Test drive: 2009 Mazda6
Obviously, Mazda didn't put me up at a fancy hotel last week just so I could race my little wooden car (even if I did spend way the hell too much time making it). No, the purpose of our get-together was to check out the all-new 2009 Mazda6.
I reviewed the current Mazda6 not too long ago (and the 2007 Mazdaspeed 6 not too long before that) and quite liked the car, with my biggest complaint being the lack of trunk space. Mazda's fixed that with the 2009 Mazda6 -- matter of fact, they've fixed all the space-related problems, because the new Six is a significantly larger car. It seems, however, that the old Mazda6 had a bigger problem: Build quality. According to Mazda, the old Six had slipped to 14th place in its class in the JD Power and Associates Initial Quality Survey, behind such luminaries as the Pontiac G6 and the Ford Fusion. Yikes!
Mazda says the quality problems will be fixed with the new Six, but we won't know for sure until they've been on the road for a while. What we do know now is whether the new car is worth buying in the first place -- and you can find out in my 2009 Mazda6 test drive and review. Want more photos? No problem! Check out my 2009 Mazda6 photo gallery. -- Aaron Gold
Photo © Aaron Gold
Comments
I owned an 04 Mazda6 GS (6s in the US) and the trunk was never a problem for me, but I wished for a stronger engine.
I’ll definitely look at the new model. A couple of big pluses… the V6, big power and no premium fuel requirement (unlike nissan, I believe?). Big minus for me, no manual tranny with the V6. That’s the reason I bought the 6 in the first place. Hopefully they’ve solved the nagging throttle lag issue from the previous generation.
Last time I bought the sedan becuase I couldn’t get confirmation about the rumours of a wagon and hatchback. Any more truth to the rumours this time?
Brian - No sedan, no hatchback — for the US, at least. I don’t *think* there will be one for Canada, as the North American 6 is different than the European one. Still, that would seem to be a bit of a step backwards — I saw lots of 6 hatchbacks and wagons on my last trip to the Great White North. — Aaron
I love my 6s, except for the gas mileage and the wide turning circle. I probably won’t buy the new one because mine is a hatchback, and if I hadn’t found one used, I would have bought a wagon or a new hatch. Mazda is making a mistake by going sedan-only.
I have an 03 6 which has been very reliable. I don’t doubt the findings that quality has slipped, but houw can you possibly fault the storage space of the old model? I mean, no back seat room is one thing, but the trunk was already over 15 cubic feet in the sedan, it has storage pockets and cupholders out the yin yang. Back seat leg room is tight, but the head room is better than many. I was thinking of getting an Altima, but when I had a buyer on the hook I decided I loved my car too much to let it go.
Methinks Aaron must have been thinking of a Mazda3 and not the Mazda6. Its trunk, which I used to think was a selling point for the car, was as big as the competition in ‘08 and now adds 1.5 cubic feet for even more space. Rest of the car sounds great, but I’m a huge Mazda fan anyway!
The Mazda 6 wagon was a sensational car (wide turn radius excepted). It is a crying shame that a wagon won’t be offered in the current incarnation. No wagon = no sale. End of story.
So besides the engine choices, what is the difference in the non-US version? The pictures look the same. They get a wagon and hatch option. Is the rest of the car any different? (frankly I think they’d sell quite a few turbodiesels here if they offered them)