2018 Mazda Mazda6 Road Test and Review

2018 Mazda6 ・ Photo by Mazda

The 2018 Mazda Mazda6 isn’t all-new this year, but there are improvements throughout with a new turbocharged engine, an updated interior with redesigned seats, and expanded feature availability. This mid-size sedan was already a sleek, attractive car with a fabulous interior, but the folks at Mazda still managed to find ways to make it better and enhance its premium look and feel.

And since this is a Mazda, it upholds the brand’s reputation for building cars for people who like to drive, with the addition of a new turbocharged engine. Sedans have lost favor over the last few years with crossovers taking their place, but the Mazda6 is a good reason to still consider parking a sedan in your driveway. Here’s a closer look at the refreshed 2018 Mazda Mazda6.

Pricing and Trims

There are five Mazda6 trims, starting with the Sport, which is the only trim with an available six-speed manual transmission. Pricing is $21,950 for the manual or $23,000 for the six-speed automatic. Standard features include a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, dual automatic climate control, LED headlights, and the Mazda Connect infotainment system with an 8-inch color touchscreen. The Touring starts at $25,700 with a power moonroof and leatherette seats while the Grand Touring at $29,200 sees the introduction of the turbocharged engine.

The Grand Touring Reserve adds heated and ventilated front seats, a steering wheel, and 19-inch alloy wheels for $31,270. At the top is the Signature with a price of $34,750 and an upscale interior that includes Nappa leather seats, Ultrasuede and Sen Wood trim, and a new Gunmetal front grille. This wide range of trims ensures there’s something for those on a budget and those looking for a more luxurious sedan.

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Powertrain

The base engine is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder with 187 horsepower and 186 lb-ft of torque paired to a six-speed automatic transmission with a six-speed manual available in the Sport trim only. New this year is a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 227 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque found only on the Grand Touring, Grand Touring Reserve, and Signature trims.

Our test car was the Signature with the turbocharged engine, and it quickly disproved the notion that sedans are boring cars. That 227-horsepower engine had no trouble getting the Mazda6 up to highway speeds, and it did so smoothly and quietly. The six-speed automatic also did its job without drawing unnecessary attention. Upshifts and downshifts were smooth and well-timed, so they delivered optimum power without letting the engine revs get unnecessarily high. It’s a fun and responsive sedan without being too aggressive and edging into sports car territory.

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Fuel Economy

The Mazda6 with the 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine gets an EPA-estimated fuel economy of 24 mpg in the city, 33 mpg on the highway, and 27 mpg combined with the six-speed manual. The numbers go up with the six-speed automatic to 26 mpg in the city, 35 mpg on the highway, and 29 mpg combined. Models with the turbocharged engine get the lowest rating with 23 mpg in the city, 31 mpg on the highway, and 26 mpg combined.

Those numbers aren’t bad, but they aren’t great, coming in about average for mid-size sedans. You can do better elsewhere if fuel economy is your priority. The turbocharged engine is unsurprisingly the thirstiest of the lot. It will cost you more over the long-term, especially if gas prices rise, but it’s worth it for the enhanced performance.

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Ride and Handling

The Mazda6 offers an exceptional ride quality that hides all but the worst road imperfections. Rough pavement and even most potholes go unnoticed by passengers. The ride is smooth and quiet, with little road or wind noise intruding into the cabin. Engine noise is also kept at bay, so even under hard acceleration, there’s no sense the engine is working hard to do its job.

Handling is better than you’d expect from a sedan, but perfectly in line with Mazda’s reputation. Steering is tight, controlled, and sporty, but never taxing. It strikes a balance between sports car and sedan, so the driver feels connected to the car and the road without having to work too hard. If you crave an even sportier drive feel, then switch to Sport mode at the touch of a button and you’ll have your wish. We pressed that button every time we got in the car.

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Exterior

sedans seem to run in one of two directions these days when it comes to design. They’re either so mild-mannered they make Clark Kent look edgy or they try so hard to be sports cars they become comical, like an old man in skinny jeans and a graphic tee. The Mazda6 is neither. Instead, it’s sleek and elegant with the alluring curves of a sports car minus the brashness.

The design is attractive, and the new grille is bold without overwhelming the car and becoming the only thing you see. The Mazda6 is an exercise in restraint. The designers could have pushed a bit further, a little more here, a little more there, but then it would have looked like every other sedan. The Mazda6 stands on its own as a mid-size sedan that looks like a luxury car but without the accompanying price tag.

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Interior

There’s nothing more disappointing than opening the door to a beautiful car and finding a mediocre interior. That won’t happen with the Mazda6. It’s easily one of the most attractive interiors in any sedan. This is even true of base trims like the Sport. Although finishes in lower trims aren’t as upscale, they don’t feel or look down-market. As you move through the lineup and materials improve, the Mazda6 eventually edges into luxury car territory by the time you get to the Signature.

Its Nappa leather sports seats are comfortable, supportive, and wonderful to the touch. The Ultrasuede accents look rich, and the Sen Wood trim inserts look frankly too expensive to be in a sedan at this price point. The elegance projected on the outside is duplicated on the inside. Sure, we’re waxing poetic about this interior, but the Mazda6 deserves the praise.

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Infotainment

Every rose has its thorn, and for the Mazda6 that thorn is the Mazda Connect infotainment system. It comes standard with a nice 8-inch color touchscreen, six-speaker audio, AM/FM radio, and Bluetooth hands-free connectivity. Higher trims include a Bose 11-speaker audio system, navigation, and SiriusXM. You’ll notice Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are not on that list, but Mazda just announced those are coming as a dealer-installed upgrade at no charge on the Touring trim and above in September. Once November comes, those features will be standard on those trims as they arrive in dealerships.

What makes the infotainment system a challenge is the poor user interface. It’s simply not intuitive, whether you're using the touchscreen or the rotary dial on the center console. It feels dated and clunky, with menus and icons that don’t make a lot of sense and take time to figure out.

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Safety

The 2018 Mazda Mazda6 gets high marks for safety. It received a top rating of five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with only one individual four-star rating for rollover risk. It did equally well in Insurance Institute for Highway Safety testing with its top rating of Good in all crash tests and Superior for the performance of its frontal-crash prevention technologies. Its only less-than-perfect score was for headlights, which were rated one step down at Acceptable. Its overall performance earned the Mazda6 an IIHS 2018 Top Safety Pick designation.

Standard safety includes blind-spot monitoring, a rear cross-traffic alert, and "smart city brake support," while just one step up to the Touring trim adds a lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, advanced smart city brake support, smart brake support with a collision warning, and high beam control, which you can still get as a package even on the base model.

Photo by Mazda

Final Thoughts

The 2018 Mazda Mazda6 offers a good mix of features and style with a range of trims to fit both modest and more generous budgets. It stands out from the mid-size sedan crowd for bringing a touch of elegance to the segment with unique exterior styling and a stunning interior, especially in top trims. This year’s new turbocharged engine adds excitement to the drive, although it’s unfortunately not available on base trims.

Add in good standard safety equipment with advanced features available even on the base model and top crash test ratings, and there’s a lot to like about the Mazda6. Its one true sore spot is the infotainment system, which will get better with the late addition of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, making it easier to overlook that fault. Overall, the 2018 Mazda Mazda6 is an exceptional choice among mid-size sedans.

Photo by Mazda