Vehicle Details: MAZDA6 Advantages

Arriving to early critical acclaim, the 2014 MAZDA6 Sport Sedan, now available here at Antelope Valley Ford Lincoln Mazda in Lancaster, California, is already emerging as the most compelling driver’s car in its class. Engaging performance and arresting KODO “Soul of Motion” design make the MAZDA6 stand out in a crowded field.

Meanwhile, its starting MSRP of $20,880 – among the lowest in the segment – kicks off a long list of benefits. Many know the Mazda brand for its focus on driving enjoyment and its rich sports car history. The 2014 MAZDA6 Sport Sedan brings spirit to a segment in which many competitors lack an engaging driving personality. Mazda has infused the five-passenger MAZDA6 with a solid dose of sportiness while also delivering the qualities midsize customers seek, including roominess, fuel economy and value.

The 2014 MAZDA6 has already won accolades, including a 2013 “Top Safety Pick+” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). It also won Motor Trend magazine’s comparison test with a Toyota Camry SE and Honda Accord Sport. Motor Trend preferred the overall driving experience in the Mazda, reporting, “Everything about this car is smooth and fluid.”

The MAZDA6 design, first seen on the TAKERI concept car, is striking. With a coefficient of drag as low as 0.26 (Grand Touring), the design is the most aerodynamic in the segment. That pays off in low wind noise and outstanding highway fuel economy.

The 2014 MAZDA6 does not compromise practicality for style. The new sedan offers one of the roomiest cabins in the class, including 37.1 inches of headroom and 38.7 inches of legroom for rear-seat passengers. The latter, at 2.6 inches greater than for a Nissan Altima, is among the segment’s best.

You’ll find a key to the advantages the MAZDA6 offers in one word: SKYACTIV^®. That’s the umbrella Mazda uses to cover a suite of engine, transmission, body and chassis technologies that optimize its latest models for performance, efficiency and safety. The new SKYACTIV-G 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine produces 184 hp and 185 lb/ft of torque, more than what you’ll find in a Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry or Volkswagen Passat. Brisk acceleration makes for a sporty drive, yet, with either the standard SKYACTIV-MT six-speed manual transmission or the SKYACTIV-Drive six-speed automatic, the 2014 MAZDA6 returns stellar fuel economy.

The manual returns an EPA-estimated 25 mpg city, 37 mpg highway and 29 mpg combined. The advanced automatic, which is available in the MAZDA6 Sport trim and standard in the Touring and Grand Touring trims, does even better with an EPA-estimated 26 mpg city, 38 mpg highway and 30 mpg combined.

Cabin styling reflects the exterior’s boldness and focuses on passenger comfort and ease of use in the controls. The leather-covered sport-styled steering wheel features tilt-and-telescopic adjustment, along with convenient audio and cruise controls. In competitive models, a leather-covered wheel comes only on the high-end versions.

The contoured dash and wide use of soft-touch surfaces throughout the interior create the ambience of a luxury-brand model costing thousands of dollars more. Mazda value is apparent in the entry MAZDA6Sport, which comes standard with 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels; push-button start; a six-speaker AM/FM/CD audio system with auxiliary and USB connections; 60/40-split fold-down rear seats; power exterior mirrors; and automatic-off headlamps. The standard sport-bolstered front bucket seats include six-way adjustment for the driver, including lumbar adjustment, something you won’t find on the entry level Honda Accord, Nissan Altima or Toyota Camry.

As in other Mazda models, the 2014 MAZDA6 offers you choices for customization and personalization. Adding the automatic transmission to the Sport also nets a slew of technology upgrades, including Bluetooth^® phone/audio connectivity, a 5.8-inch color touch-screen display, a rearview camera, audio menu voice command, HD Radio^™, Pandora^® Internet Radio, SMS text message capability and E911 automatic emergency notification.

The mid-level Touring and high-end Grand Touring offer even more, including standard 19-inch wheels, Blind Spot Monitoring system and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. Some of the standard luxuries in the Grand Touring, including an 11-speaker Bose^® Centerpoint^® Surround Sound System and navigation, can be added to the Touring with the Technology Package option.

Also standard in Grand Touring and optional for Touring, the all-new Smart City Brake Support (SCBS) system, technology more often seen in luxury-brand cars, can help prevent low-speed (under 19 mph) collisions. The Grand Touring offers even more driver-assist technologies.

Come in to road-test the 2014 MAZDA6 and discover, as Motor Trend did, how its advantages make it a winner.

10 Tips for Driving in the Rain

Looks like we will be having some rain for the next few days. It is best to make sure that you are prepared before you hit those slippery roads. Here are some tips we found most helpful in this situation.

In stormy conditions, it is more difficult to see other vehicles, road signs and the road itself. It is critical to make sure you can see and be seen.

1. First and foremost: slow down! It takes longer to stop or adjust in wet weather.
2. Replace old or brittle wipers.
3. Check your tires on a regular basis. Bald tires significantly reduce your traction on wet roadways, and offer little resistance to hydroplaning. When your tires run over water, the water is displaced and it needs somewhere to go quickly. The best place is between the treads of your tires. If your tires are bald, the water has no place to go and you end up riding on a layer of water, like a boat.
4. Stay toward the middle lanes - water tends to pool in the outside lanes.
5. Stay at least 2 car lengths behind the vehicle driving ahead of you. The roads are more slippery while wet. If you have to make a sudden stop, you will have a less chance of bumping into the back of the cars in front of you.
6. Turn your headlights on even in a light rain, or in gloomy, foggy or overcast conditions. Not only do they help you see the road, but they'll help other drivers see you. If your car has daytime running lights you still should put them on, so vehicles behind you can see you better.
7. When driving through a puddle of uncertain depth, go slow. If it's deeper than the bottom of your doors, turn around and find another route. Deep water can cause serious damage to a modern car's electrical system.
8. Avoid splashing pedestrians.
9. Rain or high humidity can quickly cause windows to mist up inside the car. In a car equipped with air conditioning, turn up the heat and direct the airflow to your defrosters with the AC switch engaged
10. Never drive beyond the limits of visibility. At night rainy roads become especially treacherous. The glare of oncoming lights, amplified by the rain on your windscreen, can cause temporary loss of visibility while substantially increasing driver fatigue. In rainy conditions pedestrians, livestock, and wildlife are extremely hard to spot and even harder to avoid.

Please keep these tips in mind and drive safely!

If you have any questions about servicing or scheduling an appointment for your vehicle, please feel free to Contact Us. We would be more than happy to answer any and all of your questions.

2013 Mazda MAZDA6 concept

The new 2013 Mazda6 has been rumored to be taking a similar look to the Mazda Takeri that was shown last year and the Tokyo Motor Show.  This article from CAR Magazine called Mazda6 (2013) - full scoop on new family car goes deeper into the details.

 

By Tim Pollard (artist's impressions by Christian Schulte)

Spy shots

31 May 2012 09:40

 

Mazda is about to inject some concept car fizz into its 6 range – 2013’s new family car will draw heavily on the swoopy Takeri concept car shown at last autumn’s Tokyo motor show. Only minor details such as handles and mirrors will change, as depicted by CAR’s artist’s impressions.

But it’s not just a sassy new style that makes us sit up and take notice of the new Mazda 6. It’s the second production car borne out of the firm’s new SkyActiv engineering philosophy: carrying on from where the Gram strategy shaved every last ounce from the MX-5, Mazda now builds all its road cars to the weight-obsessed SkyActiv blueprint.

 

Mazda 6: the Skyactiv tech

It brings a lightweight modular architecture and a suite of clean petrol and diesel engines – which Mazda claims are nearly as frugal as hybrids without a bulky EV battery in sight. The Takeri’s 2.2 turbodiesel spat out 173bhp and 310lb ft, yet Mazda claimed just 104g/km of CO2.

Such cleanliness should be achievable on the new 6 since it’ll sport SkyActiv staples such as stop/start, low-friction components and regenerative braking. Dubbed i-ELOOP, this braking system harnesses energy when you dab the brakes and stores it in a capacitor to run the car’s electric systems. This saves battery drain and is claimed to stretch combined fuel economy by up to 10%.

Mazda 6 lands at the 2012 Paris motor show

Expect to see the new Mazda 6 at the Paris motor show this autumn – pointing to availability at UK dealers early in 2013. Two bodystyles will again be offered – a five-door hatchback or a sleek tourer – and we’d predict prices to kick off at around £18,500 for the base models.

Mazda might be losing money globally, but it’s trying to build its way out of a hole with new product to lure customers away from mainstream brands Ford and Vauxhall – and mid-market types such as Volkswagen and Honda.

The new CX-5 launching this summer is the first of a glut of newcomers: the 6 arrives next and by 2016 every model in the range will have been replaced.

 

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