Review of the new Mazda6 2.5

You're a sales rep. You do umpteen miles a week, pounding the motorways chasing your next juicy bonus. The last thing you want is a big petrol engine with a drink problem under your bonnet, chugging down the juice and pumping vast plumes of taxable emissions from its exhaust. Suddenly, your pay packet would be looking more office assistant than area manager. That's the sort of thinking that has seen diesel power rise to prominence in the fleet dominated medium range family car sector. It certainly doesn't bode particularly well for the 2.5-litre petrol engine in the latest Mazda6. This powerful, modern engine has a big job on to convince the fleet fraternity to leave the black pumps in their holsters.

The relentless march of diesel has left few corners of the UK car market untouched. Right across the mainstream car market, growing numbers of buyers, are switching to burning heavy oil and nowhere is diesel more dominant than in the medium range family car sector. The current climate of high fuel prices and taxation based on CO2 emissions makes diesels cheaper to run, especially for the company car users who have a hand in the majority of medium range car sales in the UK. That hasn't stopped Mazda from weighting its Mazda6 engine range three to one in favour of petrol. Does Mazda know something the rest of us don't? Perhaps a look at the 2.5-litre range topper will reveal the truth.

The MZR 2.5-litre, to give the engine its proper name, is a bored-out version of the 2.3-litre unit from the previous generation Mazda6 and it's better by most measurable criteria. Despite its sizable capacity, this is only a four-cylinder effort and its efficiency is helped by both Mazda's electronically controlled Multipoint fuel injection system and SVT Sequential-Valve Timing. Peak power arrives at 6,000rpm and is measured at 168bhp. This makes the Mazda6 agreeably rapid and its 0-62mpg time of eight seconds means you'll need a pretty tasty piece of machinery to beat it away from the lights. Peak torque of 226Nm is produced at 4,000rpm and that's a crucial difference between this engine and the diesel that delivers its 330Nm at 2,000rpm.

"A fast, great looking saloon with a charismatic engine is a luxury that too few of us can afford these days"

The Mazda6 borrows the EPAS electronic power assisted steering system from the RX-8 sportscar and this gives it a pleasantly weighty helm. The suspension system is an advanced one comprised of a double wishbone set-up at the front and a multi-link rear. This goes beyond the technology that most of the car's rivals employ and is indicative of Mazda's 'Zoom-Zoom' philosophy through which it aims to produce sharp-handling, engaging driver's cars. Just the sort of products, in other words, that will really benefit from a free-revving petrol engine like the MZR 2.5.

Rather than an all-new model, this Mazda6 is a wholesale reworking of the previous generation car. It's longer, in overall length and wheelbase, taller and wider than the vehicle it replaced but still isn't quite on the scale of the sector's real heavyweights. In fact, Mazda is proud to underline the Mazda6's lightweight status. The designers have managed to achieve these increased dimensions and a boost to overall rigidity without adding to the vehicle's mass. The car's flowing lines and tarmac-hugging stance aren't just for show either, they help it slice through the air achieving a slippery drag co-efficient of 0.27 which in-turn helps efficiency and refinement. Cabin noise is actually 2.5dB lower compared to the old Mazda6.

Mazda talks about its use of 'Japanese Aesthetics' when designing the Mazda6, what this means isn't all that clear but the fluid exterior lines seem to do the trick and once you're sat at the wheel, there's no indication that the doors are paper thin. The build quality looks strong throughout and Mazda have retained a sporty theme using black trim materials and metallic detailing. The red information display on top of the dash looks a bit low tech initially but it's right in your eye-line and gives at-a-glance access the information you want.

Mazda is offering saloon, hatchback and estate versions of the 6 and for the time being, the 2.5-litre engine option will sit at the pinnacle of the engine range. We can safely expect an MPS performance model in due course but as it stands, the 2.5-litre is as sporty as the Mazda6 gets. The growth in the popularity of compact 4x4s and premium hatchbacks has siphoned buyers from the medium range sector where the Mazda6 competes but that hasn't stopped the protagonists investing big in their latest products. The Mazda6 must battle the Ford Mondeo, Volkswagen Passat, Citroen C5 and Renault Laguna amongst others.

The driver and passenger benefit from independent air temperature controls, and the optional keyless entry system includes the currently fashionable engine start-stop button on top of the instrument panel. An eight-speaker, BOSE premium sound system, and a Bluetooth hands-free mobile-phone interface are options that most customers will want. We also liked the way that the driver's seat armrest can slide backwards and forwards until you find a comfortable position to rest your elbow on it.

Mazda have taken various steps to improve the efficiency of the engines in the Mazda6 but that won't stop 2.5-litres and 168bhp sounding alarm bells amongst high mileage company car users. The car will get 34.9mpg on the combined cycle which is far from disgraceful but doesn't look great next to the diesel's 50mpg. The CO2 emissions tell a not dissimilar story with the petrol producing 193g/km and the diesel 149g/km. The Mazda6 2.5 is still an impressively efficient car that stacks up well compared to similar-sized vehicles with equivalent power outputs.

The old Mazda6 was a dark horse in its day. It never sold in massive numbers but it deserved to. It also received a succession of awards for its prowess as a used buy on the back of Mazda's polished reputation for reliability and the undoubted qualities of the car itself. This Mazda6 is built on the same platform and has been improved across the board so it's safe to assume the same strong reliability and buoyant residuals for it.

Very few manufacturers offer petrol engines as big as 2.5-litres in their medium range saloons these days unless they're powering an out and out performance model. Those that do tend to find them difficult to shift in the UK. Mazda will be hoping that its Mazda6 2.5-litre model will be an exception but to choose it you've got to be in the happy position of being able to blot out nagging financial issues and immerse yourself in the driving experience. If the Mazda6 can help you attain this Zen-like state, they'll be queuing round the block.

No matter how anybody tries to spin it, you've got to want the extra smoothness and performance that this engine can give to choose it over the diesel alternative. For those more interested in the practicalities of motoring, the oil-burner's sensible lure will be tough to ignore. A fast, great looking saloon with a charismatic engine is a luxury that too few of us can afford these days but if you're one of the lucky ones, a Mazda6 2.5 will not disappoint.

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