For 2009, Mazda has rectified that matter with the new 6, which is bigger in every dimension. The wheelbase has gone up by 4.5 inches, to 109.8 inches. Overall, the car is 6.9 inches longer and 2.3 inches wider, at 193.7 inches and 72.4 inches, respectively. The maximum interior volume has increased from 96 cubic feet to 102 cubic feet, and the trunk volume is about 10 percent bigger, at 17 cubic feet. From being the minnow of the mid-size pack, the 6 is now one of its whales.
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As before, the car is available with four-cylinder or V-6 power, denoted by i and s suffixes. There are four trim levels: base SV (four-cylinder only), Sport, Touring, and Grand Touring. Our test car was a four-cylinder i in Grand Touring trim. The base price is $25,580, but adding a navigation system ($2000) and the uplevel Bose stereo that gets packaged with a sunroof ($1760) inflated the sticker to $29,340 (California emissions equipment added $100). Change the six-speed manual transmission to a five-speed automatic, and the sticker would rise to a pricey $30,340.
The standard transmission is a close-ratio six-speed manual, but there’s an optional five-speed automatic that improves the EPA mileage estimates from 20 mpg city and 29 highway to 21/30. The manual Honda Accord gets 21/31 mpg according to the EPA, while the Nissan Altima is rated at 23/32 mpg. Our C/D combined cycle, the equivalent of the Lead Foot Quotient, worked out to 23 mpg for the 6.
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