Long limbed and slightly poisonous, the
yellow sac spider (Cheiracanthiuni inclusum) is a North American native whose
looks are as terrible as you’d expect from anything with “sac” in its name. The
little creature fell hard for the previous-generation Mazda 6, and for reasons
unknown outside the arachnid world, the eight-eyed webmasters started shacking
up in the 6’s evaporative canister vent line at some point between the plant
and dealerships, prompting the recall of 6,000 cars. However, while spiders
voted with their feet for the 6, Mazda always struggled to get actual humans
into the car.
It
is a smooth and calm, if somewhat flavorless, low-revving engine.
On average, Toyota sold more Camrys in one
month last year than Mazda 6s sold all year. That overly large,
personality-deprived 6 is gone, left to the arachnids. With the introduction of
the new 6, Mazda didn’t just shake the Etch A Sketch, it threw it out and
started over on an iPad. The 2014 Mazda 6 is a wholesale reboot. The body,
suspension, powertrain, interior, and exterior and even the evaporative
canister vent line are all clean-sheer designs. It’s not even built in Flat
Rock, Michigan, anymore. The 6 picked up its bindle and caught the next boxcar
headed for Hofu, Japan. You don't need eight eyes to spot the 6's new sheet metal.
Mazda tells us the new styling is informed by its "Kodo" philosophy,
which endeavors to capture motion in metal. It's hardly a unique concept, but
the 6 is certainly less "meh" than the class average. We're talking
about you, Camry. The 6 looks like a premium Japanese sedan, and if Mazda
hadn't strangled in the cradle its plan to launch the Amati luxury brand 20
years ago, the new 6 could anchor its showroom nicely.
Visual trickery abounds. Pleated fenders
give the illusion of width. Mazda shifted the A-pillar back nearly four inches
to lengthen the hood and disguise the unflattering pro- portions inherent with
a transversely mounted engine. Gloss-black trim, dual exhaust outlets, and
chrome embellishments around the greenhouse, grille, and trunk lid lend an
upmarket presence, even in this, the lowliest, $21,675 Sport trim. And, should
you buy this cheaper version, your thrift will remain a secret. Aside from the
Sport's 17-inch wheels and its lack of fog lights and a rear spoiler, its
exterior is identical to the $30,290 Grand Touring model's.
Aside
from the Sport's 17-inch wheels and its lack of fog lights and a rear spoiler,
its exterior is identical to the $30,290 Grand Touring model's.
On the scales, the manual-transmission
Sport puts up another pertinent number: 3124 pounds. That's a startling zi6
pounds less than its equivalent predecessor. Considering the weight loss, you
might suspect a structure crafted from bird bones and shredded wheat. What you
actually get is a stiff new uni-body with straighter frame The Mazda 6's
upscale-looking exterior is matched by a simple, sensible interior design
rendered in high-quality materials, rails and additional high-strength steel.
Light in weight, but never feeling light-
weight, the 6 is a solid car. Bolted to the new structure are struts up front
and a multilink rear suspension. Mazda claims to have tweaked the suspension
mounting points to enhance stability and lessen impact harsh- ness. We can
report that suspension crash and structural shudders are minimal on the Sport
model with 17-inch wheels and 225/55R-17 all- season tires. Road noise, long a
weakness for Mazda, isn't intrusive. Even so, the sound-level meter did record
7o decibels at 70 mph. That would have made it noisiest in our recent test of
the segment ["Masters of the Middle," November 2012].
Control
system
The ride quality and shock damping are on
the stiffer side of the segment, more like a Ford Fusion than a Camry. Up and
down motions are attenuated quickly, while body roll and under steer are both
kept on a short leash. On the skidpad, the 6's 0.87 g of grip would have tied
it for first place in our test with the four-cylinder Accord EX and the Fusion
SE.
The brake pedal strokes with a satisfying
linearity that makes scrubbing the right amount of speed easy. Braking from 70
mph takes 172 feet, a number that would have put the 6 at the head of the table
in the afore mentioned family-sedan Comparo. The steering effort is light, but
the response is accurate and predictable. More feedback would be nice,
especially from the Miata company, but we should probably accept that not every
mid-size-sedan driver wants a Miata wheel in his hands. Though we do.
On
the skidpad, the 6's 0.87 g of grip would have tied it for first place in our
test with the four-cylinder Accord EX and the Fusion SE.
At launch, the only engine available in the
6 is Mazda’s new 2.5-liter SkyActiv four cylinder. A 2.2-liter turbo-diesel
arrives this fall. In the 2.5, a 13.0:1 compression ratio, direct injection,
and long, tuned exhaust runners hint at race-car ambitions, but the 87-octane
burner turns out just 184 horse power at 5700 rpm and i8 pound-feet of torque
at 3250 rpm. It is a smooth and calm, if somewhat flavorless, low-revving
engine.
Hitched up to the six-speed manual, the 2.5
drives the 6 to 60 mph in 7.9 seconds. A four-cylinder Accord manual does it in
6.6 seconds in second gear, whereas the Mazda requires two upshifts. By the
quarter-mile, the 6 is a second behind the Accord. In short, the SkyActiv isn’t
very active, and it won’t win you many drag races, even against other family
sedans.
