Better by design

WHEN Mazda launched its new Mazda6 saloon in the United Kingdom a couple of months ago, sales took off at an unexpected rate.

Marketing chiefs had settled happily for 4,500 sales by the end of the year ... but are now all smiles with projected figures likely to top 6,000 and climbing.

"Mazda had suffered a sales decline in recent years, but the arrival of the Mazda6 has signalled a change in fortunes," said PR manager, Graeme Fudge, at a special ride and drive day in Yorkshire organised for motoring journalists by Mazda UK.

The visit to North Yorkshire saw the arrival of estate and diesel powered versions of the new car on to the fleet, and as a result sales figures are likely to again need revising.

What makes the Mazda6 stand out is its attractive and sporting design. The front end is dominated by the aggressively smiling five-point grille, while profile looks emphasise the steeply raked windscreen, and a slightly crouching stance with flared wheel arches. The rear view is dominated by the clear glass tail lights, designed to match those at the front, and wrapped slightly around the corners.

Like the saloon, the estate provides outstanding driving dynamics, and the ride levels are the better side of comfortable.

There is plenty of cabin room, even in the back, where the seats in the estate can be lowered flat without the need to remove the headrests by a one-movement lever in the side of the boot.

Not only does the Mazda6 diesel offer excellent handling and driving experiences it also turns out to be a frugal performer with excellent fuel economy and an engine refinement that consigns diesel rattle to the past.

There are two diesel units, one producing 121PS, the other 136PS, both built by Mazda, and also likely to find their way into Ford, Volvo and Land Rover models, all Ford family members.

With 70 per cent of diesel sales expected to go to fleet owners, the Mazda6 offers excellent insurance ratings and tax saving carbon emission figures. For the entry level S with the 121PS common-rail diesel the insurance grouping is 7E, at least a group below almost every other competitor, with an attractive CO2 reading of 179g/km. The TS and TS-2 trim level models engine variants jump one group to 8E, still significantly lower than other comparable cars, and the Sport 136PS is 9E and with all three the CO2 figure is still 179g/km.

Pricing for the diesel starts at £14,595 on the road for the S with the 121PS engine, rising to £18,595 for the 136PS engine in Sport trim in the four and five-door form and in TS-2 trim on the estate.

Overall, the 136PS diesel is available in all three body styles, tht is hatchback, saloon and estate, and in TS and TS-2 trim, with the Sport trim only available as a diesel in four and five-door forms. The 121PS diesel comes in five-door and estate models in S trim in addition to the TS and TS-2 on the five-door.

The estate models come in S, TS and TS-2 trim and powered by either the 2.0-litre petrol 141PS engine or the 2.0-litre 121PS and 136PS common rail diesels. Prices start at £14,995 on the road for the entry-level S rising to £18,595 for the TS-2 diesel. A 2.3-litre Sport estate all-wheel driver version will join the line-up in November.

The estate provides firm and comfortable seating, and a stylish dashboard featuring dials for speedometer and tachometer, and close to hand are all the essential ingredients, functional and adequate enough for the job, with switches for air conditioning and navigation systems housed in the centre console where the front seat passenger can also operate them. The console also provides a digital information panel which welcomes the driver on switch-on with the printed word "Hello".

The estate's luggage area is a roomy 505-litres, but with the seat folding system this shoots up to 1712-litres when the car is loaded to the roof. The cargo area provides eight hook-up points for securing loads. On top of this there are plenty of storage trays in the dashboard, centre console and doors as well as a sunglasses case, cup holders and bottle holders.

Safety levels are high, as with the saloon, providing driver and passenger airbags, side airbags, roof airbags, as well as head restraints and front seat height adjustment. Windows are all powered and the door mirrors are electric and heated. The wheels are alloy, and there is a full-size spare wheel rather than a skinny get-u-home speed restricted replacement.

To promote sales, more than £22 million has been set aside this year for marketing, advertising and publicity, and this is destined to rise to £28.5 next year. During this time the dealer network is also to be increased.

Details at a glance

Model: Mazda6 estate

Price: £14,495

Dimensions: length 4700mm, height 1435mm, width 1780mm, wheelbase 2675mm. Ground clearance 130mm.

Boot space: Overall width 1365mm,width between wheels 1063mm, length with back seat up 1088mm, with seat down 1906mm.

Engines: 2.0-litre MZR-CD 121PS and 136PS. In-line, four cylinders sohc, 16-valve (1998cc); common rail with direct injection.

Maximum power: 2.0-litre 121PS at 3500rpm, 136PS at 3500rpm; maximum torque: (for both engines) 310Nm at 2000rpm.

Performance: 0-62mph 11.1-secs for 121PS/10.7-secs for 136PS unit.

Emissions: 182g/km for 121PS, 176g/km for 136PS.

Economy (combined): 121PS 42.8mpg; 136PS 44.1mpg.

Transmission: Five speed manual or four-speed automatic.

Suspension: Front independent, double wishbone; rear independent , E-type multi-link.

Updated: 09:15 Friday, October 04, 2002