Mazda6 Diesel 2006 Review

November 2006

The growth of European-sourced diesel cars in Australia is easily understandable as diesel is far and away the preferred fuel in Europe. But the German, French and Italians no longer have the local market all to themselves -- with the launch of the 2.0-litre Mazda6 Diesel, Mazda becomes the first and only Japanese maker to offer a diesel passenger car in Australia.

Available as a five-door hatch or wagon, the manual-transmission only Mazda6 Diesel arrives to sit in the middle of the 6 range

Two spec levels are on offer, with the wagon featuring the mid-level trim that includes 16-inch alloys, climate control air-conditioning, a superb sounding six-stack CD audio system, remote locking, cruise control, power windows and mirrors and a leather wrapped steering wheel with audio and cruise control switches. The higher Luxury spec hatch also gains leather seats, a premium BOSE sound system with seven speakers and a power-operated driver's seat with three-position memory.

Up front a sleek, well laid out dash with minimal intrusions into the interior allows for plenty of driver and passenger room room and a multi-adjustable driver's seat and two-way steering column adjust means it is easy to get a good driving position.

The (front) seats themselves are reasonably well shaped and supportive with enough padding for comfort.

Across the 60/40 split rear seat three adults would be a bit of a squeeze, but there is good head and legroom for a couple of big blokes over shorter journeys.

With a rear wagon region that aesthetically sits somewhere between the traditional box on the back and the recent trend towards "fastback" styling, the Mazda6 offers a decent 503-litre capacity in a well-finished flat-floored load space. To ensure cargo remains restrained, there is a roll-up net that fixes to the roof behind the rear seats, or from the floor to the roof when the second row seat has been folded flat.

SAFETY
With a solid body and well-composed chassis, the Mazda6 Diesel has a good start in the active safety stakes.

The brakes are fitted with an anti-lock system but surprisingly, for a company that has pushed the safety barrow hard in recent years, ESP or traction control is neither fitted nor available across the Mazda6 range.

The airbag count however is good with six in total including dual front, front side and side curtain bags.

Mazda lists an official ADR 81/01 combined fuel consumption of just 5.9lt/100km but over CarPoint's week in the car covering 420km across a mix of city and country roads, we achieved only 8.1lt/100km.

The diesel engine drives the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox that comes straight out of the all-wheel drive high-performance turbo petrol MPS version of the 6. The only other difference between the diesel and petrol models is that the former's double wishbone front and multilink rear suspension uses slightly stiffer spring rates.

Thus if you are looking for non-spark-ignited alternatives, then you need to look European. Size-wise, the Mazda6 Diesel sits in VW Passat, Peugeot 407 and Citroen C5 territory with Renault's new Laguna diesel also entering the fray although it is only offered as a hatch.

The other three Euros do offer diesel wagons but with entry level prices ranging from $44,990 for the 103kW/320Nm DSG semi-auto 2.0 Passat, $51,190 for the 100kW/320Nm auto 2.0 407 and $51,990 for the 100kW/320Nm auto 2.0 C5, all are significantly more expensive than the Mazda. 

ON THE ROAD
By their very nature, diesel engines are generally more flexible than petrol engines and the Mazda6 Diesel certainly proves this point.

While it is reasonably strong off the line with little in the way of lag waiting for the turbo to kick into life, this really is the sort of engine that you can drive very lazily if you want. This is definitely a good thing as with no automatic transmission available it helps take the chore out of tootling around the suburbs.

The engine feels strongest over about 2000rpm but will keep pulling well into the high 4000rpm region so for the daily city trawl, you can often slot it into second or third and almost forget about it. With the engine ticking over at a lazy 1500rpm at 60kmh in fourth, it will happily pull away for a highway cruise without dropping a gear.

Should you want to drive with a little more enthusiasm, however, it also responds well to being kept spinning between 2000rpm and 3500rpm with a bit more judicious use of the slightly notchy gearshift lever. The response from the electronic throttle is instant although this can be slightly to its detriment in first and second gears. Combined with a clutch that has a fairly short take up range, launches off the line need a little practice.

As a diesel, there is a discernible tick from outside but sitting in the solid and supportive driver's seat inside, there is little indication of its diesel engine at idle. If you do push it hard into the higher reaches of the rev band the engine noise does start to intrude a little on the quiet cabin but it is never too loud.

In fact, cruising on a coarse surface highway, there is more intrusion of tyre noise, which is louder than we might have expected. The suspension setup is firm but with still enough compliance to remain comfortable on freeways, highways and B-roads. Get onto some particularly bad country C-roads however, and you do start to notice a reduction in the ride quality. We are talking degrees here however, and it never gets really harsh or uncomfortable, just a little jiggly.

The trade-off, however, is in the car's handling prowess that turns this diesel wagon into a car that you can truly enjoy punting along with enthusiasm. With the gearbox 'locked down' into third to make the best use of the strong mid-range torque, you can push the Mazda6 Diesel hard into corners and it will sit flat and solid and follow the line dictated by the well weighted and direct steering.

There is plenty of grip from the tyres and overall the car feels very well planted and composed on the road.

With class-leading price and solid driving dynamics matched by a refined and effective diesel engine, the Mazda6 Diesel should garner the same sort of attention that the rest of the diesel passenger car market is getting and if people are smart, leave Mazda clamouring for more stock. The only impediment to that is the lack of an autobox.