LA show: Updated Mazda6 fronts up

MAZDA has added new safety gear and in-car technology to its refreshed Mazda6 mid-size sedan and wagon range, in tandem with similar upgrades to its CX-5 SUV.

Making its debut at the Los Angeles motor show, the updated Mazda6 also gets exterior styling changes mimicking those of the CX-5, including more pronounced silver fins on the grille and a bolder version of the signature wing that connects the headlights and grille.

New eye-like headlights give the 6 a stronger look, while the fog-light surrounds and lower air intake in front bumper have been smoothed.

The LED tail-lights have a sharp new look, the wagon gains a shark-fin antenna, the 19-inch aluminium wheels get a darker high-gloss paint, and – like the CX-5 – the 6 adds Sonic Silver Metallic and Titanium Flash Mica to the colour palette.

Mirroring some of the updates to the CX-5 cabin, the 6’s instrument panel and centre console have been restyled, with the tablet-like seven-inch display now mounted atop the centre stack rather than integrated into the panel.

It gains electric park brake, heated rear seats, depending on the variant – a first for Mazda – plus power rear sun shade in the sedan, and an updated MZD Connect connectivity system. The Japanese manufacturer said it has also minimised the gaps between parts for an “overall unified appearance”.

Engineering changes have brought a 10 per cent improvement to noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) levels on rough road surfaces and 25 per cent on highways.

The ride also has been improved thanks to tweaks to the front and rear dampers.

The Mazda6 gains the Drive Select driving mode system, as well as redesigned front and rear seat structures, but the only powertrain update is the addition of Mazda's new-generation all-wheel-drive system on the 2.2-litre SkyActiv-D unit.

As with the CX-5, the i-Activsense safety suite gains adaptive LED headlights, lane-keep assist, driver fatigue warning and the Smart City Brake function, as well as Mazda's blind spot monitor.

Mazda Australia public relations specialist Tony Mee said the Mazda6 would hit Australian shores in quarter one next year – about the same time as the CX-5.

The current model is in run-out.