Mazda6 Touring 2017 Review

While it may not seem like it, the medium car segment is a pretty interesting one to watch. Representing just 8.6 per cent of the vehicles sold in Australia, it mixes some fairly mundane offerings, with some of the world’s most popular cars. At the intersection of large car buyers who are downsizing and small car buyers looking for something larger that isn’t an SUV, medium cars are a bit of a halfway house.

The segment is dominated by the Toyota Camry, which represents over half of all sales of mid-sizers under $60k and which last year beat the combined sales of all luxury medium cars.

In a segment that’s led by a good, yet vanilla offering, it’s no surprise that affordable medium cars are dismissed as unexciting or even undesirable. Which is silly really, as there are some really good cars playing in this segment. One of our favourites here at motoring.com.au is the Mazda 6 which won last year’s Carsales Best Family Car over $30k award.

The Mazda 6 range was tweaked late last year and while you may need to be a Mazda nerd to spot the differences, there are a few useful enhancements which add to the 6’s appeal as a worthy family sedan.

Enhanced conditions ahead
One of the most significant additions is the inclusion of Mazda’s G-Vectoring Control. It’s a system which is designed to enhance road holding in cornering. You can read more about how the technology works at the link but in practice it’s a pretty subtle change that offers a slight improvement to how the Mazda 6 feels on road. If you didn’t know it was there, I’m not sure you’d pick up any difference.

My time with the Mazda 6 was during a family holiday so it spent most of its time on the freeway. On the occasion I did have to give it a squirt on some bends, the 6 felt planted and confident but despite the addition of the GVC, the chassis still lacks the dynamic appeal of a BMW 3 Series or Audi A4.

The Mazda 6 Touring on test is the biggest seller from the range, representing 45 per cent of 6 sales. Sitting above the entry Sport model and below the GT and range-topping Atenza variant, the Touring sedan is priced at $37,290 in its petrol form. Petrol is also the most popular choice for Mazda 6 buyers with only 10 per cent choosing the diesel powered option.

So we’re testing the variant that most buyers choose to purchase.

Take the touring route
Powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine which is paired with a six-speed automatic transmission, the Mazda 6 generates 138kW and 250Nm. Featuring both idle-stop technology and Mazda’s i-ELOOP regenerative braking system the Mazda 6 promises impressive fuel economy for its size at just 6.6L/100km.

On a cycle of combined driving which was predominantly on the freeway at cruising speeds, we saw consumption sitting at 8.1L/100km. That was for a vehicle which was fully laden for most of the journey with a boot full of suitcases.

On the freeway, the Mazda 6 is a comfortable car to pilot. It’s cruising ability makes slotting into freeway traffic effortless and while adaptive cruise control is only available on the high end Atenza model, its cruise control is easy to use and effective.

NVH improvements made in this update such as thicker front glass, improved sealing and the use of sound absorbing materials have improved the sound insulation within the cabin – addressing one of the only criticisms we’ve had of the Mazda 6.

Other updates to the Touring variant include the addition of DAB+ digital radio, a newly designed steering wheel and powered, automatic folding wing mirrors. Safety tech is slightly enhanced with changes made to the smart city braking support system which see it work at higher speeds and with more efficacy. Like we said, the changes to the Mazda 6 are really for train spotters or current vehicle owners to pick.

V for value
That’s not to say they are to be dismissed. When a car like the Mazda 6 does things so well, there’s not much you want Mazda to change, and with no price rise for the additions you’re getting greater value too.

For its price the Mazda 6 feels like a lot of car and for an equivalent specification from the Euros you’d be expecting to pay well beyond its $37,290 price point.

There’s leather upholstery in black or white and eight-way power adjustment for the driver with two memory positions and dual-zone climate control with rear vents. The 7.0-inch colour touchscreen operates the newly added DAB+ digital radio and includes sat-nav. There’s also support for internet radio stations, Pandora, Stitcher and Aha and a premium BOSE 231-watt amplifier with 11-speaker system.

Safety technology features include an updated Smart City Braking System with enhanced pedestrian detection for low speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB) in city driving and traffic jams. Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert with reverse camera and front and rear parking sensors are also standard on the Touring variant.

Technology to task
But technology including radar cruise control, lane-departure warning, high-speed autonomous braking, and lane-keeping assist are not available as optional extras – and only available on the $45,390 top of the range Atenza model.

The Mazda 6 is also practical too, with plenty of room in the cabin for storage and large, comfortable space for rear seat passengers. Luggage capacity is 474 litres with the seats up and the boot space is deceptively deep. Adding the flexibility of 60:40 split-fold rear seats, capacity can be extended for bulky or long items.

Style-wise the Mazda 6 is also quite cunning, in base white exterior paintwork its side profile had a friend mistaking it for an Audi at a long range glance and it’s certainly got an elegant look which should give it greater appeal among its mid-size rivals.

As a good all-rounder, it’s no great surprise that the Mazda 6 is the second-best selling medium car under $60k, but it really should be shifting more than 360 cars per month against Camry’s 4800.

2017 Mazda 6 Touring pricing and specifications:

Price: $37,290 (plus on-road costs)

Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol

Output: 138kW/250Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic

Fuel: 6.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 153g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star

Related reading:

>> Carsales Car of the Year
>> Mazda 6 Atenza Review