Road TestCar reviews - Mazda - Mazda6 - Limited sedanMazda modelsOverviewMazda's new Six is a sports sedan for all occassions, even in base Limited guise14 Mar 2008 IN THE space of 15 months starting in August 2002, a triumvirate of mid-sized sedans from Japan completely changed the face of family-car motoring in Australia, reviving the moribund medium-car segment with an infusion of style, sporty driving and value for money. The Mazda6, Honda Accord Euro and Subaru's MkIII Liberty certainly shook things up. Now all three will be reborn over the next year and a half, with the next-generation Mazda6 first cab off the rank. Does it have the flair and athleticism of the original? With one or two reservations... does it ever! Here we look at the ‘base’ Limited manual – a sports sedan to see off rivals as diverse as the Holden Commodore and Alfa Romeo 159. Model release date: 1 February 2008 to 1 March 2010 All car reviewsAlfa Romeo Abarth Alpine Alpina Audi Aston Martin BMW Bentley Chevrolet Chery Citroen Chrysler Dodge Cupra Ferrari DS Ford Fiat FPV Foton GWM Great Wall Holden Haval HSV Honda Hyundai Hummer Isuzu Infiniti Jeep Jaguar Lamborghini Kia LDV Land Rover Lotus Lexus Maserati Mahindra McLaren Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-AMG Mini MG Nissan Mitsubishi Peugeot Opel Proton Porsche Renault Ram Rover Rolls-Royce Skoda Saab SsangYong Smart Suzuki Subaru Toyota Tesla Volvo Volkswagen Previous modelHow good does the first Mazda6 sedan still look today? Wisely, when the mid-life refresh approached, the Japanese chose to concentrate on fixing the few faults of the fantastic original – a sprinkling of anti noise/vibration/harshness measures here, a specification increase there (including a new five-speed Activematic auto and a six-speed manual gearbox) – but the essential ingredients remained. With a fit 122kW/207Nm of zingy performance available from a wonderful 2.3-litre twin-cam four-cylinder petrol engine, even the Limited sedan had that rare ability – to be all the car you could ever need. This was a modern classic in the making. |
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