.
What Mazda’s rotary dial does is it limits how much your brain has to process locating and selecting an icon on the screen, in order to perform a task. Say you need to quickly pull up a map, or perhaps adjust something in the sound system - like turn down the hideous bass which the last driver cranked up.
Using the dial means your brain does not have the spatial distraction of trying to put your finger on a certain icon on the screen. You can take your time in scrolling the cursor to the correct icon by rotating the dial left or right, and when you’ve found what you need, simply pushing the button selects that icon.
Once you train your brain, rather quickly it must be said, this process becomes dead easy. And while some might argue it’s an old design which Mazda incorrectly stuck to years ago, think of it this way. Even in the most modern fighter jet, the F-35, or the most modern airliner like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, there are no touchscreens requiring pilots to smoosh their fingers into.
Your eyes can locate every critical function with one quick glance, if any at all
It’s also nice of Mazda to leave the i-Stop deactivation button on the dashboard just above your right knee with a tiny green LED illuminating when it’s on, and going off so you know when it’s off.
It’s also worthy of appreciation the fact Mazda has left buttons and dials on the HVAC control panel which simple iconography you can read (white text on black buttons), including the fact the panel is mounted underneath the dashboard facia, meaning it doesn’t get bathed in reflective sunlight and doesn’t become impossible to read.
The surprising lack of LCD screen-related features and icons is actually quite refreshing from the in-your-face approach by other carmakers. If you’re someone who appreciates good design, there’s a lot to like sitting in a Mazda 6. And we haven’t even gotten to the boot yet.
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ENGINE
There are two engines in the Mazda 6 in the same way as the CX-5 - in fact they’re the same engines. The 2-litre naturally-aspirated petrol 4-cylinder is available in the Sport and Touring. It’s an adequate engine that performs quite nicely, making 140kW at 6000 revs, and in the Touring has a power-to-weight ratio of 92.4 kW per tonne. The Touring CX-5 uses the same engine, makes the same power, but only gets 84kW per tonne.
The 2.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine is the premium engine and it makes a bristling 173kW and it’s available as early as 4750RPM. That’s 23 per cent more power available 29 per cent sooner in the revs compared with the 2-litre. But it’s also a much better performer than the CX-5.
A CX-5 Akera with the 2.5 turbo-petrol has the same amount of power (same engine) and it’s available at 5000 RPM, so slightly later than in the 6. But the power-weight ratio is 93kW per tonne - 11 per cent less than the Mazda 6.
So in terms of performance, it’s better in a Mazda 6 than in the equivalent Mazda SUV, and that’s not where the advantages end here. Fuel economy is also specifically better in either the sedan or the wagon. See, because the wagon’s kerb weight maxes out at 1629kg, and the sedan at 1622kg, that 2.5-litre engine can move the vehicle with fuel economy 7 per cent better than the CX-5 Akera.
This is because the CX-5’s kerb weight in Touring form gets the 2-litre engine (like the 6) and weighs in at 1659kg (which is 2 per cent heavier), but then when you step up to the Akera with the 2.5, the weight goes up another 4 per cent to 1730kg. That top-spec CX-5 is now more than 6 per cent heavier than the sedan and the wagon.
The 58-litre tank takes 91 RON fuel in the CX-5 but is actually bigger at 62 litres in the 6. So the performance is better, the weight is lower and the fuel economy is better in the Mazda 6. So does it change gear and drive any better or worse than the CX-5?
TRANSMISSION
The gearbox in Mazda 6 is a smooth-shifting, well-calibrated six-speed epicyclic automatic. Paddleshift is available on the base model Sport and it’s quick enough without being a Ferrari, and it makes touring and driving that little bit of fun without being anything pretentious or overly sporty like an i30 N.
The advantage of Mazda’s automatics is they’re great to drive in both stop-start traffic and out on the wide open road.
FUNCTIONALITY
The luggage space in the Mazda 6 wagon is particularly compelling because you get the same amount of carrying capacity, only you’re loading your equipment down into the boot, not scuffing the rear bumper trying to get things up and across.
In terms of specific volume, the sedan has 474 litres and the wagon has 506 litres, so 6 per cent more in the wagon (obviously), but what is equally impressive is how it compares to the best in the medium SUV segment.
The best a CX-5 can offer is 436 litres - so 8 per cent less than even the sedan, and 13 per cent less than the wagon. The only metric in which a CX-5 bests either Mazda6 body configuration, is 200mm of ground clearance versus 165mm in the 6, which is only a 20 per cent difference. Or, in more relevant terms to you, it’s 3.5 centimetres. That’s the only tangible difference.
Mazda 6 wagon is 4.8 metres long, so shorter than anything in the large SUV category, and only 225mm longer than the CX-5 - that’s just 22.5cm. So you can’t rationally try to suggest it’s going to be any harder to park than a typical medium SUV. But it will absolutely be more practical.
Then when it comes time to drop the rear seats because it’s Christmas time and you need to convert into sleigh mode, 1648 litres is at your disposal. You’ll get just over 1 metre of space between the wheelarches, which is about the same as you’ll get in most medium SUVs also.
The cargo blind is quite a clever design and largely unappreciated piece of kit.
Under the bot floor is a temporary space-saver spare wheel in all variants, sedan or wagon.
MAIN COMPETITORS
There are two kinds of competitors for the Mazda 6, and admittedly they do outsell it. Both the medium SUV and the Toyota Camry
TOYOTA CAMRY: $34-47K (before on-road costs)
If your medium sized family demands safety, decent comfort and five seats, Toyota Camry is a default choice, however boring it might be. You get:
Hybrid or combustion-only powertrain; good fuel economy
full-size spare wheel
five seats, 2 x ISOFix anchor points for child restraints
Leather seats in higher model grades
Big boot with 524 litres
Base model has radar cruise, DAB, 6 speakers, LED running & tail lights, 17-inh alloys
Weighs: 1655kg approx.
You don’t get: All-wheel drive or decent towing capacity
SUBARU SPORTWAGON: $51-59K (before on-road costs)
A practical, performance five-seater that goes like stink and sticks to the road. You get:
492 litres of boot space, more than many midsize SUVs; 1430 litres w/ rear seats down
All-wheel drive is ideal for wet roads, frosty conditions, gravel or dirt roads
Full-size spare wheel
Punchy 2.4 turbo Boxer engine and refined CVT
Very comfortable seats, incl. 2 x ISOFix anchor points
Slightly firm ride makes it really nice to drive
Weighs 1654-1660kg (kerb)
You don’t get: Powertrain choice, much towing capacity
HYUNDAI SONATA: $55K (before on-road costs)
Family-sized performance that does all the functional stuff an SUV can do, with exception to ground clearance. You get:
Generous 510L boot beats most midsize SUVs
Modern with good safety, quality, reliability and practicality
Dual-clutch auto transmission is quick
2.5L turbo petrol offers bang-for-your-buck
Plenty of legroom; more wheelbase than most medium SUVs
Weighs less than 1700kg
You don’t get: all-wheel drive, or a diesel engine option
KIA SPORTAGE
Ideal for families that do a bit of everything like camping, regional trips, commuting or perhaps work-related client travel. Sportage has:
Good luggage space 543L / 1829L (rear seats down)
Full-size spare
Ample legroom for growing kids & booster seats
Moderate 1900kg braked towing capacity
Torquey, reliable 2.0-litre turbo-diesel option is frugal
All-wheel drive (w/ diesel only); FWD petrol budget option
Weighs: up to 1813kg
Doesn’t get: Any performance powertrain
MAZDA CX-5
A very nicest midsize SUVs to drive with luxurious cabin and five seats with decent legroom, and adequate luggage space. CX-5 gets:
A punchy 2.5-litre turbo-petrol engine (or diesel option)
On-demand all-wheel drive
Good resale value
Plenty of model grades for various budgets
Reasonable towing potential, with either diesel or standard petrol powertrain
438 litres of luggage space, 1340 litres (rear seats down)
Weighs: up to 1730kg
Doesn’t get: permanent all-wheel drive; full-size spare wheel (space-saver only)
MITSUIBISHI OUTLANDER
Offers both midsize SUV compactness with cut-price 7-seat ability on a tight budget.
2.5-litre petrol engine: naturally aspirated, good enough, frugal, a bit bland
Legroom is okay in front and second rows
On-demand Super All-wheel Control system is decent in light mud, wet grass, steep slippery driveways or in heavy rain.
Mitsubishi offers a 10-year warranty (conditional)
Third row seats (kids only)
Plug-in hybrid powertrains optional
Weighs:
It doesn’t get: any diesel engine option for towing, full-size spare wheel
CONCLUSION
The Mazda 6 is a smart, elegant and surprisingly practical front-wheel drive family sedan or wagon that can happily outperform most medium SUVs in most aspects of daily driving tasks. And Mazda has not only kept it modern and fresh, it also built it from the beginning with the intent to see it remain relevant, reliable and nice to drive.
It’s hard to find faults with the Mazda 6 beyond the mere drawbacks in the nature of conventional cars overall. They being, slightly harder to get into and out of, and the perception of being lower to the ground and therefore having lesser visibility. Both of these aspects are fixable for most people by adjusting the seat correctly and simply staying fit - generally speaking.
While Mazda 6 won’t win awards for ground clearance and it might occasionally stuff the stone tray on the odd shopping centre carpark buffer, it absolutely will not lure you into thinking it’s some kind of cut-price wannabe off-roader that is just waiting to be unleashed - because that’s often the dream sold to you about SUVs.
More than this, the Mazda 6 offers better outright performance and fuel economy than bigger SUVs using the same or similar engines. This is a fundamental advantage to sticking to normal cars.
The sedan remains a more efficient mode of transport and the wagon remains more practical, than the medium SUV crowd. So if you want to get good value out of buying your next new family car, consider one of the better examples in the Mazda 6.
Not only will it be cheaper to run, it’ll always look the part and walk the walk.
Toyota RAV4 is the best-selling medium SUV in Australia, offering good resale value and envious fuel economy. If you need an enormous boot and a simple, functional family vehicle, RAV4 is hard to beat.