First drive: Mazda's 6 of the best

REMEMBER the old Mazda? The one that produced exciting, dynamic and stylish cars - not dowdy urban runabouts like the current 626.

You do? Well, the good news is the car company once regarded as being as sexy as it was sensible, has rediscovered its mojo.

The evidence - preliminary as it is - is based on the Mazda6, the replacement for the 626 due in Australia in August.

It is the first in a rush of cars from Hiroshima intended to recapture Mazda's place in our hearts, after the company spent a cost-cutting decade worrying only about our heads.

The 6 is an all-new car from stem to stern and that alone justifies the name change. But it is also about breaking away from current associations. Talk to a Mazda executive and it will not take long for the discussion to swing to "zoom-zoom spirit" and "Mazda's new DNA".

Boil all the mumbo-jumbo marketing speak down to fundamentals and it means Mazda has given up trying to be a mini-Toyota. It has gone back to building exciting driver's cars that people can love as well as afford.

That means aggressive, athletic styling inside and out, outstanding dynamics and clever, spacious interiors. All at an affordable price.

In the case of the 6, it is a tick on the first three counts. On pricing, we will have to wait and see, but you will pay more with only a single base model sedan coming in under $30,000 and the top models somewhere over $40,000.

Three body shapes will be offered here: A base, mid-spec and luxury-spec sedan, a mid and luxury-spec hatchback (called Sport) and a mid-spec wagon (called Sport Wagon).

All models share the brand new 2.3-litre MZR four-cylinder engine, complete with Mazda's sequential valve timing system called S-VT, which produces 122kW at 6500rpm and 207Nm at 4000rpm.

Both figures are well up on the old 2.0-litre found in the 626 and also significantly outstrip another exciting newcomer - the Holden Vectra 2.2 due in the last quarter. But the MZR does run on more expensive PULP rather than normal unleaded fuel.

It is mated to a much-modified five-speed gearbox or four-speed auto with a staggered gate, the latter to be the only choice in the luxury-spec and the wagon.

Mazda Australia put in a request for the 3.0-litre V6 engine as well, but that is being built for the US only at the moment.

The 6 is built on a new platform with a double wishbone front and compact multi-link rear suspension called "e-type", replacing the old MacPherson strut set-up of the 626. The rack and pinion steering has been revised and larger brake discs attached to the suspension, along with a choice of 15, 16 and 17-inch wheels.

The body of the 6 is not only sturdier but also bigger than its predecessor in terms of key indicators such as body length, wheelbase, width and height.

The styling is called "Emotion in Motion", replacing "Contrast in Harmony". Hmm, you gotta wonder sometimes ...

Integral elements of the new look are the hexagonal grille, large Mazda logo, the narrow four-globe head and tail-lights and a pronounced step in the bonnet.

And despite the name, the effect is striking, with obvious links to Mazda's new rotary-powered sports car, the RX-8, and the forthcoming Mazda 121 replacement, the 2, which has so far only appeared in concept form.

Inside, it continues to be bold with large chrome-ringed gauges and an eye-catching metal-look vertical centre console with large, practical controls. Another good feature is the split-fold system, which with one touch lays the rear seats down completely flat, without the need to flip the seat base forward or - unless the front seat is set at its rearmost position - remove the headrests.

The 6 has just completed its Australian debut at the Melbourne motor show, where a Sport fitted with an optional body kit was shown, and Mazda Australia took an unprecedented 12,000 inquiries.

This has prompted the company to forecast 500-550 sales a month, which is fairly bullish considering the mid-size segment has been steadily shrinking for the past few years and the 626 has been grinding on at about 360 sales a month in that period.

Specification levels have yet to be finalised. But driver and passenger dual-stage frontal airbags will be standard - rising to as many as six on the luxury models - along with anti-whiplash seats, ABS including EBD, lap-sash belts for all passengers, air-conditioning and some form of CD audio. Alloy wheels are likely on the mid and high-spec versions, and leather interior is possible for the latter also.

Judging by the European-spec cars sampled, there is plenty of gear to add to that lot - steering wheel audio and cruise controls, headlight washers, dynamic stability control and a sunroof to name a few. But the remote control sat-nav system will not be coming to Australia.

DRIVE IMPRESSIONS:

OKAY, read through that lot and the 6 sounds thoroughly orthodox, just like the 626 before it. But it is the attention to detail in terms of the mechanicals and the body dropped over the top that makes all the difference.

A 300km test drive of the sedan on roads north of Rome - that in places did a fair impression of Australia's broken and tortured bitumen - revealed a car with true driver's character in the tradition of the MX-5 convertible - one of few Mazdas not crucified in the 1990s cutbacks.

The engine is a rorty and sporty yet tractable unit, producing most of its torque from less than 2000rpm. Response is instant and enlivening when the MZR is mated to the clean-shifting manual gearbox.

There's no driveline shunt, no hesitation and no flat spots. It goes hard and sounds good too. Our brief sample of the auto suggested it may not be so sharply focussed, but that was mated to the smaller 2.0-litre MZR we will not see in Australia.

The chassis is a driver's delight. The steering is well weighted with plenty of feel and instant turn-in back through a nicely sized steering wheel, the grip level is high and the ride quality excellent.

It did tend to jostle a little on broken bitumen on low-profile, 17-inch tyres and generate some noise. But the higher profile 16-inch rubber quelled that.

There's no hint of torque steer, kickback or rack rattle. Traditional front-wheel drive push (or understeer) is banished and when the cornering speeds build up the rear-end - rather than just trail along behind - starts communicating reassuringly back to you through the seat.

No less reassuring, considering the invitation is always extended to drive this car hard, is a strong set of brakes that Mazda claims are better performed than many more expensive sports sedans. They stayed fade-free and full of feel during our whole drive program.

All this sounds like the 6 is narrow-focused and perhaps a tad demanding to drive in normal - read urban - situations. Well, it may not be a Camry in terms of softness and pliability, but this is still a car designed for everyday useability, it just has the ability to fly pretty high.

The driving environment is eminently comfortable and adjustable, which makes it easy to enjoy the driving, while the rest of the cabin is spacious with a surprising amount of leg and knee room, gained without making the rear passengers sit bolt upright.

The 6 backs up this impressive performance with looks that stand out on the road. There are dashes of Mazda's heritage, its future and more than a touch of the European sporting sedan about it.

And that's where your thoughts start heading in your idle moments. It is the sort of car whose dynamics speak more of German or Italian origins rather than Japanese.

It is, in a nutshell, rather good. Of course that assessment might change completely once on Australian roads, but that is hard to believe. The 6 feels like Mazda has got the fundamentals absolutely right.

All this zoom-zoom and Mazda DNA talk might have something to it after all.