The IT Nerd

What you’re looking at is the Mazda 2.5L SkyActiv engine. It’s a 4 cylinder engine that puts out 184 horsepower and 185 pound feet of torque and this the only engine option that’s available for the Mazda6. I’ll stop right here and address the elephant in the room. It’s not a V6 in a market where the so called market leaders have V6 engines available. So this has to mean that the performance of this car has to lacking. Right?

Wrong.

That’s because SkyActiv is not one technology. It’s a suite of technologies that encompasses the engine, transmission, and body to give you plenty of Mazda’s trademark “Zoom Zoom” while saving you gas. If you want to go into finer details, check out my in depth look at SkyActiv technology here. But let me cut to the chase. In the Mazda6, it works exceptionally well to motivate the front wheels. The engine never, ever felt weak. If I wanted to pass by a transport truck, no problem. If I wanted to merge onto the highway in rush hour traffic, no problem. If I needed to zip around a slow moving car, no problem. Any time I needed engine power, it was there and always on tap. That’s because the 185 pound feet of torque show up for work at a low 3250 RPM. In other words, exactly where you need it and as a result the Mazda6 feels like a car with much more under the hood. The six speed automatic transmission also helps this by shifting in a smooth manner and being in the right gear regardless of my driving style. I should also mention that you get a sport mode that really allows you to take full advantage of what this engine can do. If that’s not enough, you also get paddle shifters that work regardless of where the shift lever is. In other words, you can be in “D” and if you want to hold a gear through a corner, simply tap the shift lever of your choice and Bob’s your uncle. But if you want a number to associate with my seat of the pants feelings, I used an app called Dynolicious and a flat road outside of Toronto to record a 0 – 60 time of 7.5 seconds. And that’s with snow tires on the car. That’s not slow.

But the accolades from yours truly don’t end there. This car handles exceptionally well. And when I say that, I am comparing to luxury cars costing tens of thousands more. The weight of the steering is perfect, and there’s a great amount of feel and precision that I typically don’t find in a mid-sized car that’s at this price point. Not only that the suspension is absolutely perfect. It feels firm but isn’t punishing and it lets the right amount of road feel through to the steering wheel. The last time I drove something that felt this good, it was from Bavaria.

Take it from me, you’ll test drive the Mazda6 and you’ll be thinking “This is a sub $35,000 car? It feels like it’s worth $60,000 or more.”

Now because I’ve got a Mazda6 with the technology package, I get one extra item. I get Mazda’s i-Eloop regenerative braking system that helps you to save gas by capturing and storing energy that is normally lost during braking in a capacitor. Then it takes that energy and uses it to run the electronics in the car so the engine doesn’t have to. The finer details on i-Eloop can be found here. But I am sure that it along with the SkyActiv technology in the car is allowing me to do 9.8 L/100 KMs in mixed highway and city driving, most of which is during rush hour.  One thing to note is that unlike regenerative braking systems found in hybrid cars where the brake pedal feels disconnected from the brakes, the Mazda6 has perfect brake feel as I can modulate the brakes and get the feedback I need from them. In fact, if I didn’t check the spec sheet, I would never know that a regenerative braking system was in the car.

There’s nothing that makes it way into the cabin in terms of sound with the exception of some of the exhaust note if you put your foot into it and perhaps a tiny bit of wind noise if the wind is blowing hard in the right direction for it to become a factor. That’s another thing that I wasn’t expecting from a sub $35,000 mid-sized car. Visibility is also good from the drivers seat as there was nothing that impaired my vision in any direction.

So, the bottom line is this. This car drives way above it’s weight class. I am extremely impressed by the Mazda6 thus far. And that continues with the interior, which I will cover tomorrow.