Test Drive - 2009 Mazda 6

by Rich Velardo

 

2009 Mazda 6, is it Still 6y?

     It’s new car time, one of my favorite times of the year and Mazda has a couple of new cars that we just cannot ignore. The cars I am speaking of would be the new, yes really new, Mazda 6i and Mazda 6s. If you recall the old Mazda 6 was a very nice car with sharp handling, good power with either the 6 or 4 cylinder engine and it had a nice interior with most of the niceties available in 2004. But in the intervening five years the 6 had begun to show it’s age and a new model was due, how would Mazda handle this important update?
     Magazine reviews have been very complimentary towards the new 2009 Mazda 6, ranking it up with, or above, the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry . Heady stuff for Mazda, and to find out for all of us if the 6 is still 6y, I headed to Wooster. Both the 4 cylinder 6i and the six cylinder 6s versions can be optioned as a Sport, Touring or Grand Touring with only the “i” available as a lowest level SV. Salesman Rick Preast set me up with three cars to drive, you’ll hear about the third car, an RX8 in a later report.
     As I first viewed the cars my impression was more than positive, these are great looking cars and I expect the styling to wear well over the years too. Looking at the front clip, you’ll immediately recognize this car as a Mazda, the tough shouldered front fenders and smiley trapezoidal grille make sure of that. Mazda has made a clear connection to the styling trends started with the RX 8 and carried on with the new 2009 Miata (oops, sorry that’s MX-5 isn’t it?). The windshield is laid way back to help create a streamlined and elegant look for these four-door sedans. With clean, strong and well-executed details this car has a distinctive yet clean look that simply exudes class and quality.
      As I walked around the car, admiring it’s fine fit and finish I popped the trunk open for a look see… and found a whole village of hobbits had taken up residence in there. Well not quite obviously, but the 16.6 cubic foot trunk is cavernous enough for four large sets of golf clubs and assorted golf beverages or at least four large suitcases. I also opened the hoods on both cars, finding both engine bays to be tidy and well laid out. The four-cylinder car actually had plenty of room to work on the engine, not so much room on the 6-cylinder car of course, but no worse than the competition.
     Ah yes, the engines. Both are new, the four cylinder engine is a 2.5 liter 170 HP unit that can be paired either with a 6 speed manual or 5 speed automatic transmission. With the manual expect better than the rated 20/29 mpg and the automatic will net 21/30 or better. Opt for the 272 HP 3.7 liter six-cylinder engine and you’ll only be able to get the six speed automatic transmission, which should return 17/25 mpg or better. Both automatic gearboxes can be shifted manually with the shift lever, no MX-5 Miata style shift paddles unfortunately.
     So at last we arrive at the driver’s door, open this and you’re greeted with up level looking interior materials and soft touch surfaces where your hands will touch. The nicely bolstered and comfortable seats can be covered in cloth, leather with cloth or leather, along with heat and power options for both front seats you can add 3-position memory for the drivers seat. Set the seat, adjust the steering wheel for tilt and distance from the driver and you’re ready to go for a ride. Not sure where you’re going? The navigation system is one of the nicer ones I’ve seen with a big screen and logical looking controls. But enough about the large interior, suffice to say that it more than measures up to the competition and let’s go for a ride.
     Both of my test cars had the advanced keyless entry system with the push button start, they also had a very slick blind spot monitoring system that looks for cars in your blind spots and sounding a warning when you flick your turn signal on if there’s a car hiding in the blind spot. I was shocked at how well this system worked and what a good idea this is. Touring and Grand Touring Mazda 6s can be Bluetooth compatible and all the other normal power accessories and comfort features such as a dual zone automatic heating system are available are available on both models.
     Well, I said to myself as I settled into the driver’s seat of the 4-cylinder car, “This is nice”. Then I pushed the start button, snicked the shift lever over to “D” and we were off… with the nagging thought that this four would not have enough oomph to move this large sedan with enough zoom-zoom to keep me happy. The set test route involves some highway and country driving that makes a good test run for Miatas and can trip up a slug. Note that I was still grinning when we got back from testing the 4-cylinder car, this is no slug. I could own this car and be happy. Dump the all season tires and get some serious rubber under this car and it would really be fun.
     But on to the big guns, offering another 102 HP for my fun and enjoyment, I was eager to take the six-cylinder car out. Oh my, can this car move, an informal timing found this to be about as fast as the RX8. It would take a set of good tires and a bit of suspension tweaking in order to make this a true sport sedan but it felt very, very close as is. Mazda could easily make a worthy successor to the Mazdaspeed 6 out of this car.
     In both cars the ride was well controlled and smooth. The four-cylinder car, being almost 300 pounds lighter, felt marginally more responsive to steering inputs and made me wonder if it was worth the additional $2000 for the six. I found the four to be slightly rough and grumbly and the six to be silky smooth by comparison. I’m in line to test the manual version 6i when one shows up, so stay tuned for that test. 
     Either version of the new 6 is head and shoulders above the old 6 in all areas except handling. Very nice Mazda, but… BUT… where’s the sport wagon? What a shame that there is no longer a wagon or hatchback 6 as the old Mazda 6 wagon was a nice piece and a sporty wagon on this new chassis would have so much potential. Oh well, I’ll save my dollars for the coming 2010 Mazda 3 wagon I guess.
     So yes, it’s still 6y, the new 6 is a very good car, and I mean that this is a challenge to Honda and Toyota good car. Stripper priced at a bargain $19,220 every option checked bumps the total to only $33,733.