Mazda touts the model as "long regarded" as one of the "best-handling, most-engaging" in its segment, and says it added more "athleticism and ambience" to its 2017 edition.
The 2017 Mazda 6, originally introduced in August 2016, is the Japanese automaker's answer to other midsize family sedans like the Ford Fusion, Honda Civic and Toyota Prius, among others.
Mazda touts the model as "long regarded" as one of the "best-handling, most-engaging" in its segment, and says it added more "athleticism" to its 2017 edition.
The 2017 Mazda6 I Grand Touring: The model I drove for a week was the Grand Touring trim, which comes with a serious rollout of added features to differentiate from the sport and touring editions.
Some added features to come along with the Grand Touring are navigation, eight-way power driver's seat, six-way power passenger seat, radar cruise control, brake support, lane assist, and my personal favorite, the memory seat.
The memory seat works with the height of the active driving display HUD to make sure each driver is in their right position and balance for optional vision and comfort. While the midsize sedan lost some interior space from 2016 to 2017, I was still able to fit my 6-foot-6 frame inside for some mildly comfortable driving which is about as good as I can ever hope for in anything not an SUV or pickup truck.
What I liked: The exterior and interior designs, and how the Mazda 6 combines being a practical family sedan while stilling being fun to drive and looking sharp. The exterior reminds me of the Ford Fusion, but with more curves. It looks and feels sporty, which can be a battle for any midsize family sedan.
The interior was just super sharp as the 7-inch display fits perfectly and doesn't overpower the rest of the curvy, sporty and modern design that makes the Mazda 6 feel like a luxury sedan.
See what I mean by that interior? The digital dashboard seamlessly fits in with the rest of the design, which I am a big fan of.
Mazda's SKYACTIV 4-cylinder, 184-horsepower 2.5-liter engine puts out 185 pounds of torque is the only engine option across the board for the 6's trim options. While it might leave a little to be desired, to me, this is the correct range to fall in if you're only going to have one option in this segment.
With all of that considered, the Mazda 6's 26 mpg city and 35 mpg highway will make much more sense. This car felt like an ideal balance between sport and comfort, with an added layer of luxury for those who crave it.
For those craving a little more kick once in a while, the Sport driving mode should meet those basic expectations as I had an accelerating good time getting onto expressway ramps.
The Mazda 6 comes with G-Vectoring Control and the goal to "provide integrated control of the engine, transmission, chassis and body to enhance the car's Jinba Ittai--"horse and rider as one"--feel." I felt that the G-Vectoring accomplished what it set out to, as the driving was stress free, easy and extremely smooth.
What I didn't like: Anytime a midsize sedan loses some of its interior space, I'm going to personally view that as a move in the wrong direction. While I had legroom and enough headroom to safely drive, I was still too high for the HUD active driving display and felt like the driver's side was a little too narrow.
I had some issues with the digital dashboard right from the get-go. I failed to connect my phone's Bluetooth to the system on the first try, and was never able to pair them up.
The Mazda 6 has to be in park for any changes to be made to the digital screen, this includes going back to the GPS display, radio display, time or anything else. While a priority for safety, in which I fully agree, other models in this segment have made navigation easier and more user-friendly without compromising safety, in my opinion.
There are also no V6, Turbo or hybrid options for the Mazda 6, as it only comes with one engine across the board.
Price as tested: $34,530
MSRP: $30,695