Mazda 6
The second-generation Mazda 6 made its official debut at the Frankfurt Motor show with a look that says the more things change, the more they stay the same. The car retains its same basic handsome lines in a bolder form. The grille is more pronounced, and the character lines are crisper with more definition and the overall feel of an athletic and sporty family sedan. In Europe, Mazda will offer a sedan, 5-door and station wagon models. In the U.S., plans so far call for the sedan to bow next spring, while the wagon has been dropped from the current lineup.
In Europe, the base engine is a 1.8-liter gasoline 4-cylinder power, while 2.0-liter gasoline and turbodiesel engines are optional. Of significance to the U.S. market is the news that Mazda’s 2.3-liter four has been upgraded to a 2.5-liter unit producing approximately 168 bhp. The increase in performance is due to an increase in bore and stroke as well as freer-flowing intake and exhaust ports. The Mazda 6 is offered with a 5-speed manual as standard equipment, while a 5-speed automatic and 6-speed manual transmission are optional.
A new feature on the Mazda 6 that may make the transition to the U.S. model is CF-Net (Cross Functional Network), a set of controls mounted on the steering wheel that provide integrated control of the air conditioning, entertainment system and onboard navigation. The readout for these functions is located in a centralized display mounted on top of the instrument binnacle, minimizing the movement of the driver’s line of sight.
