Mazda6 G35 Atenza Wagon 2024 Review

Five variants comprise the wagon line-up, with the 2024 Mazda6 G35 Atenza only bested by the range topping G35 20th Anniversary. A four-door sedan is also available.

Before on-road costs (ORCs), the Atenza commands a $53,890 price tag, placing it below the $55,685 G35 20th Anniversary and above the $50,490 G35 GT SP.

If you don’t want to fork out the price premium for the turbo version, two naturally aspirated models are available with the $42,260 G25 Touring and entry-level $37,590 G25 Sport.

Given its price point and position within the range, the 2024 Mazda6 G35 Atenza Wagon comes loaded with kit.

The Atenza scores 19-inch alloy wheels, roof racks and adaptive LED headlights. Inside, Nappa leather covers the power adjustable front seats (10-way with memory for the drive and six-way for the passenger) with heating and ventilation while the rear outermost pews are heated, too.

There’s also steering-wheel heating, dual-zone climate control, sunroof and a suede-like material on the dash.

The Mazda6 wagon is covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty with five years of roadside assistance. Service intervals are every 15,000km or 12 months. The first seven years or 105,000km of scheduled servicing is predicted to be $3571.

The 2024 Mazda6 G35 Atenza Wagon scores a five-star ANCAP safety rating (2018) and is packed with active tech.

Highlights include autonomous emergency braking in forward and reverse, adaptive-cruise control with stop/go, intelligent-speed assist, driver-attention alert, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, rear cross-traffic alert, traffic-sign recognition and tyre-pressure monitoring.

The Atenza adds parking sensors for the front and rear as well as 360-degree surround view cameras.

While the 2024 Mazda6 G35 Atenza Wagon has been brought up to date, tech is where its 2012 roots show the most.

The 8.0-inch touch-screen is now on the smaller side in a modern context with the MZD Connect infotainment graphics proving somewhat antiquated – and the reversing camera quality is poor. Apple CarPlay (wireless) and Android Auto (wired) features, as does wireless Qi phone charging, DAB+ digital radio, an 11-speaker Bose sound system with amplifier and a head-up display.

While there are USB-A ports up front and back (the latter located in the central armrest), no USB-C ports are present.

The Skyactiv-G 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol finds its way into the Mazda6 Wagon and powers the front wheels alone via an in-house six-speed automatic gearbox.

It is a rather mystifying engine. It has petrol coursing through its combustion chambers, but it might as well be diesel given how it performs.

The gutsy 173kW is produced at a rather low 4250rpm and its heady 420Nm peaks at 2000rpm. This is done on purpose for ease of use when driving in the city, providing the bulk of the engine’s power and torque earlier in the rev range.

The 2024 Mazda6 G35 Atenza Wagon comes with an official combined fuel-consumption figure of 7.6L/100km.

However, don’t expect to achieve that figure in the real world if you want to access the performance underfoot. Throughout our week of testing the average consumption rarely dipped below 10L/100km.

A key rival, the Skoda Octavia RS, claims a combined consumption of 6.8L/100km. However, the Mazda will accept cheaper 91 RON fuel to save a little at the bowser.

Again, there’s a dual personality at play with the 2024 Mazda6 G35 Atenza Wagon. Although, 99 per cent of buyers are only ever going to access one side of its demeanour.

There’s a relaxed and refined nature that permeates the experience. The ride quality is supple enough and the MacPherson strut front, multi-link rear suspension setup really breathes with the road at speed. Yes, it is a little too soft when you start to demand more of the chassis when cornering, where you must remember that while the engine figures allude to a performance variant, the Atenza very much isn’t one.

The brakes (297mm ventilated discs up front, 278mm solid discs rear) will also let you know quite early on that they too aren’t up for spirited driving. The 225/45 R19 Bridgestone rubber also don’t provide enough rubber, meaning the G35 Wagon can struggle when pushed into a sporty driving style.

However, the interesting part of the puzzle is that if you decide to push the Mazda6 Wagon a little harder on a twisty road it comes alive the closer you coax it to its limits. There is a playful side to the chassis tune when you work with the softer suspension and roll, with the booted Mazda almost unfurling its after-hours side. The now electronically assisted power steering also has a natural weighting.

It’s simple to setup, too. There aren’t a myriad of menus and modes – just normal driving or Sport, the latter of which mainly serves to manipulate the shift points of the six-speed auto. You can take matters into your own hands with the steering wheel-mounted paddles, or you can use the gear lever which has its up and down designation in the correct orientation.

While there is enjoyment to be found for that 1 per cent of buyers, the rest will appreciate the refined character the Mazda6 offers in G35 guise. The powertrain is effortless with a turn of speed that makes single-lane overtakes a breeze and the suspension is neither jostling nor travel-sickeningly soft. It’s just an accomplished allrounder.

Its origins might date back more than a decade, but you’d be largely hard-pressed to tell in the 2024 Mazda6 G35 Atenza Wagon when it comes to ambience.

It’s a rewarding place to be as the soft Nappa leather feels cosseting, the suede-like dash material adds aesthetic appeal and the cabin in general doesn’t scream 2012 vintage. Adequate sound deadening also means that general NVH is low with only minimal amounts of tyre roar on the open road.

Annoyingly, touch inputs for the infotainment screen are only enabled while stationary, meaning you need to painstakingly twizzle the control wheel through various menus to access the information you require when on the go.

Due to the shorter wheelbase (2750mm for the wagon compared to 2830mm for the sedan), rear-seat legroom is compromised – it’s more adequate than overtly spacious. There are no such issues with toe, shoulder and headroom.

The 506-litre boot isn’t as capacious as you’d expect given the wagon body style, especially when rivals boast more than 600 litres. The Mazda’s figure does expand to 1648 litres with the 60/40-split rear seats folded (there are easy-release mechanisms in the boot). And despite the high spec level, the tailgate isn’t powered.

If you want a 2024 Mazda6 G35 Atenza Wagon, you’d better get in sooner rather than later.

The ultimate end date of the venerable Mazda6 Down Under isn’t yet known, but Japan has axed it domestically and a fourth generation seems highly unlikely. Well, that’s unless it morphs into an EV, of course.

However, the bigger dilemma is deciding if you want to go down the turbo route. Yes, the G35 Atenza is bursting with kit for its rather lofty price tag, but you arguably don’t need the extra specification or performance the 2.5-litre turbo endows the Wagon with.

If your right foot does the talking, spend the extra cash to upgrade to the G35 Atenza. If not, you’ll be more than happy in the lower-grade, non-turbo G25 Touring. And you’ll drive away with an extra $11,630 to boot.

2024 Mazda6 G35 Atenza Wagon at a glance:
Price: $53,890 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 173kW/420Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 178g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2018)

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