2006 Mazda 6 Reviews

Graham Smith reviews the 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 Mazda6 as a used buy.

Ewan Kennedy reviews the first, second and third generation Mazda 6 as a used buy.

Mazda 6 was launched in Australia in August 2002 and has had sales success since day one. Probably because it was a lot more stylish than the Mazda 626 it replaced.

Graham Smith reviews the 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 Mazda 6 as a used buy.

After years in the motoring doldrums with a range of well-built – but bland – cars, Mazda burst back into life early in the new millennium with a whole new energy and more youthful outlook on life. The company's entire range was renewed and every model proved successful, from the cute-as-a-button Mazda 2, the great 3, to the engaging 6. It was as if the company awoke from a deep slumber with a new drive and energy that powered it back to the forefront of car shoppers' minds.The stylish mid-sized Mazda 6 made as big a splash as any of the new models with its compelling blend of practicality, comfort and refinement, but then along came the MPS sports sedan that powered the 6 to a whole new level of performance to complement its natural sophistication.MODEL WATCHThe mid-sized Mazda 6 first burst onto the market in 2002 and was instrumental in helping to revitalise the Mazda brand. It was comfortable, refined, with good road manners and performance, and looked great.But the arrival of the MPS in 2006 added a whole new dimension to the prestige sedan, transforming it into a sophisticated and technically advanced sporting sedan. MPS stood for Mazda Performance Series, a sort of special vehicles offshoot of the mainstream model range.The MPS-tuned 6 wasn't a hard-edged sports car; it was more a luxury mid-sized car with a sporty attitude. Viewed from afar the MPS didn't scream 'hoon' as some sports sedans could do, its external enhancements were tastefully done and relatively subtle to make sure it stayed within the bounds of prestige appeal.There was a deep front spoiler with a gaping mouth to feed the much- needed air to the turbocharged engine, there were fog lamps, and a small spoiler on the boot lid, and big 18-inch alloy wheels, but the overall effect was one of refinement.Under the bonnet the 2.2-litre four-cylinder was boosted through the application of a turbocharger; the resulting output climbing to 190 kW at 5500 revs and 380 Nm at 3000 revs. It's not that long ago that power and torque of that magnitude would have had young V8 revheads going weak at the knees; the Mazda 6 MPS was indeed a sizzling hot road car.To put the performance to the road the MPS used a six-speed manual gearbox feeding a computer-controlled all-wheel drive system that kept a watchful eye on road conditions and distributed the drive between the axles for best traction. Unfortunately there was no auto transmission option available.In addition to the turbocharger the Mazda's engine also boasted direct injection for improved low and mid-range torque. The combination of turbocharger and direct injection delivered strong and smooth performance from low down right through to the upper reaches of the speed range. To cope with the extra zip Mazda beefed up the suspension with re- tuned springs and shocks, as well as bigger stabiliser bars.With the security of all-wheel drive, standard dynamic skid control, and the sports suspension the MPS enjoyed a firm grasp on the road. The good thing was that while the ride was firmer than the regular Mazda 6, it wasn't by any means uncomfortable. Bigger brakes, together with standard ABS anti-skid electronics, delivered the stopping capability to match the car's performance.Inside, there was comfortable accommodation for four, there was a good-sized boot out back, and a host of storage possibilities spread throughout the cabin.Naturally for a car of this class, the MPS had plenty of fruit, including Xenon headlamps, six-disc CD player, climate-control air, alloy sports pedals, and remote central locking with a deadlock function for added security. For even more fruit there was a leather upgrade, which brought with it leather trim, a power driver's seat with memory, seven-speaker sound, and a glass sunroof.IN THE SHOPMazda has always been renowned for the build quality of its cars and the 6 is no exception. Build quality is usually a good guide to the reliability and durability of a car in service and the 6 is performing without any major concerns. Mazda's servicing and parts costs are not cheap, but they're on a par with other cars in the class.It's important to check for a service record to make sure the engine in particular has had regular oil and filter changes. Also look for battle scars that often come from the daily grind of city traffic.IN A CRASHThe MPS boasted a comprehensive safety package with ABS brakes and stability control to help the driver avoid a crunch, and front, side and curtain airbags in the event a crunch came. ANCAP rated the MPS at four stars.AT THE PUMPMazda claimed the MPS would average 10.5 L/100km, which proved pretty close to the mark when it came time to road test it. It should be noted that the MPS needs 95-octane PULP fuel.LOOK FORSports performancePowerful turbo engineAwesome road holdingGood build qualityMazda reliability.THE BOTTOM LINE: A great driving sedan that is also at home in the hurly-burly of the daily commute.RATING: 80/100

IN 1989, Mitsubishi hit the nail on he head with the Galant VR4.The latest to adopt the VR4 formula of all-wheel-drive, a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a four-door sedan has been Mazda.The MPS is basically a Mazda6 shell with an all-wheel-drive underbody enhanced with a turbocharged version of the Mazda6's 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine.It is therefore a premium product in the Mazda range yet appears awkwardly placed because of the perception that Mazda puts all its big guns into coupe bodies.Yet that's no reason to discard this high-performance family saloon.Drive it and it has a closer relationship with, say Saab or Audi, than natural rival Subaru.The MPS sits solidly on the road and when it gets pushed, the power delivery is comfortably restrained. There's no impression that this is a rev-head car, rather it is more a mature sports saloon. Like the Saab.It comes only as a six-speed manual which is its first, and probably only, mistake. An auto is a definite in its market.The clutch take-up is a bit severe, causing a few stalls at the traffic lights. That may diminish as the car ages.Push this car hard on a test track and it becomes clear that it is a neat handler with loads of potential.The 2.3's turbocharger starts its boost at 2800rpm, and will keep the heat on in a seamless path all the way to near the 7000rpm mark.The fact that it's seamless is the bit where you don't feel as though it is particularly fast.It has delightfully light yet accurate steering, strong brakes and benign handling. But the track doesn't do this justice.On a run from Perth, sweeping bends, roughened bitumen and the narrow road brings its chassis abilities to the fore.It holds a line well, feels confident and secure, and returns a comfortable ride even at high speed. The cabin is a delightful loungeroom of leather and premium acoustics and there's no doubt there is value here.It comes with all the fruit, including the cherry, but misses out on the cream because of the silly space-saver tyre. You don't want to go country cruising with one of those things in the boot.Features include an exhaustive list of safety gear including multiple airbags and ABS with stabilitycontrol.The cabin is beautifully trimmed, the features here being some of the best that this top-notch Japanese carmaker can offer.It isn't cheap but it is a selective car for an individual buyer.

The key probably lies in the way it manages to be elegant yet unpretentious — and keenly priced. That combination has sold tens of millions of Volkswagens and like the Volkswagen Golf, the Mazda 6 is a thoroughly likeable and competent car despite not being exceptional in any area.All very nice, if an unlikely basis for a sports sedan. Yet like some fine-boned Ivy League graduate who has recently discovered the delights of pumping iron, the Mazda 6 has put on muscle in the form of the Mazda 6 MPS. It pumps up with a heavily revised and turbocharged version of the 6's 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine and all-wheel drive.It's a familiar recipe, followed by Subaru, Audi and Volvo for their flagship medium cars, but techno tragics will notice a couple of interesting details in Mazda's approach. For example, the engine uses direct injection, squirting petrol straight into the cylinder. Combined with computer-controlled spark timing, it makes for better low-down torque and lower pollution levels — so Mazda says. It's broadly similar to the system used by Volkswagen and Audi in their FSI engines.The all-wheel drive system is a part-time set-up that runs as a front-wheel drive when the going is easy and sends up to 50 per cent of torque to the rear wheels when the car's computer detects things are getting serious.The system has three automatically selected modes — normal, sports and snow — and works in co-operation with electronic stability control. In simple terms the MPS assesses how hard you are driving while at the same time deducing the road surface, and sends power to the rear wheels accordingly.It's a distinct improvement over previous part-time AWD systems that only drove the rear wheels if the front ones started to slip. One interesting detail for techno-nerds is that the power take off unit that sends drive to the rear wheels is water-cooled for greater reliability.Mazda says the MPS body is 50 per cent more torsionally stiff than a standard Mazda 6 — although one of the costs of achieving this is elimination of the load-through hole between the back seats and the boot.There's also visual muscle. The grille is larger to feed air to the turbo's intercooler, spoilers decorate each end of the car, side skirts lurk under the doors and larger wheels sit under flared guards. The effect is somewhere between the tailored sinew of a BMW and the all-out traffic-light aggression of a Subaru Impreza WRX.Inside it remains a Mazda 6, which is to say a recognisably Japanese car but with a distinct European feel. Little details, such as the red-tinged instruments and steering-wheel mounted cruise controls, evoke the Continent and the cabin has the modest but prosperous ambience of a Volkswagen Golf. The crisp, clear and powerful stereo is a highlight; the seats, with their small bases and not quite enough side support for the car's cornering abilities, are less memorable.Underway, the first impression is of bland steering. But more challenging roads reveal on-centre accuracy, freedom from kickback and tramlining, and even a little tactile feedback. The MPS turns in sharply without being skittish and settles down to display very impressive grip. Traction out of bends is strong and seamless as the computer sends more power to the back wheels. The computerised AWD system works well and its torque delivery to the rear wheels often flatters by tightening cornering lines. It's firmly planted and easy to drive by performance standards.A little more initial bite in the brakes might be nice to match the car's performance and handling, but pedal feel was good and they worked well on test. Body control through corners is excellent but ride makes an ambiguous first impression with a firm feeling that suggests wince-making bangs and crashes over rougher roads. But that never happens, and it copes quite well with noisy urban surfaces. Again, feel is more European than Japanese. Audi owners will find something subliminally familiar in a firm but padded gait.Unfortunately there was a cabin rattle in the test car, although it had probably already led a hard life in the hands of the motoring press. On the bright side, motorway refinement is better than expected in a performance AWD car — it will be a revelation to anyone who trades in a Subaru WRX.The six-speed manual gearbox (there's no auto) has a satisfying machined feel when driving the backroads but in the city it comes across as slightly heavy, particularly when combined with a somewhat hair-trigger clutch. The slightest flex of your foot sees it engage with a thump. You'll be left wondering, "what's wrong with me today?"All will be forgiven once you're moving. The engine belies its turbo badge with a wide torque band that begins at 2000rpm and doesn't stop until the rev-limiter cuts in. It's impressive, although like all turbo cars it can be thirsty if driven vigorously. We saw 15.4 litres per 100km.The only muted criticism might be of the engine's muted and uninspiring sound. Like a Saab turbo (but not the new V6 Aero) it sounds like a vacuum cleaner, only finding its voice at the top of the rev range.In every other aspect the 6 MPS is the car the four-cylinder Saab Aero should have been. There's something almost Swedish about its understated demeanour and determined competence, something almost German about its dark and sombre cabin. And while it doesn't quite have that Scandinavian design flair or outright German aggression, it makes up with genuine refinement and real ability.

Mazda has delivered and delivered in spades with the MPS, a turbocharged, all-wheel drive version of the Mazda6 with a whopping 190kW of power on tap.Based on the sedan, the MPS goes hard, very hard, with sticky, four-paw handling to match and a wicked turn of speed.The direct injection, spark ignition (DISI) turbocharged, 2.3-litre engine delivers 190kW of power at 5500rpm and 380Nm of torque at 3000rpm, with 90 per cent of torque delivered at a little over 2000rpm.The engine is hooked up to slick-shifting six speed manual transmission, with power de- livered to all four wheels through a part-time all-wheel drive system.For most of the time, the car is predominantly front-wheel drive, with an active torque coupling that transfers power to the rear wheels as required up to an even 50:50 split between front and back.The result is a car that delivers very strong low to mid range performance, with a lofty top end and only the occasional hint of turbo lag.Dampers and spring have been retuned, thicker stabiliser bars added and the brakes have been beefed up to match the increased performance - up 21mm to 320mm at the front and up 34mm to 314mm at the rear.Electronic stability control has also been added to keep the whole thing on the road.Mazda prefers to describe the MPS as an "executive express" rather than a full-blown boy racer.This might explain the understated styling which is just a bit too understated for our liking.The front with its deeper mesh grille looks okay but the car sits too high and the big, boofy twin exhaust system lacks finesse.The large rear wing has been replaced with a discreet boot lip spoiler and the 18 inch wheels fitted with 215/45 tyres are conservatively styled.All in all, we reckon the standard car is a better looker, particularly the stylish sports hatch.However, styling is a personal thing, so make your own decision.Looks are quickly forgotten once you're behind the wheel of the MPS.The ride is firm and sporty, but seems to avoid the harsh feel of many sports sedans.When a quick start is called for, the system automatically selects power takeoff mode which aggressively distributes torque to the rear axle for fuss-free, rapid acceleration.Changing down to third in a hurry however can induce some whiplash.Third gear seems to top out too early but fourth has plenty of oomph and the car just keeps on going from there.Sixth gear meanwhile is a tall overdrive gear, designed for relaxed freeway cruising and better fuel economy.It doesn't feel as quick as WRX, but by the same token there's nothing second rate about the driving experience which is more refined.At 1612kg it's about 200kg heavier than a Rex and much heavier than the Liberty GT too.The MPS takes premium unleaded, but is a light sipper unless pushed hard when it really starts to suck the gas.Claimed fuel economy is 10.5L/100km.Standard equipment includes ABS anti-lock brakes with Brake Assist, an Active Torque Spilt AWD system, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), Xenon headlamps, full body kit, 18 inch wheels and tyres, six airbags (dual front, front side and head protecting curtain airbags), power windows and mirrors, cruise control, six disc CD player, remote locking via a retractable key, trip computer, alloy pedals, reach and rake adjustable steering and climate control air conditioning.The Mazda6 MPS is priced from $48,600 plus on road costs.