Mazda6 Classic Wagon 2008 Review

Overall rating: 3.5/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 3.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.5/5.0
Safety: 4.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 3.5/5.0
X-factor: 4.0/5.0

About our ratings

If you're in the market for a spacious and refined medium segment wagon under $40,000, there's precious little on offer. There's the Mazda6 Classic wagon tested here, the aging Subaru Liberty 2.5i or, ummm... Nup, got nothing.

The Mazda lacks the Subaru's all-wheel drive and is slightly more expensive, but the compensation comes in such things as improved packaging for both passenger and load-carrying (especially without drivetrain components under the rear load section), a subtly better equipment level, double-wishbone front suspension and an extra ratio in the automatic transmission.

One of the key elements of the Mazda's appeal is its design. It's a handsome car, even as a wagon, and Mazda has also blessed it (and its sedan equivalent -- read our launch review here) with an attractive and cleanly styled interior. Gloss black woodgrain trim, a combination of fluoro and LED light sources, plus the satin finish on the centre fascia and subtle use of chrome imbue the interior with an essence of prestige.

The Mazda's appeal is more than just skin deep too. Controls and materials provide a positive tactile experience for the driver and other occupants. The switches are very well damped and materials are durable without feeling cheap.

While the instruments are highly legible on the whole, the fuel gauge can be partly obscured by the hand on the left spoke of the steering wheel. On the audio system console, a button toggles between the clock and average fuel consumption. The audio system itself will play MP3 files and up to six compact discs from the in-dash changer.

Mazda has configured the remote controls on the steering wheel in an array that's properly laid out and the buttons use text labels -- which some users will undoubtedly find easier than arcane graphics. An icon on the mute button of the audio system is one concession to symbolism, but the nature of that function is quite obvious.

The Mazda is appropriately equipped for its price and comes as standard with a dual-zone climate control system, as one example. Seats strike a very good compromise between comfort and lateral grip. They're enveloping and well shaped to hold most physiques.

As a consequence, the driving position is very comfortable and properly conceived, although we found the amount of upward rake adjustment in the steering wheel is too limited.

Having dined on a diet of Euros lately, we missed having two-stage indicators with a lane-change facility. During lane-change manoeuvres, the field of vision is acceptably good and the mirrors are effective in eliminating blind spots.

For some reason, Mazda has placed the handbrake on the left of the centre console, but the transmission sequential-shift plane is closer to the driver. That's one point for the transmission lever, minus one for the handbrake...

The sequential-shift function is highly responsive and easy to use; pull the lever back for down-changing and push forward for up-changing. Not everyone feels the same way, but this reviewer personally prefers shifting back for downshifts, since it follows the direction you would move the lever in a non-sequential (PRNDL) auto transmission detente.

The transmission generally works very well with the engine. In the higher ratios, performance fades slightly, but ratios in the lower gears (especially first) are low enough to allow the engine the latitude to build torque for a brisk launch. As a matter of fact, gearing and engine torque combine to provoke some wheelspin and axle tramp in the wet. Given the Mazda's double-wishbone front suspension, this is a bit of a surprise, since the supposedly inferior MacPherson strut suspension in Ford's Mondeo copes better.

Feeling like a smaller capacity unit than its 2.5-litre displacement would suggest, the undersquare DOHC four-cylinder displays a peaky character when revved, but musters torque across a broad rev range. It sounds pleasant and refined and -- sharing the same architecture as it does -- not unlike the 2.3-litre engine of the previous generation of Mazda6.

Overall, the Mazda6 is very quiet. At open road speeds, low level wind noise is the major contributor to NVH. There's a bit of tyre noise at 60km/h on relatively smooth bitumen and there's also some vibration through the steering wheel at that speed.

The ride is very good for a front-wheel drive car and approaches an ideal balance with the neutral handling and nicely weighted steering, for a compromise that will suit the vast majority of drivers. In respect of roadholding, the Mazda attains a high standard -- particularly for a wagon. The DSC keeps the car well on track and is properly modulated to do so without seriously masking the car's virtuous dynamic traits.

For passive safety, the Mazda6 comes very well equipped. Side-impact airbags, dual front airbags, side curtains and break-away foot pedals -- introduced with the previous generation of Mazda6 -- are all fitted as standard. There's no NCAP crash rating yet, but Mazda expects five stars Euro NCAP soon.

One could be forgiven for looking at the sloping roofline and small windows at the rear of the Mazda6 and writing it off as a 'sportswagon' -- lacking much load capacity -- but Mazda quotes a volume of 519 litres, the same as for the sedan and a pretty respectable figure in itself.

If Ford brings out the Mondeo wagon that was previewed at the Melbourne International Motor Show (more here), the Ford will shade the Mazda with its luggage capacity of 535 litres -- but for the moment, the Mazda has the goods.

So as far as packaging goes, the Mazda works well in its load-carrying role and the car's designers have put a fair amount of thought into what users are likely to want from the load section. For example, the tailgate features two recessed handles in the lip to haul it down, so it's practical for either left or right-handers. There's a 12V power outlet to the right of the tailgate -- a handy gadget, well located.

The shelf from which the cargo blind deploys partially retracts automatically with the raising of the tailgate. This allows gear to be loaded on most occasions without the need to slide the shelf forward or up separately -- obviating the need for the user to stoop unnecessarily or shift the shelf manually. It's hard to explain in words, but it's a particularly practical benefit.

The soft cargo blind rolls out from the rear of the shelf, so you can choose either the hard shelf or the blind to conceal or protect the payload.

There are seat-fold releases in the tailgate, so if you find yourself loading curtain rods from the rear and you've forgotten to lower the seats, you can lower them from the load section by pulling the levers located in either side of the compartment, just below the window-line. They can also be lowered from the passenger side doors, using small buttons on the seats themselves.

The seats, which fold in a 60/40 split, fall forward automatically and fold entirely flat, with the seat base moving forward simultaneously to accommodate the lowered seat backs. [Ed: Mazda calls this 'karakuri' - the ancient Japanese art of getting seats to fold nicely in wagons]

Four chrome anchorage points are located at the rear of the load section. Two are positioned just below the D-pillars on either side and the other two can be found adjacent the tailgate, near the floor.

A light in the tailgate can be set to 'off' or 'door' mode, so that it operates with the tailgate raised, meaning that the user has light shining down aft of the car and into the load section itself, for those occasions when loading gear at night -- a veritable delight for those engaged in the occasional 'break and enter'!

And cat burglars will also be able to shift a fair amount of gear in the back of the Mazda. The loading lip is around 60cm from the road, so it's quite low -- about knee-height. Other dimensions of the load section are approximately 110cm in length (taken across the centreline and along the floor), approximately 100cm between the wheel arches and 50cm from the floor to the base of the windows.

Beyond the purely utilitarian function, the Mazda is a comfortable and accommodating car, which offers plenty of head and legroom in the rear seat for average and even above-average-sized adults.

With all that taken into account, the Mazda6 wagon is one of those vehicles which should serve growing families over many years. In the present, it's unbeatable for its combination of packaging, quality, value and dynamic prowess.

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