For years, Mazda has been one of the few companies that really connect with the joie de vivre that comes from driving. With their zoom-zoom marketing campaign, they attempt to remind viewers of significant automotive moments in their lives. Events like the day you received your first Matchbox car, bought the first real car, and then the first “dream car.” They hope that same joie de vivre is found in their totally new Mazda6.

What is it?

A typical three-box sedan, the Mazda6 replaces the five-year-old model introduced in 2002 as a 2003. Nothing is carried over, save for the firewall. A product of the Mazda design studios in Irvine, California, it is the first Mazda that has been designed, engineered, and manufactured in the United States for the North American market.

What’s It Up Against?

According to Mazda VP of Public Affairs, Jay Amestoy, the new Mazda6 squares off against only the three best selling five-place sedans on the market: The Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, and Nissan Altima. Add to that mix the new Chevrolet Malibu. Of the 2-million units sold in that segment, Mazda is hoping to land sales of 80 to 90,000 copies of the new “6.”

Any Breakthroughs?

The Mazda6 has stretched the limit. Riding on a new 109.8-inch wheelbase that is 4.5-inches longer than the outgoing model has given the “6” best-in-class legroom. Mazda engineers call it a larger car that doesn’t drive large. The sedan’s overall length has stretched 6.9-inches longer to 193.7-inches, while its track has increased another 2.3-inches wider. The overall dimensions, however, do not appear to be larger.

Add to all of the above, a body that sees a 17 percent increase in torsional rigidity, as well as an impressive reduction in NVH, all the while still letting a sweet exhaust note come through the interior.

How Does It Look?

Following the concept of Yugen, the Japanese concept of harmony with nature, and adding a touch of Rin (strong presence) with the meticulous attention to detail that characterizes Jeichi, the Mazda6 falls more into line with its popular siblings the Mazda3 and Mazda5. The distinctive Mazda 5-point grille takes the lead, and follows upward to the headlights, or “eyes” as designer Franz Von Holzhausen has dubbed them, to the flanks which take on the appearance of wings leading backwards and trailing off in an upward manner. The greenhouse, with its chrome trim accents around the windows and doors gives the impression of a longer length than actually exists.

As seen from the side, the brake lights of the Mazda6 have similarities to the caboose of the new Honda Accord, but don’t seem to end in the abrupt manner of the Accord. All this swoopiness in design has led to a rather slick measurement of .27 coefficient of drag (Cd).

And Inside?

The new Mazda6 boasts an equally new interior featuring fabric, or in the case of our test vehicles, perforated leather seating for five. A driver’s cockpit surrounds and places essential controls right in front of, or in the immediate proximity to the pilot. Heated seats are standard in front, but seeing how leather sticks in more humid climates, we will gladly opt for ventilated seats instead, if they were offered. By the way, well-bolstered seats kept our gluteals firmly in place while negotiating the twisties of Mulholland drive during our first drive in Los Angeles.

The Touring and Grand Touring models we tested showed off Mazda’s new generation of proximity key which opens the locks when you approach, and enables push-button starting once inside. Other tech features included an optional blind spot warning system and Bluetooth connectivity for cell phones, iPhones and the by-now expected iPod connectivity package.

Aggressively styled gauges with red and blue illumination draw the driver’s attention to the vehicle’s vitals while aluminum-like trim highlights the surrounds of the center stack. It is here, where the climate, navigation and 333-watt Bose audio systems with Sirius satellite radio were integrated into our test cars.

For those keeping track, the Mazda6’s trunk space will find 16.6 cubic feet of cargo space, or the equivalent room to haul three bodies.

But Does It Go?

With Mazda being the company where zoom-zoom is hopefully more than just a marketing slogan, the powerplants for their new ride were built to impress.

The inline four-cylinder engine that powered the previous generation of Mazda6, as well as the Mazda3 and some Tributes, has seen improvement to the point where it is now a 2.5-liter transverse powerplant with 170-horsepower and 167 lb-ft of torque. The four-banger can be had with a six-speed manual transmission or smooth-shifting five-speed automatic, which engineers were quick to point out made for a faster package than the manual transmission. At 3,258 pounds, the EPA mileage estimates check in at 20 mpg city and 29 mpg highway for the do-it-yourselfer manual, while the 3,309 pound five-speed automatic improves on that with ratings of 21 mpg city and 30 mpg highway.

Optionally, a 3.7-liter transverse-mounted V6 is available for those seeking faster acceleration and more power overall. We’ve seen this mill before in various Ford products during the past year, ranging from the new Lincoln MKZ to derivatives in the Fusion and Taurus. As it sits in the Mazda6, it provides 272 horsepower and 269 lb-ft of torque. Available only with a six-speed automatic tranny with a manual-shift mode, it is still impressive as we saw on one of several test loops we ran through while in the L.A. area. We were really jazzed about the Active Adaptive Shift (AAS) control, which senses the twists and turns of windy roads, feels deceleration and adds a downshift to assist in engine braking. That should be impressive enough, but then (according to Mazda) it usually finds itself in third gear to maximize exit speed after negotiating the sweeper. The same technology holds lower gears to increase acceleration while merging into highway traffic. It works as advertised, and was mighty impressive in doing so. By the way, the EPA says that with the 3,547 pound Mazda6, you’ll see mileage ratings of 17 mpg city and 25 mpg highway with the 60-degree V6 engine.

As far as the underside is concerned, speed-sensitive rack and pinion steering coupled with independent double wishbones with coil springs up front guide things along. That, in conjunction with a multi-link independent suspension in the rear, helps to keep all four wheels planted and moving in concert. Ride comfort was excellent during our drives through the So-Cal area with the exception of the buh-dump, buh-dump sounds that come from California’s tarred-over expansion joints.

Why You Would Buy It

The Camry, Accord and Altima all strike you as soul-less, and you think the as-tested prices of $27,640 for the four-cylinder, or $32,990 for the six, is money well spent.

Why You Wouldn’t

Blandness becomes you. You think cars are like appliances, and you wouldn’t care if it had a Frigidaire or Kenmore badge on its butt, instead.

Words and photos by Mark Elias.

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