2018 Mazda6 First Drive: Swimming Upmarket

Vernon, British Columbia -- As much of the mid-size sedan segment follows the compact sedan and hatch segments and starts to convert almost completely to small, turbocharged engines, the time was right for Mazda to jump on that train with the refreshed 2018 Mazda6. It just so happens that they already had the perfect candidate: the 2.5L turbocharged four-banger good for 227 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque from the CX-9 SUV; if you pop some premium in there, that count goes up to 250 hp. It does well in a large, three-row SUV; imagine how it will perform in a mid-size sedan. 

The power of two
The turbo is not the whole story, though; it comes as a $2,000 option on the GS-L trim (one of four available: GS -- $27,000, GS-L -- $31,600, GT -- $35,800 and an all-new Signature trim -- $38,800) and standard on the top two trims, while the bottom two trims get an updated engine as well: like last year, it’s still a naturally-aspirated 2.5L, but it now gets cylinder deactivation. 
What that means is that while you’re cruising between 20 and 105 km/h, you can be doing so on just two cylinders, depending on the amount of strain you’re putting on the engine. If you need to pass, for example, the other two will be activated to provide the necessary torque; if any more than 59 lb-ft is needed to keep the pace, then all four cylinders become active. It’s the only mid-size sedan available with this tech, and I should think that will be a huge selling point.

Mazda says they put a lot of emphasis on disguising the switch from two to four cylinders; they maintain that even with the hood open, you can’t tell when the switch occurs. Skeptical as I was, I have to admit that they’re right on the button: the switch is pretty much unidentifiable, and since it can switch back to four cylinders so quickly, you never really know you’re in two-cylinder mode. Not until you see that your highway fuel economy has dipped to just 5.8L/100km, as we saw during our test, anyway; we saw just over 8 litres per in the turbo model. Power for the 2.5L, meanwhile, is rated at 187 hp and 186 lb-ft, both up slightly on last year’s model. You will start to feel that gulf a little as you start to attack steeper grades and the like, which is where the turbo comes in. 

Put simply, this is one smooth, almost effortlessly powerful engine that quickly made me forget that once upon a time, the Mazda6 had a V6 under the hood.

Part of the reason it’s so smooth and responsive is the addition of a valve within the manifold that allows air to move more quickly through to the turbocharger, helping reduce turbo lag and getting you down the road that much more quickly.

Read more