2014 Mazda6 Grand Touring and Sport First Test

2014 Mazda6 Grand Touring and Sport First Test Midsize sedan” and “fun to drive” often seem like mutually exclusive terms, especially when trying to keep within a reasonable budget. Fortunately, there’s the Mazda6, a sedan that proves to be a practical, affordable choice without giving its driver a severe case of boredom. The Grand Touring version is Mazda’s top trim package and includes such niceties as heated leather seats, navigation, a Bose surround-sound stereo, and 19-inch alloy wheels wrapped in all-season Dunlop SP Sport tires.

2014 Mazda6 Grand Touring and Sport First Test

2014 Mazda6 Grand Touring and Sport First Test

 2014 Mazda6 Grand Touring and Sport First Test

2014 Mazda6 Grand Touring and Sport First Test

2014 Mazda6 Grand Touring and Sport First Test

 The GT comes exclusively with Mazda’s six-speed automatic transmission and Skyactiv-G 2.5-liter I-4, which produces a competitive 184 hp and 185 lb-ft of torque. (A 2.2-liter diesel comes later in the year.) That’s enough power to push the Mazda’s 3275 pounds to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds and through the quarter mile in 15.7 seconds at 88.6 mph. In other words, acceleration is lively but never feels particularly strong. That said, the relatively large-bore four-cylinder engine feels smooth and utterly happy at higher revs, so getting the most out of it is more entertaining than excruciating. Mazda’s automatic includes a manual shift mode operable via column shifter or steering wheel-mounted paddles, and the system works well, with quicker than average shift speed for the class.   The Mazda’s lively chassis is well-suited to the Skyactiv engine and generally feels nimble and well-balanced. The power steering is quick and nicely weighted, with very good feel for an electric unit, and the Mazda is eager to dive into turns, displaying final understeer when pushing hard. More neutral behavior can be had with a touch of mid-corner throttle lift. Around our figure-eight test, the Mazda6 turned in a run of 27.1 seconds, just besting the last 2013 Honda Accord Sport we tested late last year. We were also impressed with the Mazda’s brakes, which were easy to modulate, offered solid pedal feel, and helped stop the GT 7 feet shorter than the Accord Sport. Overall, the Mazda6 is a compelling package for those who want to stand apart from the midsize norm. Of course, for those who want to emphasize driving involvement, there’s always the six-speed manual option. – Rory Jurnecka

Never mind its entry-level price–the Mazda6 Sport doesn’t look or drive like a base model. Granted, our six-speed manual tester lacked plenty of features–most notably Bluetooth, which, curiously, is only available with the automatic Sport–but offered an interior that didn’t feel cheapened out. Clean, neat black trim and coherent illumination provided a sense of quality typically not associated with vehicles at this price.   The shifter, pleasantly, doesn’t feel like an afterthought. The knob itself looks strangely out of a Volkswagen, but flows easily between clearly defined gates. The box isn’t the immediate relative to the MX-5’s, but it’s pretty close. Moreover, clutch take-up is easy to control, thanks to agreeable pedal feedback. Despite a 3250-rpm torque peak, meaningful acceleration at freeway speeds requires a few downshifts. The pedals make for easy rev matching, but the engine offers little aural satisfaction in the act. In fact, the 2.5-liter four is so well-isolated that, occasionally, you’ll forget to upshift after joining traffic on the freeway. Sometime later, you’ll look down and see that the tach has been buzzing 4500 rpm for some time.   With shorter overall gearing and less weight, the Sport 6 would seem faster than the automatic and top-line Grand Touring trim. Alas, the precious few milliseconds incurred by shifting gears negated those advantages, and the Sport produced slower 60 mph (7.8 seconds) and quarter mile (15.9 seconds at 88.8 mph) results. On top of that, the manual returns slightly worse fuel economy (down 1 mpg city/hwy) than its automatic counterpart. Whether the act of rowing a six-speed gearbox is worth the acceleration and mpg penalties depends on the owner, but the $1615 saved by choosing it makes for a compelling argument. – Carlos Lago