2014 Mazda6 Preview: 2012 LA Auto Show

The midsize family sedan class is one of the largest, and most competitive, segments in the U.S. market. Any mainstream brand serious about serving American consumers is playing on this particular battlefield. The 2014 Mazda 6 is the automaker’s entry in the space, completely redesigned and developed to be as fuel-efficient as it is fun-to-drive.

When it arrives in January of 2013, the new 2014 Mazda 6 wades into a fray filled with recently redesigned family cars including the Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, and Volkswagen Passat, not to mention popular models such as the Hyundai Sonata, and Kia Optima.

2014 Mazda 6 Preview: 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show

• “Kodo”-themed styling
• Standard SkyActiv-G gasoline engine
• Optional SkyActiv-D clean diesel engine
• New i-ELOOP brake energy regeneration system
• New Smart City Brake Support technology
• Bluetooth audio streaming capability
• SMS text messaging capability
• HD Radio and Pandora Internet radio

2014 Mazda 6 Preview: 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show

Foreshadowed by the Mazda Takeri Concept car, the 2014 Mazda 6 is styled in adherence to the tenets of the automaker’s new “Kodo” (Soul of Motion) design language, and the car looks sensational in person. Visually, the new Mazda 6 appears to be smaller and tauter than the somewhat bloated 2013 model, and is far sexier than anything else in the midsize family sedan class.

Inside, the new 2014 Mazda 6 is more conventional, but it looks more like a luxury sport sedan than the typical family car – especially with light-colored seats and door panel inserts.

2014 Mazda 6 Preview: 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show

When the 2014 Mazda 6 goes on sale, it will have a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine generating 184 horsepower at 5,700 rpm and 185 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,250 rpm. Buyers will choose between a 6-speed manual gearbox and a 6-speed automatic transmission, each delivering power to the front wheels. Fuel economy estimates will be available closer to the car’s arrival in showrooms.

Later in the year, a new 2.2-liter clean diesel 4-cylinder engine will be available, equipped with a low 14:1 compression ratio that helps the engine to burn cleaner, discharge fewer nitrogen oxides, and produce “virtually no soot,” according to Mazda. That means the new diesel won’t require NOx after-treatments, like some other diesel engines do.

Mazda has not determined final horsepower and torque figures for the new SkyActiv-D clean diesel engine, but previous statements by Mazda executives indicate it will offer more ponies and much more torque than the standard SkyActiv-G 2.5-liter gas engine.

2014 Mazda 6 Preview: 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show

Final specifications for the 2014 Mazda 6 were not divulged at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show, where the car was shown to North American consumers for the first time. Mazda does confirm that, depending on trim level and option package, the new Mazda 6 will be offered with aluminum wheels, LED lighting, leather seats, navigation, a premium sound system, Bluetooth hands-free calling and music streaming, SMS text messaging capability, HD Radio, Pandora Internet radio, and more.

One new feature worth mentioning is Smart City Brake Support (SCBS), which is designed to avoid collisions when the Mazda 6 is traveling at speeds of less than 20 mph. If an embedded laser sensor determines that a collision is about to occur, the system will warn the driver and prepare the braking system to deliver full power the moment the brake pedal is pushed. If the driver fails to react, an automatic braking function intervenes to stop the car before impact.

The new Mazda 6 is also equipped with a brake energy regeneration system called i-ELOOP, or “Intelligent Energy Loop.” Basically, i-ELOOP converts the kinetic energy that would otherwise be lost as the car brakes into energy used to power electrical accessories such as the radio or the air conditioning.

What distinguishes it from similar systems is that it is, according to Mazda, “the world’s first capacitor-based brake energy regeneration system to provide power to all the electrical mechanisms in a vehicle…making the system more efficient, compact and lighter than traditional systems.”

2014 Mazda 6 Preview: 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show

We’re big Mazda geeks around here, and love to drive just about any one of them any time we can get our hands on the keys. Lately, though, Mazda’s foray into “Nagare” design themes, which culminated in the smiley and wavy Mazda 5 minivan, have really turned us off. Gratefully, Mazda is finding its way back to sanity with “Kodo” design and, as applied to the 2014 Mazda 6, the company has us salivating for our first chance to drive one – and especially our first chance to drive the diesel.

Now, if we could just get one with a turbocharged SkyActiv-G engine and a bunch of Mazdaspeed components...