Stunning Mazda6 flagship

Test Drive by Graham Breeze

The SUV revolution has been hitting the saloon and tourer market so Mazda has given its flagship 6 a stunning overhaul.

The new look Mazda6 arrived in showrooms this week with a stylish new look, an up-market interior and a 25-model range boasting a choice of four trim levels.

And as well as enhanced technology there’s the UK debut of Mazda’s cylinder deactivation SKYACTIV-G 2.5 litre petrol engine and 2.2 litre diesel benefitting from a power upgrade to 184ps.

With prices from £23,195 to £33,585 the range features SE-L Nav+, SE-L Lux Nav+, Sport Nav+ trim and the 2.5 litre SKYACTIVE-G engine which should keep both the private and business buyers happy.

And while other manufacturers are determined to head down the electric and hybrid route Mazda remains dedicated to running on fresh air. All thanks to a cylinder deactivation system with the direct-injection four-cylinder engine switching seamlessly between four and two-cylinder operation improving economy at little if any cost to performance.

A new grille with the mesh positioned deeper makes the new Mazda6 stand-out from the previous model and the sleeker look combines nicely with cleaner rear bumper styling on both saloon and tourer models.

New Mazda6 sits proudly on a set of very attractive new alloys and you’ll be hard pressed not to fall head over heels for the all-new soul red crystal metallic paint job which fits perfectly alongside the new design features.

Inside both saloon and tourer have been given the full works. Things have certainly gone up-market with a combination of new materials and technology. Taking centre stage is an eight-inch centre display screen and there’s the welcome arrival of a full colour windscreen projected active driving display – a feature that surely must soon become standard across the industry.

Everything’s better inside and you can’t help but be impressed by trim levels particularly on the GT Sports Nav+ which features real Japanese Sen wood trim along with leather and suede seats.

Safety features highly too with all models benefitting from a range of features including blind spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alerts, radar cruise control, lane keep assist and advanced Smart City Break Support.

On the road there’s nothing to chose between the opposition such as Ford Mondeo when it comes to handling and the Mazda6 is nothing short of delightful to drive at motorway cruising speeds.

There’s no issues for passengers when it comes to space with five able to sit comfortably in both saloon and tourer and the 60/40 splitting rear seats are easy to release to create a completely flat load space.

We tested the 2.5litre 194ps GT Sport Nav+ Saloon with automatic gearbox, which in soul red crystal would set you back £31,595. The model has a top speed of 138mph with 0-62mph in 8.1seconds, combined fuel figures of 42.2mpg and CO2 levels of 153g/km.

You get the feeling the bosses at Mazda are happy with their completely updated flagship model and I would expect sales targets to be comfortably me this year.