RE: Unforced induction into wagon theory | PH Footnote

RE: Unforced induction into wagon theory | PH Footnote

Author
Discussion

Matt_T

370 posts

73 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
A few years back my mate had a Mazda 6 estate 2.2 diesel and I had an Accord 2.2 diesel, we both had young families and went on several holidays together. We agreed that both cars were fantastic, and having huge amounts of torque made the drive enjoyable.

I've driven a few Hondas with the 2.0 petrol (K20 series) and they just don't suit big cars, much more a home in hatchbacks. In big cars you have to rev them and the real-world mpg suffers.

Can anyone tell me the thinking behind Mazda's Sky Active engines (NA 4 cylinders) when other maufactureres were going to turbos for everything? Was it to make an engine that worked in all markets, reduce costs by nit having a turbo?

Master Bean

3,517 posts

119 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
Ruskie said:
It’s just a bit boring for £30k, no? 340i and £3k change would be my choice.
A 340i for £27k? Where.

MadDog1962

890 posts

161 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
mersontheperson said:
Strange that the article doesn’t mention that in Japan the car is offered with the 2.5 liter turbo with 230ps

So if you want a turbo estate you can have one

Edited by mersontheperson on Sunday 18th September 07:50
We've had a 2.5 litre naturally aspirated Mazda 6 since 2015. According to the spec sheet it's supposed to have 184PS. We find it good to drive, and averages 38mpg (in the "real World"). The performance is more than good enough even with the conventional automatic gearbox. I'm sure it'll be quicker with forced induction, but I'm not sure that's needed. It's good enough as it is.

nvubu

147 posts

128 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
Good to read a write up on the current Mazda 6.

My 2.0l 145ps Mazda 6 saloon is being returned at the end of the month. It's been a great car apart from being a little bit gutless when 4 up on holiday driving around Scotland. Even as the base model, it was pretty well loaded with equipment - it was also a dirt-cheap lease (£187/month, same car now £430/month).

It's being replaced with the 194ps Tourer, which has arrived in the UK and I'm waiting to confirm that I can collect on the 1st October, although I wish that the 2.5 turbo engine was sold here, as that would be the one for me if it was.

I understand that there is a new 6 on the way (maybe end of next year), with an in-line 6, rear wheel drive.


anonymous-user

53 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
I don't think this model is long for this world? In the 3 years I've been in and out of Mazda dealerships to buy my MX5 and get it serviced I don't think I've ever seen one in the showroom.

I know it's got a st reputation but the 180 odd bhp 2.2d suited this sort of car much better than the same power from a naturally aspirated 2 litre, and it was very nice in the old Mazda 3 too.

Rest of the review I agree with, I'm always really impressed with the interiors and the standard of build on the cars I sit in or borrow, the Mazda 3 interior is nicer than any other FWD dross hatch I can think of for example. The interior of their MX30 EV is absolutely fantastic too (rest of it is mediocre to crap though, sadly).

blank

3,439 posts

187 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
Mazda have a ~320bhp PHEV power train now which would be perfect in this.

plfrench

2,297 posts

267 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
The sooner more manufacturers cotton on to making EV estates the better. Perfect match for a practical family car.

They're beginning to come through slowly - obviously there has been the MG5 for a while (although if that's anything like the MG ZS EV I tried, I'd be giving it a wide berth), but this is being joined in the next year or so by an Peugeot e308 SW and fully electric Astra Estate. Obviously, these are both developed on old school platforms that are compromised in terms of packaging due to also needing to accommodate ICE and gearboxes in other variants.

Mazda need to hurry up a bit with their full EV offering - a ground-up 6 Estate could find itself in a pretty rewarding marketplace if they could get one out in the next few years.

EV Range will focus people's minds on aerodynamic efficiency with EVs in a way it was masked with ICE - I suspect this will drive SUVs out of favour and give estates a bit of a resurgence.

runnerbean 14

271 posts

133 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
Totally agree re too many SUVs on the road. An estate does the job so much more elegantly and sportingly. In my case it's an Audi A4 B9 V6 TDi, Stage 1 chipped to 340 bhp and 500 lb ft. A great mile-muncher which will swallow all sorts of loads. Totally silent inside at 80+ mph with the optional double glazed glass, and 39 mpg overall.

ChocolateFrog

24,852 posts

172 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
Shame it'll be rotten underneath before it's 10th birthday like all Mazda's.


ChocolateFrog

24,852 posts

172 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
mersontheperson said:
mrclav said:
mersontheperson said:
Strange that the article doesn’t mention that in Japan the car is offered with the 2.5 liter turbo with 230ps

So if you want a turbo estate you can have one

Edited by mersontheperson on Sunday 18th September 07:50
I guess that this being a UK site, talking about a Japan only model means UK readers can't have one if they want.
You can’t get a Corolla GR either, but there is articles about that car and loads of others that you can’t buy in the UK.
I think it’s completely relevant to the story of the weakness of a car is an engine option that doesn’t exist here but does in other markets, especially RHD markets
It seems like an odd omission for the UK market which likes more powerful options.

Guessing it would be in a high VED bracket (or whatever we're calling car tax this week).

peterbredde

775 posts

199 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
I have one of these. It's an outstanding all rounder that is let down only by the lack of torque at low revs. Superb handling.

ChocolateFrog

24,852 posts

172 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
Deranged Rover said:
So, are we now at the stage where every car has to have turbos, eleventy hundred horsepower and a 0-60 time to rival supercars? How ridiculous.

Always liked Mazdas, this looks very nice and I’d be more than happy with its allegedly miserable performance and having to actually change gear if required.
Nope but with a family in it and trying to make decent progress it'll no doubt do less than 30mpg and if I'm driving something with poor fuel economy I want performance to go with it.

Might as well get the diesel BMW with twice the power, twice the fuel efficiency and three times the torque.

nickfrog

20,872 posts

216 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
Evil.soup said:
The Ceed isn't anywhere as big as the Mazda, ut even so, it's far more practical than any large SUV I have had the use of. An estate car is a no brainer, but the soccer marms don't see them as cool I guess.

(...)

Personally, I love a wagon and always have done. The ceed is the first I have owned and it has already got me cruising the classifieds for a newer, cooler replacement.
So the cool factor is as important for you as it is for a soccer mum then? wink

I know what you're saying though but for me a SUV is more practical than an estate for my needs AND even more crucially they are shorter which is important to me. I really like estates though, just not as much. I really don't think SUVs are cool though, particularly as almost everyone has got one and they have been around for decades.

Wildcat45

8,056 posts

188 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
Buy it, drive it, service it properly and it’ll probably last you 15 years.

That’s what I did with my Mazda CX-7. It outlasted a new Freelander and 3 Discovery Sports. All bought as replacements, but we always found an excuse to keep the Mazda.

I don’t know f you can fairly judge a brand by the ownership of one car, but Mazdas appear to be utterly reliable. A relative had a new 323 in 1980 that lived a long life into the 1990s, with similar reliability.

A turbo would make the 6 a really attractive prospect.

Roger Irrelevant

2,899 posts

112 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
nobrakes said:
satfinal said:
Number 1 rule of estate design, do not do this



Do this (flat opening to the boot, and more square opening)

This^.

Boot lip and non flat folded seats is a fail.
I completely agree. This is the sort of thing that the virtually meaningless boot-size-in-litres figure totally misses when it comes to estate cars. You can have a colossal load volume on paper but if the back seats don't fold flat, the boot aperture is an awkward shape thanks to a swoopy roofline or some other styling feature, the wheel arches intrude into the load bay and there's a big lip down to it, then it's a lot less useful than it could be.

cerb4.5lee

30,189 posts

179 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
runnerbean 14 said:
Totally agree re too many SUVs on the road. An estate does the job so much more elegantly and sportingly. In my case it's an Audi A4 B9 V6 TDi, Stage 1 chipped to 340 bhp and 500 lb ft. A great mile-muncher which will swallow all sorts of loads. Totally silent inside at 80+ mph with the optional double glazed glass, and 39 mpg overall.
I get 38mpg overall out of a standard Merc GLE400d with 330bhp/516Ib ft, and that weighs 2300kg. So I was expecting a bit more mpg out of the A4 in comparison with it being a much lighter car.

I do agree that an estate does generally drive much more sporty than an SUV though. I also preferred my old E61 520d Touring to drive(lighter/lower/better in corners/under braking etc) in comparison to the X5 4.8iS I had in that regard too. I did like the noise that the V8 made big time in fairness...just not the fuel bills though! hehe


cerb4.5lee

30,189 posts

179 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
Wildcat45 said:
I don’t know f you can fairly judge a brand by the ownership of one car, but Mazdas appear to be utterly reliable. A relative had a new 323 in 1980 that lived a long life into the 1990s, with similar reliability.
I knew a family back in the 80's and they used to swear by the Mazda 626 for the same reason. They loved them.

Silvanus

5,147 posts

22 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
cerb4.5lee said:
Wildcat45 said:
I don’t know f you can fairly judge a brand by the ownership of one car, but Mazdas appear to be utterly reliable. A relative had a new 323 in 1980 that lived a long life into the 1990s, with similar reliability.
I knew a family back in the 80's and they used to swear by the Mazda 626 for the same reason. They loved them.
Its a shame Mazda aren't more popular than they are, they have a bit of an image problem in the UK and an uncertain position in the market. They have had various rebrands which have never really caught the imagination of the buying public. Some of their current range is good looking but sn't particularly exciting, especially the badge engineered Mazda2 hybrid. The new CX-60 relies heavily on the Rav4, not sure if that's good or bad. Not sure Zoom zoom did them any favours.

sifocus

87 posts

173 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
Great cars. One here with low miles… https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/13917216

Water Fairy

5,478 posts

154 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
ChocolateFrog said:
Shame it'll be rotten underneath before it's 10th birthday like all Mazda's.
Wow! You've inspected them all? Well done.