Mazda6 2.2 Diesel Sport review
by David Finlay (5 January 2011)
The general rule among motoring journalists is that we are given cars to test for about a week, but that wasn't the case with the Mazda6 Diesel Sport reviewed here. It arrived on December 22, and to save any faffing around during the midwinter festivities it stayed here until this morning, which gave me a solid fortnight to experience its various charms. While I might have wished for something a little more exciting, I must say that it proved to be a very amiable companion.
All current Mazda6 diesels use the same 2.2-litre engine, but it comes in three forms which are distinguished by their maximum power outputs of 127bhp, 161bhp and 178bhp. Although I'm quite fond of the 127bhp one myself, it's not available in the top-level Sport specification, which offers only the 178bhp diesel (along with the 2.0 petrol engine with automatic transmission and the 2.5 petrol manual).
Even if the most powerful diesel wouldn't be my first choice, I'm not going to sit here and complain about it. It gives the 6 a top speed of 135mph and a 0-62mph time of 8.7 seconds, making this particular car only marginally slower than the 2.5 petrol, and it's so flexible that you can potter around with less than 1500rpm showing on the revcounter. Try that in the 2.5 and you'll find yourself being overtaken by cats.
There is a snag with the 6 diesels, though, and I'll illustrate it (not, I admit, for the first time, so regular readers may prefer to skip this paragraph) with a bit of history. The original 6 came out in 2002, and it was an astonishingly lovely car to drive. It was replaced by a much less satisfactory version in 2007, but although the model introduced in 2010 is basically the same thing with a facelift and a bit of tweaking here and there, it's nearly back to the original standard in terms of handling.
Or at least it is if it has a petrol engine. Somehow, Mazda has managed to drop the catch when it comes to the diesel models, which feel significantly more cumbersome. The clutch action is harsh, and both the ride and handling make it very clear that there's a heavy lump of metal sitting just ahead of the front wheels. Other manufacturers manage to make the required compromises in suspension set-up, sometimes to the extent that the diesels are actually nicer to drive than their petrol equivalents. If Mazda could do this too, then a 6 diesel would be a wondrous car.
Naturally, the contrast between the petrol and diesel models is most pronounced if you drive several of each on the same day, as I did during the
UK press launch. If you live with a diesel for longer you get used to it, but I must say that even by the end of my fortnight I was still wishing that this 6 handled as nicely as some of the others in the range.
Officially, the 178bhp car's 52.3mpg combined economy and 142g/km CO2 emissions are identical to those of the 161bhp model and only slightly inferior to what the 127bhp version can manage, but I think it's safe to say that it will use substantially more fuel than either of them in real life. Still, it was easy enough to get 500 miles from a single tankful, and a lot of that was in urban conditions and some of it on snow (though, to be fair, hardly any of it involved using much of the available performance).
The 2010 workover included improving the look and quality of the interior, and that has worked well. The seats are suitably supportive and there's as much room as there needs to be in the front, though if four persons over six feet in height are packed in at the same time the ones in the back may find themselves feeling a little cramped.
Luggage space is excellent. Even with the rear seats up there's 510 litres available, which is good if not class-leading, and if you fold down the rear seats you get 1702 litres, substantially more than either the Ford Mondeo or Vauxhall Insignia offer. That's with an almost completely flat load floor, too, though on the downside the rear sill is a little on the high side.
Euro NCAP's results for the new 6 betray the fact that it's based on a nearly four-year old design. It achieved an overall rating of five stars, but so has nearly everything else in the class that has gone through the crash test procedure since it was revised in early 2009. Its adult occupant protection score of 77% is the equal lowest in that category, a risk of knee injury to front-seat passengers was noted, and whiplash protection was described as "marginal".
But you have to appreciate the fact that Mazda is at least even-handed in its safety policy. The Diesel Sport may be the most expensive model in the current line-up, but all 6s share its front, side and curtain airbags, traction control, brake assist and electronic stability control. Mazda doesn't ask you to pay for extra protection, as some other manufacturers do.
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