| It’s only a nip here and a tuck there, but as any Hollywood actress will doubtless tell you (in private at any rate) it’s astonishing how big a difference small changes can make.
Like a small tweak to the engine management system that has brought Mazda’s new 2.2-litre diesel engine (which arrived last year in 180bhp form) down to a still-respectable 129bhp and which has also, more crucially, lowered its Co2 emissions to a Band-B friendly 138g/km, meaning that not only can you tax this handsome, sporting Mazda 6 for €156 a year, but it also qualifies for scrappage bonus if you’ve got a 10-year old nail to trade in.
Car makers love to announce changes to a model with a big fanfare, proclaiming loudly that their car is, oxymoronically, new and improved. But Mazda has introduced the updated 6 quietly and without fuss, only really pointing out the new efficiencies of the growing family of 2.2 diesels (as well as the range-topping 180bhp and the expected big-seller, the 129bhp, there’s a 163bhp version as well).
The rest of the changes are minor, the lack of fuss indicative of a car that was right when it was launched and has only needed the lightest of touches to keep it competitive in the cut-throat world of the family four-door.
So, there have been small changes to the suspension and the steering to improve the enjoyment factor for the driver, while at the same time improving comfort levels for the passengers. Extra sound insulation has been added to improve refinement in the cabin and the surfaces of the interior have been upgraded to give a more warming glow of high quality than before. Outside, the lights, grille and bumper have been subtly reshaped as Mazda’s design template enters a new phase. The ‘face’ that the new 6 wears will soon spread to the 5 MPV and has already been seen on the 3 hatchback.
But have the changes worked? Or has Mazda been guilty of fixing what wasn’t broken?
No, it hasn’t, but one or two irritants remain, which we’ll come to in a moment.
Let’s start with the chassis. The 6 was already the keen drivers’ choice in the segment, and that hasn’t changed. In fact, its has improved, with better weighted steering, more feedback for the driver and a more settled ride, that now feels very BMW-ish in its well-damped firmness.
The 6 hasn't been transformed into a near-silent, soft and squidgy cruiser, like the Citroen C5. Far from it, but its responses are now better judged, and any lingering harshness in the suspension has been dialed out.
In fact, and it may sound a bit mad, but you feel that if Aston Martin was to make a four-door family saloon, this is how it would feel. Now that sounds doubly mad, because of course Aston does make a four-door, it's called the Rapide, has a 6.0-litre V12 and costs about ten times as much as a 6 diesel.
But still. That firmly sprung feeling at the rim of the steering wheel, the heft of the slightly long-throw gear lever, the way you feel what is happening to each wheel without their movements becoming intrusive. It all reminds me of one car in particular and that car is the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Crazy, I know, but true nonetheless. Certainly, the 6 now has the Mondeo licked as the drivers' choice in the family saloon segment.
The changes to the cabin are welcome, because even though the architecture and style hasn’t altered much, there is a palpable sense of improved quality.
And the 129bhp 2.2-litre diesel engine is excellent, pulling strongly even from low rpm in high gears and returning a claimed 5.2-litres per 100km fuel economy (54.3mpg if you’re still counting in old money) to go with its low-tax Co2 figure.
It’s also spacious, handsome, comfortable and, given Mazda’s excellent reputation in such areas, should be pretty much faultlessly reliable as the years wind on.
And those irritants? Small ones really, but they could do with being fixed, we feel. The gearshift, as we mentioned, is quite heavy and, for want of a better word, meaty. While that’s fine for someone who appreciates sporty responses from a car and its primary controls, not everyone will care for it.
The other concern is the refinement of the engine at low, urban speeds, when a constant, if quiet, clatter and chatter can be heard, especially when passing by walls which reflect the car’s sound back at you.
Otherwise, this is damned good stuff. We've always reckoned that the flat-out best value you can get in the car world right now is in the mid-size saloon segment, and with prices for the new 6 range starting at €24,485 for the 2.2 129bhp engine, our point is proven. You get the sophistication and chassis balance of a car costing twice as much, plus all the space and practicality you could possibly need, and all for little more than the price of a Focus-sized hatchback.
Nipped and tucked successfully, so.
Facts & Figures
Mazda 6 2.2 129ps 4dr Exectuive
Price: €25,485
Capacity: 2,184cc
Power: 129bhp
Torque: 340Nm
Top speed: 195kmh
0-100kmh: 10.7sec
Economy: 5.2l-100km (54.3mpg)
CO2 emissions: 138g/km
VRT Band: B 20% VRT. €156 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 77% adult, 81% child, 49% pedestrian, 71% safety assist |
