Yahoo Autos 2014 Mazda 6 Grand Touring vs. 2013 Honda Accord EX-L
From the June 2013 Issue of Car and Driver
TESTED
Driving a family sedan tells society that you’re toeing the line. It’s the responsible move, presumably one of many. Buying one is akin to getting a tattoo lasered off: You might be the same person afterward, but the edginess of youth and the dumb things you used to do are now painfully erased. In the ’50s, you would’ve been the man in the gray flannel suit. The French would call you bourgeois.
If anyone even notices. Nearly all family sedans are vehicular camouflage, a way to disappear into the crowd. But in this segment that projects so much sameness, the new Mazda 6 draws long, involuntary stares.
We caught ourselves eyeing it quite a bit. Sure it’s gray flannel, but it appears to have been tailored in Milan. That’s Milan, Italy, not Milan, Michigan. The stamping looks expensive, the detailing is exquisite, and the 19-inch wheels fill the fenders completely. And yet Mazda sells the 6 at Men’s Wearhouse prices.
Newness goes deeper than the tautly drawn skin. Entirely redesigned for 2014, the 6 is all Mazda. Previous versions were born of the long affair between Mazda and Ford and were assembled in Flat Rock, Michigan, on a line that once churned out Probes and MX-6s. With Ford and Mazda now sleeping in separate beds, Mazda moved production to Japan and started over.
Built on a new platform, the 6 is lighter, structurally stiffer, and rides on a 1.6-inch-longer wheelbase than its predecessor. A fuel-efficient 184-hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine drives every 6 now, the V-6 having been taken off the option sheet. As you’d expect from the Miata company, a manual is available, but we opted here for the far more mainstream six-speed automatic.
No conversation involving automotive cubicles is complete without the boss, the Honda Accord. New for 2013, it is the quintessential family sedan, refined, spacious, and practical. The latest Accord has vanquished every mid-size foe it has faced so far and landed—for the 27th time—on our 10Best list.
For this round, we brought together loaded four-cylinder versions of the Accord and 6. As the highest trim level available with Honda’s 2.4-liter four-cylinder, the CVT-equipped Accord EX-L features leather, collision and lane-departure warnings, navigation, and the novel blind-spot camera for $30,785. Up on Mazda’s top shelf is the 6 Grand Touring. Available exclusively with a six-speed automatic, our $31,490 6 arrived equipped almost identically as the Accord, with the exception of its optional automatic cruise control.
With only two cars in this test, if you’re not first, you’re last.
Many will enter, few will win. It took three comparos to arrive at our final mid-size champ.
Regular readers of this magazine may wonder why a “two” appears next to the Accord’s name above. Maybe you should sit down—breathe normally, through your nose. It has just lost.
Now, the Accord remains a spectacular car with a broad portfolio of virtues, even if it has been bested. On the commuting-to-work part of the performance review, the Accord goes over the road with so little fuss that the machinery nearly disappears beneath you. The supple ride, light and accurate steering, and a CVT that keeps the engine humming distantly all help hold stress levels low. Gentle throttle application produces a nearly imperceptible rise in engine rpm and smooth acceleration. Wide and flat heated seats soothe aching backsides. Yet the Accord doesn’t bore. You’re left marveling that such a complex machine can sing so harmoniously.
And it’s not Muzak. Press the Accord into sports-sedan duty, and you’ll witness real depth. Chassis settings are soft compared with the Mazda 6, but the wheels are graced with phenomenal control. Light steering dances in your hands and presents a detailed Powerpoint from the contact patches. When it does lose grip, the progression is slow—the sliding starts earlier than in the Mazda—but ultimate roadholding of 0.86 g and a 39.7-mph slalom speed exactly match the Mazda.
The zero-to-60-mph time of 7.4 seconds, though quicker than the last Accord automatic we tested, trails four-tenths of a second behind the automatic Mazda 6. Fuel economy is a draw: Both cars achieved 28 mpg during our 800-mile test.
While the Mazda offers multiple ways of gaining manual control of its automatic, the Honda CVT only offers “S” and “L” settings. Move the shifter into “S,” and the tach hovers around 3000 rpm, just shy of the torque peak; selecting “L” holds the revs higher. The engine is kept at the ready for a run to its 6800-rpm redline; stomp on the brakes before the next corner, and the engine holds itself near 3000 rpm in anticipation of the return of your right foot. Work the brakes hard, and they will billow smoke until you ease up.
The Accord takes care of all the work, but it can occasionally feel too remote. The CVT is the embodiment of this point. Downshifts and upshifts hint at the personality of a car. Remove those inputs and the machine can begin to feel anodyne.
There’s nothing innocuous about the interior design, though. This overstyled Honda/Acura multitiered affair boasts huge analog gauges and two center screens. Up top is a joystick-operated eight-inch touch screen for navigation and other main menu items including music; a smaller six-inch screen controls the radio and sits on the mezzanine between the climate control and the bigger screen. The joystick, which hangs below the climate-control panel, would be easier to operate if it were located behind the shifter. The smaller screen washes out in sunlight, looks decidedly low quality compared with the one above it, and is distractingly difficult to use.
Material quality throughout the interior seems fine until you hop into the Mazda’s cabin, which feels richer and is more handsomely appointed. The Accord takes back a few points from the Mazda in interior volume. The low side-window sills, wide seats, and roomy rear bench make the Accord feel more than mid-size.
There’s nothing wrong with the Accord that we couldn’t live with, of course. Second place in the massive family-sedan segment is still an accomplishment. But in this two-car comparison test, the Accord gets the consolation prize.
The best cars seem to arise out of desperation. After its divorce from Ford, Mazda lost access to Ford’s platforms and parts bins. Mazda’s own engineers had to develop this sedan from scratch, but they have just delivered a car that deserves the big promotion.
At 3294 pounds, the new 6 is lighter than the Accord by 79 pounds, but a sense of lightness is not its primary characteristic. A firm suspension, stiff structure, and weighty steering make the 6 come across as the heavier of the two: It feels more solid and composed, with less ride float and more assertive chassis responses. In daily use, the Mazda involves its driver to a greater degree. While the Accord pulls a disappearing act, the 6 continues to submit reports via the steering wheel, chassis, and transmission; it feels more focused, less remote, and more alert than the Accord, even in parking lots.
It also loves a challenge, responding swiftly and predictably to stern commands. Although skidpad grip and slalom times are identical to the Accord’s, the 6 achieves those numbers with more confidence. Grip is more consistent, slides start later, and tighter body control makes the 6 feel more athletic on the canyon roads north of Los Angeles where we compared the two. The six-speed automatic responds via paddles behind the steering wheel or through the shifter itself. Even if you ignore the manual options, the transmission will still downshift on its own if you brake hard for a corner.
In the zero-to-60 run, the 6 pulled ahead with a time of 7.0 seconds. The six-speed auto snaps off shifts faster than the 6 manual we tested last month would allow. Mazda’s new 2.5-liter 184-hp four runs quietly most of the time, but does get slightly coarse as it nears the redline. The volume level at 70 mph was 69 decibels, 1 dBA higher than the Accord. At idle, we noticed a few unwanted vibes coming through the small-diameter steering wheel.
We got no bad vibes from the 6’s interior. Our Grand Touring model was equipped with supportive almond-hued leather seats that look as if they were pulled out of a $50,000 car. But it’s not just the seats that make the 6’s interior seem expensive. Tightly grained plastic covers the all-business instrument panel. Secondary controls click with a satisfying heft. The touch screen that controls the radio is responsive, even if it is a reach. There’s an iDrive-like control knob aft of the shifter that offers a much easier way to control navigation and radio functions.
The 6 is slightly smaller inside than the relaxed-fit Accord, but we didn’t hear any complaints from six-foot seven-inch senior editor Jared Gall. Rear-seat room measures just short of the Accord, but at least the 6 has a split-folding rear seat.
Able to venture further into the sports-sedan realm than the Accord, the 6 is a family sedan that doesn’t feel like surrender. It surpasses the class norms of packaging, price, fuel economy, and refinement; but its driving dynamics, acceleration, and interior and exterior design ultimately set it apart from the herd. Accord included.
Final ResultsVehicleMax Pts. AvailableMazda 6 Grand TouringHonda Accord EX-LDriver Comfort10109Ergonomics10108Rear-seat Comfort545Rear-seat Space*555Trunk Space*555Features/Amenities*101010Fit and Finish10108Interior Styling1098Exterior Styling10108Rebates/Extras*500As-tested Price*202020Subtotal1009386
Powertrain1/4-mile Acceleration*202019Flexibility*555Fuel Economy*101010Engine NVH1089Transmission10109Subtotal555352
ChassisPerformance*202020Steering Feel1098Brake Feel1088Handling10109Ride1089Subtotal605554
ExperienceFun to Drive252422
Grand Total240225214
You Might Also Like
