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Frugal Luxury - Mazda6i Grand Touring |
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Written by Jeff Zurschmeide
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Wednesday, 06 May 2009 |
The Mazda6 is a solid mid-size sedan, with plenty of room to carry 5 adults. The trunk can only be described as cavernous. This is a car you can use to haul people around in comfort. It’s comparable to the Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, BMW 3 series, or the Chevy Malibu.
 Always the soul of a sports car
With that being said to set your expectations, there are a couple surprises in store for you. The first is that Mazda delivers the Mazda6 with a 6-speed manual transmission. That’s going to win points with sports car enthusiasts, because the only other car in that lineup that offers you a stick is the BMW. The second point is that the Mazda6 starts at just $24,910 in the “i” level Grand Touring trim, which buys you heated power leather seats, steering wheel controls, satellite radio, keyless entry and start, Bluetooth, Xenon HID headlights, 17-inch alloy wheels, and a bunch of other nice features. That’s about $10,000 less than a comparably equipped BMW.
Of course, there’s a catch – the BMW is much faster. The 2.5-liter 4 cylinder engine is Mazda’s capable MZR, but the DOHC plant makes just 170 horsepower and 167 pound-feet of torque. That’s plenty enough for a nice car, especially if you know how to use a 4 banger engine and a 6-speed to keep the engine in its sweet spot, but it’s not a neck snapper by any means.
Fuel economy is rated at a very nice 20/29, which matches what I got in a week of real world driving. I was impressed at how far I went before the gas needle even moved, and when I filled the car at the end of the week, it was pleasantly easy on my wallet.
 Great Looking
One feature I have to mention is the Blind Spot Monitoring System. This is one of the best safety improvements to come along in this decade. It’s a little radar unit that tells you when there’s a car or motorcycle (or anything) in your blind spot by turning on a light mounted in your side-view mirror. If the light’s on, don’t change lanes. If the light’s off, you’re clear. Sheer bloody brilliance, that is!
Base price on an absolutely standard Mazda6i SV is $18,550 - that’s with a manual and the 2.5-liter engine. Above that, you can get your Mazda6i in Sport, Touring, and Grand Touring trim with either the manual or 5-speed automatic transmission, and then the same three trim levels with a 3.7-liter V6 engine and the automatic. Sorry, but you can’t get the V6 with the manual transmission.
 Feels smaller than it is
Above the $24,910 base price for the 6i Grand Touring edition, this test car came with Mazda’s fancy Bose stereo with 6-disc changer for an extra $1,760. That money also buys you a power moonroof – which I managed not to notice in a week of driving the car. Hey, it was the last week of April. It was raining.
This particular Mazda6 also came equipped with a nice GPS navigation system for $2,000. I think the days of getting people to pay that kind of money for navvie are fast coming to an end. When you can buy a TomTom or Magellan for $200 and get all the same features, you have to wonder why the same technology stuck into your dash costs 10 times more! Navigation is no longer the sole province of luxury sports cars, so look for the cost to come down soon – especially as Bluetooth hands-free phone support makes it into every car as a basic safety device.
 Great Interior
Driving the Mazda6 is fun. Mazda really means it when they say “always the soul of a sports car.” I know a bunch of folks at Mazda, and every single one is a sports car enthusiast. Their hearts and their heads are always thinking sports car. That’s why the MZR engine revs willingly and the Mazda6 handles like a much smaller car.
Inside, the seats are comfortable and the leather upholstery is thick and tough. The seat heat is nice, too. The dash gauges are done in a sporty red-lit tone. A friend of mine who daily drives an E-class Mercedes noticed the gauges and commented on how sexy they are. The cabin is well laid-out and free from annoying rattles and buzzes.
The bottom line on the Mazda6 is this – if you’ve got clients or family to haul around, but you love the control and feel of a nice 6-speed manual box, this car is a great choice. You’ll save a pile of money, which is high on everyone’s list this year, and you’ll get a car you can be proud to drive. Mazda dealers, like all dealers, are hurting this year, so they’re making the best deals on new cars that I’ve seen in….forever. Chances are you can pick up a Grand Touring Mazda6 for well under sticker price right now. If you take the test drive, I think you’ll like it.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 12 May 2009 )
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