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| Road Test: Mazda6 2.2D TS2 Estate |
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by David Finlay (06 Aug 09)
The thing that really irritated me about the changeover was the way the 6 had gone from being the segment leader in terms of driving dynamics to something only slightly on the high side of average. However, if you're in the market for a large diesel estate car like this one, pin-sharp handling is probably not the first thing you'll be looking for, and I have to say that the way this particular model tackles the road seems to be near enough ideal. It's not sporty in any way, but it deals with corners in a very unfussy way, and the ride quality is impressive. That's partly because of the 17" wheels and 215/50 tyres fitted to the TS2 - the 18s and lower-profile rubber on the 2.5 petrol Sport estate tested last year don't do the car any favours at all.
The diesel engine fitted to the 6 is a 2.2-litre unit which, on TS and TS2 cars, produces a maximum of 161bhp. In the Sport and Sports Luxury models its output is considerably higher, at 182bhp, and although I can see the appeal of that there was also no point in this test when I felt that the extra power would have helped matters. In 161bhp form the engine has enough grunt to make the car accelerate as quickly as you need it to, and in particular to deal with overtaking manoeuvres quickly and efficiently. It's also pretty economical (50.4mpg combined) and impressively quiet. What more could you want? As a load-carrier it has a lot going for it, especially when you fold down the rear seats. If you do this, the luggage capacity is 1751 litres, and there are few estates of similar size which can even approach that. With the seats up the volume is less than that of several important rivals (the Ford Mondeo, Vauxhall Insignia and Toyota Avensis all do better) but at 519 litres it's still not exactly cramped back there.
On a less practical and more emotional point, I think the 6 is a particularly good-looking machine, even in a market which is not short of handsome estate cars. I'd heard that the test car was white well before I saw it, which led to some misgivings, but as soon as it arrived I realised that this is one of those rare cars which suits a white colour scheme. It was a good start to a test which I greatly enjoyed, not least because it involved two 400-mile motorways trips on consecutive days which both proved to be very comfortable and relaxing. Just one thing, though. The car I drove immediately before this one (though a decent gap has been left between publication of the test reports) was the Mazda3 1.6 TS2 Diesel, and you may remember that it drove me to distraction by going "bong-bing" every time I switched on the ignition and then doing so again when the engine fired up. Well, the 6 has a similar system, except that in each case the sound you get is "bong-bing-bong". Every single time this happened I not only wondered why the 6 went "bong-bing-bong", but also remembered that the 3 had gone "bong-bing", compared this with the 6's "bong-bing-bong", wondered why it didn't just go "bong-bing" instead or why the 3 didn't go "bong-bing-bong", and speculated that "bong-bing-bong" for some reason costs more than "bong-bing" and that it would therefore add too much to the 3's list price if it went "bong-bing-bong" instead of "bong-bing".
After a few days of this I went mad, and they won't let me write for very long any more because it makes me nervous, so I'm going to have to ask my nurse to finishing off by telling you about the difference between the TS2 tested here and the TS, which is £1200 cheaper. Bye for now. His Nurse: What? Oh, okay. The extra £1200 pays for the wheels and tyres already mentioned, which are not standard on the TS, along with a Rear Vehicle Monitoring System, automatic headlights and wipers, front foglights, electric folding door mirrors, an auto-dimming interior mirrors, an audio system with a 6-CD changer and six speakers, and integrated Bluetooth connectivity. And now I have to go, because he's started to say "bong-bing-bong" again. Price: £20,170 Comment on this story on Facebook or Twitter.
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