2008 Mazda6

[YSSMAN]

Yep, its still awesome!

Mazda has released the first photos and initial details on the new 2009 Mazda6. Designed specifically for North America, the car shares many cues with the Japanese and European-market cars that hit the scene over the last year. The car Americans and Canadians will drive is, in fact, bigger than its overseas counterparts. Visually, the front and rear fascias differ from the Japanese and European models as well. The USDM car gets a bisected grille and has its foglamps pushed out to the corners below the bumper. As we'd seen in spy photos, the car gets a completely different trunk, rear bumper, and exhaust treatment that's more appealing than the plainer setup Japanese and Europeans get.

Since Mazda released only exterior shots, we'll have to wait to see what the passenger accomodations look like. Base power comes from the same 2.5L four-cylinder base engine used in the Japan/Euro car, mated to either a 6-speed stick or 5-speed auto. The step-up 3.7L V6 is the same one you'll find under the hood of the CX-9. It's only transmission option is a six-speed auto with a manumatic sport shift feature. Horsepower and torque numbers for the USDM car haven't been released yet, but figure on seeing something in the neighborhood of 170 hp/166 lb-ft from the four. The six produces 273 horses and 270 lb-ft in CX-9 trim, so we'd expect something along those lines. Mazda's press release is pasted after the jump, in which you'll find no mention of either a wagon or 5-door hatchback variant. The '09 Mazda6 arrives as a sedan only, and it'll land in your local dealer showrooms later this summer.

So, I'm a bit confused if its on the Mondeo platform or not, and it sounds like it isn't... But either way, its shockingly good looking, and my guess is that it will take the top-spot away in the segment that is otherwise dominated by the Malibu in my heart.

I love these cars.

Oh, and:

 

[Sage]

I like the front of the JDM/Euro version better, but this is still stupid-cool. We definitely get the better butt though, especially those deliciously ostentatious exhaust tips.

 

[V1P3R]

Aww... : sigh: ok, ok... I can live with it. Just make sure you guys bring the hatch over here damn it.

 

[TopHat]

Makes the '05 sitting in the driveway look stodgy.

 

[YSSMAN]

Its without a doubt the best-looking, and I'd be willing to bet, the best-performing sedan in it's class. I eagerly anticipate seeing one on the road, and furthermore, taking one for a spin with the 2.5L I4 and a 6-speed manual. Its generally the more "sweet" combination with the 6...

 

[Jim Prower]

*drool*

Malibu? What's a Malibu? All I see is that juicy red thing sitting right in front of me. What is that? a Mazda 6? Aren't those those way-too busy things I see now and again? No, Not anymore? Wow.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> The new 6 is definitely promising. Finally we get the better version (USDM) than its International counterparts. 👍

-> This car makes Malibu invisible. The Accord looks bloated. The Fusion looks 20 years old. The Camry looks like a pile of lard. And that Galant looks like those Chysler's in the 80's.

 

[TopHat]

When did the Accord, Camry, and Galant look any different?

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

When did the Accord, Camry, and Galant look any different?

^ Wow, you have a really sharp eyesight!

-> Styling-wise the only car that rival its styling is the Euro-Ford Mondeo.

-> And I think this wasn't the 1st time that the Mazda6/626 parted ways.

- Car: 1998 Mazda 626:

USDM

EURO/JDM (Capella)

^ Same name, same year, different markets, different car.

-> So its late-'90s all over again, sort of.

 

[TopHat]

I'm not sure if you understood me, but I meant that they always looked old, bloated, and lard-ish to me.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

I'm not sure if you understood me, but I meant that they always looked old, bloated, and lard-ish to me.

^ I know, I know, just like any average American.

 

[TopHat]

*rimshot*

 

[Omnis]

Man, I am SO HAPPY they ditched the Sebring lights.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

The back is a 10/10 but the front is more of a meh point. It's very similar to something I would expect to see out of Toyota. Who uses diagonal headlights anyway.

 

[Tornado]

The car looks good, except for the front. Somehow, Mazda felt that taking a Yaris (easily the worst looking of the new Toyotas) and widening it out in the front would make it look better.

With that out of the way, I think we should hold off on announcing this as the default winner in the segment. If you wanted to be a jerk about it, one could say that this is simply a bloated, probably heavier and poorer handling caricature of the prior Mazda 6 that doesn't even have the decency to be on a new platform from before. Without ignoring that (a fairly large thing to avoid), one can't draw too many conclusions about it being spectacularly better than its stable mates.

Remember, this is not the near Mondeo-beating European Mazda 6 that did manage to be better than its predecessor in every way. This is the American version, which similar to the Accord, has a 90% chance of being inferior in every way to its European counterpart.

 

[TopHat]

Oh god, I just remembered how poor the turning radius is on the current car.... and this one is bigger, and on the same platform. It'll be like parking a semi!

 

[V1P3R]

Meh... it's got power steering so it's automatically better than my dad's '65 stang.

Seriously though, I'd rather a bad steering radius on a car than a bad steering radius on a truck like my dad's '04 Tundra, god I hate that thing. At least you can see stuff behind you in a car too.

 

[YSSMAN]

Remember, this is not the near Mondeo-beating European Mazda 6 that did manage to be better than its predecessor in every way. This is the American version, which similar to the Accord, has a 90% chance of being inferior in every way to its European counterpart.

That is in fact the reality of the issue, unfortunately. I'm banking on it to be a damn-good car, the Fusion and its stable-mates still (at least in my opinion) have a lot of life left in them. Furthermore, if this update of the chassis is as good as they say it will be, my hopes still sit high.

...And if they add EcoBoost?

Game. Over.

I'll happily forget about the Malibu after that...

 

[SlipZtrEm]

I was wondering when we'd get info about the new USDM 6. It's disappointing that this will probably be heavier than the last one, so the new engine isn't going to improve things much. I like the tidier overall look of the Euro-6 (blame the better dimensions), but the US backend looks a lot better.

Oh well. At the very least, this is far better than any other Japanese car in the class. It's hard to believe how far Mazda has come in 10 years.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

Oh god, I just remembered how poor the turning radius is on the current car.... and this one is bigger, and on the same platform. It'll be like parking a semi!

^ Nothing like a good 'ol hand brake to fix the job on those situations.

-> Even thou it is based on the old gen, I really do hope they don't wash down its fun to drive quotient.

 

[niky]

The new JDM one has a pretty good turning radius. I think they've tweaked the steering geometry for that. The US one should be pretty similar.

Lucky you guys... if the US is getting a slightly bigger one... great! The new JDM one is bigger than the old model, but it doesn't feel like it... seriously lacking rear seat space compared to the competition. Wonderful car to drive, though... but I'm going to miss the perfect hydraulic steering rack of the old 6.

 

[Danoff]

Hmmmm

I think the angles Yssman posted make it look worse.

 

[Sage]

Well, except that that’s a completely different car. That’s the JDM/Euro version, which is on a different platform and has different (though similar) styling.

 

[Danoff]

Well, except that that’s a completely different car. That’s the JDM/Euro version, which is on a different platform and has different (though similar) styling.

Somehow I cannot see the difference in the front-end.

Edit: The rear end is a different story:

 

[JohnBM01]

Time to talk style... the Mazda 6 has plenty of it. The lines are sharp and clean. The side profile as well as the look at the back (I don't use "butt" or "ass" to talk about the back of a car). I'm only slightly disappointed with the front of the car. The grill seems a bit too wide and kind of has an Acura-style grill. A detail I noticed on the new 6 is the large overfender up front. It adds some boldness up front without exaggerating too much. Aggression is always good as long as it's not overagressive. And you're right, Sage, the rear does look a bit like the latest Sebring. However, I like this car for the most part. Never saw a 6 I didn't like. I approve this car by 90%.

 

[YSSMAN]

Either way, its a shockingly good-looking car that should (hopefully) have the athletic moves to back it up.

 

[ranhammerR34]

Lovely to look at, hopefully we get the Mazda 6 as shown in late 2008 early 2009... I might be waiting for that here...

 

[JohnBM01]

Only thing I'd hope for is that we don't get a crappy-looking version of the 6 like the terrible-looking Focus we got compared to the lovely European-spec Focus. Just hope the company part owned by Ford (still part-owned? Fully-owned? Not owned at all?) doesn't pull a Focus on the American 6. Its lines are amazing.

I'm assuming this is the European-spec Mazda 6 we're seeing in pictures. I've always thought European style is sharp while being beautiful. It's always a kind of clean style I've enjoyed with cars even as I read through pages of Evo magazine. I wouldn't mind of Mazda delivered a car with this much sharpness and clean lines. Always enjoyed European style... which thus leads to lovely-designed cars like this Mazda 6. It's a well-done job for my tastes. I always favor clean and sharp with coupes and sedans. This car is no exception. It's really beautiful to look at in my view. Just a well-done job for my tastes and styles.

 

[YSSMAN]

The red one is the US-spec version, the silver/blue one is the European version.

Which makes you wonder:

This

+ larger Mazda 6 frame

=

New Ford Fusion???

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

I wonder how hard it would be to get the Japanese front on the US version.