Mazda is continuing their quest to drive MPG uptown without the need of batteries, plugs or pretense. With the debut of their 2014 Mazda 6, the automaker scores another affordable car offering class-leading MPG.
Focusing entirely on building fun, fuel-efficient cars that the average buyer can obtain, Mazda doesn’t make a super car or a six-figure luxury model. The Mazda 6 sports sedan is essentially the company’s flagship car. Built to provide the automaker’s maximum amounts of space, comfort and in-car features, designers looked to build the new SKYACTIV model in accordance with Mazda’s Kodo design philosophy.
Showrooms have already seen the introduction of SKYACTIV versions of the Mazda 3 and CX-5, and the Mazda 6 continued that overall re-creation of the Hiroshima-based car builder’s line. For those just making it to the party, SKYACTIV was Mazda’s response to the automotive industry’s group march toward hybrids, plug-in electrics and other green, eco-cars.
Mazda’s SKYACTIV introduced a lighter and more high-tech product line moving quicker with less fuel spent. Using a high compression engine and updated materials, the result should impress the average consumer squeezed by perennially high gas prices without the need of environment-killing batteries or long charging periods.
Mazda engineers refined and improved their metallurgy and other compounds to reduce overall weight in the suspension, chassis, drive train, etc. According to its engineers, the lighter right improves performance in addition to saving gas. The Mazda 6 looks to keep the brand’s attitude of driving performance (i.e., “Zoom-Zoom”).
The company prides itself on developing cars for owners who “love cars and love driving.” To that end, the new model packs a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a new transmission using a torque convertor and dual clutch technology. By adding the turbocharger to 4 banger, engineers save on the weight of two extra cylinders, cam shafts, heads, etc., – adding fuel economy and building that SKYACTIV resume. That engine and transmission is new for 2014 in the Mazda 6 – all designed from scratch for this car.
The lighter SKYACTIV build helps the 6 average about about 30 mpg – industry class leading fuel economy.
Keeping the “zoom” in the Mazda 6 is an important step as the average age of the sport sedan’s owner is 47, according to the company’s consumer research. That might make it sound like an old guys car. However, if you assume drivers range in age between 16 and 80+, that 47 average puts a lot of would be 6 owners in their late 20s and 30s. That’s the second youngest ownership group in the industry for sports sedans.
On the safety side, the 6 offers smart city brake support, radar cruise control, blind spot mirroring and a lane departure warning system.
You put that all together, and the driving experience is comfortable, let peppy enough to offer a little fun along the way. It’s not as exciting as an MX-5 or RX-8, but it’s not meant to be. The 6 is intended to offer an easier ride for commuting or touring – without surrendering to the numb boredom of many luxury sedans.
The 2014 Mazda 6 SKYACTIV will arrive in showrooms in the second half of 2013 in Sport, Touring, Grand Touring trim levels ranging in price from $20,880 to $29,495.
