[Brookside]

New Mazda 6 European Version


This is the new Mazda 6 going on sale in Europe only- speculation is that the N/A market will get a dumbed down version of the car for the next model iteration.
2 questions-
a} is Mazda now the leader of Japanese design?
b} is the N/A market conservatively biased?

[Brookside]

Do you really, really like the looks of this all-new Mazda 6? Yeah, we do, too. It’s too bad, then, that the car you see here, which will be officially unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show, is only for European consumption.

Specific details we like about the Euro car include the multi-element headlamps and taillamps, the protuberant hood (it now dips down below the grille), and the steeply raked roofline. The latter is definitely great-looking, but we worry that it may make the rear seats less than accommodating for tall passengers.

Inside, things are looking good, too. The center-stack controls combine the style of the RX-8 with an ergonomic arrangement that appears to be inspired by the Toyota Camry. That’s no bad thing, especially if the 6 still drives like a Mazda.

Unfortunately, the U.S. model, which may see the light of day at either November’s L.A. auto show or the Detroit auto show in January, will wear different sheetmetal. We're also told that it could ride on a completely different platform that the Euro-spec car. According to Mazda, this is because the North American car needs to “look bigger.” Car buyers, it says, think the current car looks too small in relation to other mid-size sedans.

WHAT!?!?!

We’re not sure how much of the Ford Mondeo is incorporated in the European Mazda 6 platform, but we hope a lot. Either way, Mazda has a pretty good track record of pumping out fun-to-drive cars in spite of the best efforts of its parent company's in-house cost cutters.

For the U.S. market, the next-gen 6 will be offered only as a sedan and five-door hatch. Low demand for the current Mazda 6 Sport wagon, which was discontinued for '08, has rendered it a no-deal for the second-gen 6 in America. (The Continent is expected to be able to purchase a wagon version of their 6, however.)

As for the Mazdaspeed 6, which is also gone for ’08, let's just say it’s on hiatus until the new 6 gets its legs. We see a direct-injection, turbocharged V-6 with all-wheel drive in its future, similar (although probably not identical) to the system found in the upcoming Lincoln MKS. The all-wheel-drive variant will likely appear along with a hybrid within a year of the U.S. version’s debut.

Expect even more acute handling, as well as a choice of more-potent four-cylinder and V-6 engines under the hood, the latter being the corporate 3.5-liter of about 260 horsepower (as found in many other FoMoCo products).

U.S. models will continue to be built at the same plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, that has been building the 6 since the beginning, with the vehicle reaching dealerships in early ’08 as ’09 models.

2009 Mazda 6 - Auto Shows - Car and Driver August 2007

[atr_hugo]

I like the looks of the Mazda6 and I like the aggresive front fenders (they pulled a little RX-8 styling over).

But don't get me started on Mondeo's - I owned two Contours, a '96 SE and a de-contented (expect for engine) '99 SVT. Ford does not bring their good product to the US - it stays in Europe.

Seems that they can't sell small cars at prices that bump up against larger cars in the Ford lineup (the rap on the Contour was that buyers liked it but found the price too close to the Taurus and bought a stripper Taurus instead - the old 'bigger is better' ; -).

[BForbes]

I think the new Mazda 6 looks great!!! I do believe that they are a very underrated company.

[imported_MPower]

Originally Posted by onehots2k

I think the new Mazda 6 looks great!!! I do believe that they are a very underrated company.

Too bad the interiors are still cheap and the dealers treat you like crap.

[Brookside]

Originally Posted by MPower

Too bad the interiors are still cheap and the dealers treat you like crap.

Yep. The interiors are the weak point for sure.
There are never any surprising touches and if you look hard at all their interiors you start finding cheap material.

The exterior is another story.
The front wheel bulge originally from the RX8 and now a carryover signature element in Mazda's line-up has been grafted
onto high-zoot design horses such as the next gen Z4 and Mercedes S-Klasse.
When you see a Japanese manufacturer - one without the high-roller line like Honda, Toyota and Nissan have- influence upper-tier German cars, then they deserve kudos for influencing automobile design at the top tier.
They've managed to change what we see when we look at the front of a car.

[Victor.L3IchibanM3]

The rear looks alot like one of the Lexus....

[mlevere1988]

I currently own a Mazda6 Wagon and I am going to be really dissapointed if they do not bring that car to the US. Ford has done such a shit job of listening to their customers and to the car buying public. Instead of bringing over the Mondeo to replace the Taraus the re-design it to look like a shorter\wider Edge. The Mondeo was one of the more popular cars in Europe and the trend in the US is starting to go smaller instead of bigger. No wonder Ford is losing money.

Ford, for once, listen to the public. Bring that car to the US. I am tired of all of the bland cars being produced by GM and Ford. It seems like Pontiac is possibly doing something about it with the new G8 that is based on the Holden.

[Tijuana]

Originally Posted by mlevere92

Ford, for once, listen to the public. Bring that car to the US. I am tired of all of the bland cars being produced by GM and Ford. It seems like Pontiac is possibly doing something about it with the new G8 that is based on the Holden.

Bingo. I hope that the G8 is a wild success and the "big 3" take notice that their best cars are not sold here. GM is finally bringing Opels over with Saturn badges. When is Ford going to get the hint?

[321]

a) its between mazda and nissan imo
I don't like the first pic(side profile) it looks like a bug in the sense that there is a very distinctive head, thorax, abdomen. Its almost like the car was meant to be a 2 or 3 door.
I do however like the first pic in your second post, its a very attractively designed front end.

b) with out a doubt

[larry lawless]

a) its between mazda and nissan
b) definitely

[vinazzurro]

It looks genuinely athletic, and definitely more interesting than the new Camry or Accord boats.