The IT Nerd

So I’ve come to the end of the review of the Mazda6 GT with the technology package. First, let me tie up some loose ends. First of all, my wife and I took it grocery shopping. Thus let me show you what the trunk looks like with groceries in it:

Clearly, this trunk is not small. There’s tons of space left over. While loading our groceries, I noticed this:

There is a handle on the trunk. I am not sure why I didn’t notice it when I was taking pictures for part three of this review. I will note that it’s in an awkward location to see and grab, which may be why I missed it.

My wife and I also took the Mazda6 from Toronto to Niagara On The Lake to visit Small Talk Vineyards to pick up some great wines and then drive to Niagara Falls for some lunch. Then back to Toronto.

This trip highlighted the fact that the Mazda6 is an excellent highway car. It was easy to drive and it’s on center feel was impressive. There was plenty of power on tap when I needed it and I loved the fact that I could set the cruise control and it would adjust the speed for me based on the traffic that it encountered. Plus it was very, very quiet. If you drive on the highway a lot, the Mazda6 is a car that you’ll love to drive.

Another thing that I loved about the Mazda6 was the final fuel economy numbers. At the end of my week with it I registered an impressive 8.6 L/100KM in mixed city and highway driving, a lot of which was in rush hour. I should also mention that I did not drive any different or try to save fuel. This is the first time that I’ve reviewed a car where the fuel economy number improved by the end of the review. Usually it goes the other way. Clearly Mazda’s SkyActiv technology combined with i-Eloop works to save you gas. But it also doesn’t take away the “zoom zoom” that Mazda is known for as this car handles in ways that you do not find at the $35,000 price point. Not to mention that it has levels of refinement and technology like Smart City Brake Support that you don’t find at this price point.

Speaking of which, what does the Mazda6 GT with the technology package cost? $35,295 is what it lists for, but it does start at $24,495 which means that you can find a Mazda6 that fits your budget. When I tried to find a car that would match this particular Mazda6 in terms of features and price, the only car that comes close is the Subaru Legacy sedan which has their version of Smart City Brake Support. It is priced $33,995 and is all-wheel-drive rather than front wheel drive. But it has less horsepower and torque than the Mazda6 and its automatic transmission is a CVT rather than 6 real gears that that the Mazda6 comes with. I should also mention that the Subaru because of the addition of all-wheel drive gets 8.4 L/100 KM city and 6.1 L/100 KM highway. The Mazda6 beats it by getting 7.6 L/100 KM city and 5.1 L/100 KM highway. Finally, you can’t get Xenon HID headlights, nor can you get an 11 speaker stereo among other items on the Subaru. So in the end, I still think that Mazda6 comes out ahead. Now if you look at the mid-sized sedans that the Mazda6 competes directly against, namely the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, they don’t compete. The Mazda6 GT crushes them rather easily as it has a feature set that they can’t match. No wonder it’s winning awards.

If you’re looking for a mid-sized car, you need to visit your local Mazda dealer and test drive the Mazda6. You’re going to find a car that has great fuel economy, high levels of refinement, superior handling, and lots of technology that you won’t be used to seeing at this price point. Compared to the usual mid-sized sedan suspects out there, Mazda has a winner on it’s hands that you’ll love and will also keep the competition awake at night wondering how they can step up their game.

This entry was posted on March 24, 2014 at 8:00 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Mazda. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.