2009 Mazda Mazda6 Review

Mike Hanley from Cars.com reviews the 2009 Mazda Mazda6 and its important new features.

2009 Mazda Mazda6 Review Hi! I'm Mike Hanley with Cars.com. If you're looking for a midsized family Sedan, you may have already checked out the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. The Mazda has redesigned its sixth midsized family sedan for 2009 and now it’s better equipped to compete with those models. Thanks to distinctive styling, a roomy cabin and a solid overall driving experience. Let's take a closer look at this model. One area where I think Mazda really got it right with the new 6 is the car’s exterior styling, which is very distinctive and draws on some styling cue seen in recent Mazda concept cars like the Ryuga. You can see these bulging front fenders, this slit like headlight elements and though I would have like to see some chrome in the front grill design, Mazda has gone with the body color look. As you go around to the back of the car, the sleek well-proportioned looks carry on there with just something you can't say about some of its competitors, like the new Chevrolet Malibu. As before the Mazda6 is offered with four-cylinder or V6 power. The engines though, for 2009, are larger and they make more horsepower. The base engine is a 2.5-liter four- cylinder and it’s rated at 170 horsepower. You can step up to this optional engine. It’s a 3.7-liter V6 and it’s rated at 272 horsepower. If you're looking for the best gas mileage, it’s the four-cylinder with the automatic transmission model. It’s rated at 21/30 miles per gallon city/highway. But the V6 you see here, that figure drops to 17/25 city/highway and that’s probably one of the miles that fixes bigger shortcomings as that a number of competitors get better fuel economy than this car. The Mazda6’s redesigned cabin features a premium appearance. Thanks to upscale dash materials like this soft touch surface here, high quality control knobs as well and it features a four-gauge instrument cluster that is very similar to the company’s CX9 Crossover. Like the CX9, the Mazda6 can be equipped with the blind spot monitoring system and what that does, it keeps track in the sides of the vehicle to let you know when there is a car on either side of you and if you intend to move into the direction with that car is it’ll give you a warning tone to let you know that may not be the best idea at that time. The new Mazda6 is significantly larger than its predecessor and that translates into more room on the inside for passengers. You can see here with the car’s backseat that there is plenty of space for taller adults and with a nicely reclined backrest angle, comfort is also good. The Mazda6 now has one of the larger trunks in its class. It measures 16.6 cubic feet and the car also comes standard with a 60/40 split folding back seat. The backseat’s released by its straps on either side of the cargo area and when the back seat is down, it’s flat with the cargo floor. After scrutinizing the new 6, it’s clear Mazda ha had practically all the right buttons with its new Sedan. What we don’t know yet is how reliability will deal with the long term but if that proves to be good, it’ll only enhance what's already a strong contender for Mazda.