Universal Pictures. Starring Mazda6 Station Wagon / Mazda test drives

Teaser (Alexander Kataev, July 11, 2008) Total mileage — 4395 km
Our mileage — 680 km
Fuel consumption — 13.6 l/100 km (combined cycle)

The Mazda came under my care. But until Petrovsky gets his Peugeot 407 back, the editor-in-chief is fully exploiting his position, and I only got the keys under the pretext of a photo shoot. Finally, they're mine — two weeks of waiting paid off.

The meeting turned out to be at night. Dark body, alluring body lines, icy glow of slanting Asian headlights, engine idling, whispering almost intimately. A wagon — it's a He, but Mazda is always a She. First blind date — telling. You get used to her by touch, without turning on the lights, and that's a compliment to the interior. With the new "six" — no complications. But if you switched from the previous one... However, I immediately dim the alarming red backlight: I'm exhausted, I want to go home, not to the dance floor. And I drive slowly.

Mazda doesn't egg me on either. It plays something from "Radio Jazz," rocks with the needles, lulls. In Drive mode, it pulls away as if waking from thought. Or not waking. And there seem to be more small bumps on the familiar road. And something rattles from behind — the luggage cover. But that sound drowns in the jazz riffs.

Night acquaintances are deceptive. What will Mazda be like in the morning, in daylight? And there's construction in the yard, driveways dug up. Welcome, or no entry. Where to park? And why no parking sensors? While I squeeze the wagon into a nook by millimeters, I think: how huge He is! But leaving, I turn around: what a beauty She is!

Voice-over (July 18, 2008)

Total mileage — 4760 km
Our mileage — 1044 km
Fuel consumption — 14.4 l/100 km (city cycle)

They say every ruble invested should be felt. I hear it. Mazda responds with a juicy, expensive click of door handles, steering column stalks, and window switches. The clicking of turn signals and the Mazda beep for every key press on the console. Even the seat servos purr pleasantly. But for some reason, there's no overall feeling of an expensive car.

The audio system is loud, but the sound is cheap, with poor detail. However, changing modes is accompanied by light show.

First, I hear about half of what Mazda thinks about our roads. Strong expressions — tire slaps and a small knock from the front suspension, especially at low speeds. Worse, this knock transmits as vibration to the steering wheel. The engine sound, which can't agree with the "automatic" on how best to spend my gasoline, is also somehow discounted. And from the back, something keeps rattling: either the cover or the license plate frame.

Flashback (July 25, 2008)

Total mileage — 5100 km
Our mileage — 1384 km
Fuel consumption — 14.6 l/100 km (city cycle)

I remembered. At last year's Frankfurt auto show, I talked with Peter Birtwhistle — chief designer of Mazda's European division. He said the first Mazda6 next to the new one is naive, even childish. And the new one is adult.

He meant the perception of the car as a whole. The feeling of an adult car is certainly there. But the operation of the engine and the "automatic" gives me the feeling that Mazda is a lady of Balzac's age. In Drive mode, the car makes you drive with dignity — the way it's convenient for her. I've already understood: arguing is useless. And while the tachometer needle crawls to mid-range revs, I wait patiently. A sharp press of the pedal the gearbox perceives as a signal to attack and rushes to extremes: the needle soars, and Mazda makes a panicked lunge.

In manual mode, the "automatic" doesn't skip gears down or up on its own. The electronics sometimes take a long time to shift at steady throttle, and during full-throttle acceleration, the gear change command needs to be given with noticeable anticipation.
However, shifts based on acceleration vector, like in motorsport, are the most convenient and logical algorithm: to downshift, push the lever away from you; to upshift, pull it toward you. Only why does the decorative trim move along with the lever?

In the city, I have no time to wait and no reason to tear around. I have to take the initiative in an adult way and drive Mazda by the "handle." Fortunately, the manual mode is "honest," and in most cases, gears shift fairly quickly. Or maybe this Mazda is indeed for noticeably older people? Though I think Birtwhistle didn't mean that.

Film break (Anton Bolotov, August 1, 2008)

Total mileage — 5546 km
Our mileage — 1830 km
Fuel consumption — 13.8 l/100 km (combined cycle)

I'm a technological patch in this cinematic narrative. The Mazda was given to me, so to speak, forcibly — so it wouldn't sit idle while the guys are busy with tests. Allegedly, I have experience with red wagons, and the car, for once, must work as intended — carry many people and many things. Great! Summer cottage season is in full swing. I won't compare the Mazda 6 with anything — I'll just imagine they're trying to sell it to me.

Why buy a wagon if not to go to the store, to the dacha, to travel? But Mazda handles all this poorly. A family car should be a grandmother at heart — kind, quiet, reliable. But this girl only cares about looking good. She protests with the engine at every occasion, is rude with the tires. She does the work lazily, shielding her occupants from the outside world with a thin blouse of doors. But she's a beauty — that can't be taken away. Everyone admires her.

An inexperienced driver will surely like the inside too. What they don't like — they'll get used to. The front passenger too. But those in the back are less fortunate: almost no comforts. No air vents, no window shades. I'm not even mentioning fold-down tables so kids have something to do on the road. In short, it's boring. In the heat, the climate control freezes those in front but barely reaches the second row. The suspension is unjustifiably stiff. It's indecently noisy inside. The nasal buzzing of the engine can be partially drowned out by a mediocre stereo. All the seemingly harmless bumps and elevation changes around the dacha, Mazda diligently scraped with the underbody, which noticeably lowered my intra-family driver rating...

On a dirt road, you feel sorry for both the car and the passengers. The shaking and noise force you to slow down to walking pace.

It's good that Mazda doesn't make, say, washing machines. Because after purchase, it would turn out — you'd need to buy hoses and a detergent compartment. Selling a piece of space behind the seats is not enough — that's not a trunk yet. Without a simple net, a canister of washer fluid, a briefcase, shopping bags, and other belongings move around the cargo area in search of harmony and balance. If you're planning to carry something in your wagon (who would have thought!), go to the dealer and buy accessories. What, you'll think, am I getting worked up about some lousy nets? Whoever needs them will buy them. Of course, they will: a vertical net separating the trunk from the cabin for 10,085 rubles; a floor net for the trunk for 3,101 rubles. A trunk organizer: box — 1,202 rubles, base — 7,991, set of fasteners — 5,657 rubles. Think about it: you need to pay from one and a half hundred to over a thousand dollars just to be able to use the trunk!

Everything else is taken for granted. There are no parking sensors even in the options list, but there's such a super-necessary thing as memory for seat and mirror positions for three drivers. Four buttons on the steering wheel control the onboard computer, which writes something in small digits for the front passenger. In complete darkness on an unlit highway, driving faster than 50 km/h is scary — the low beams only pick out a few meters ahead. Interestingly, all buttons in the cabin are illuminated except the light switch on the ceiling. I had to use my phone to find it... And while searching for the pump at night, I found a strange unit hidden inside the spare wheel with a wire going deeper. After turning it over in my hands, I finally got the answer to a question that apparently troubled more than just me. The white label read: "This is a SUBWOOFER."

By the end of the weekend, I finally understood: the Mazda6 wagon was not made for me. My family doesn't have three drivers who aren't bothered by noise — we have passengers who get tired of it. And those behind the wheel are unlikely to call themselves parking aces. Also, it gets hot for us, and nights are pitch black. We travel long distances, and our trunk is never completely empty — there's always something that needs securing. And apparently, I haven't reached that level of enlightenment to ignore play and rattling in the cabin or a fallen-off light cover in the tailgate. I can't yet grasp the zen of looking at the innovative trunk cover and the blue-red backlight of the stereo, whose beauty only the chosen understand. This is not my story.

Series (Alexander Kataev, August 8, 2008)

Total mileage — 5716 km
Our mileage — 2000 km
Fuel consumption — 14.2 l/100 km (combined cycle)

Consistency is a good thing. The same button on the remote, familiar screensaver, familiar scenery. After a month, even talentless actors stop being annoying. We watch without listening, listen without looking. The "soap" works in the background.

Getting used to a Mazda is much the same. The button on the key, the Bose greeting with a melodic sob, and a dozen predictable plot twists on the way to the editorial office. The climate control levels out exactly three blocks after starting. I use the CF-Net search engine without thinking. I find the seat memory button blindly. I also spin around in it just as habitually when reversing.

Monotony is what kills. And here, handling saves the day. The steering wheel is a precise and serious tool, every maneuver is a pleasure. Sometimes I want to provoke a smooth drift and, letting off the gas, feel how the car obediently tucks in with the rear axle. True, on ruts and during hard braking, we constantly struggle.

The self-moving shelf is a nice little touch. But dismantling and installing the whole structure is not a quick task.

Our interaction can hardly be called "soapy." Who said a station wagon is boring? You know how many old friends I found! And all of them with their bulky problems. Bicycles, shelving units, strollers — you could even store the luggage shelf at the editorial office. The Mazda swallows the stuff with pleasure, and I enjoy being the "savior." It's good when a car gives small reasons to smile — such a series won't get boring quickly.

Budget (August 15, 2008) Total mileage — 6021 km
Our mileage — 2305 km
Fuel consumption — 14.2 l/100 km (combined cycle)

The Mazda has been at the editorial office for a month and a half. Is that all or already? The mileage we've racked up is still small — it's like 21 laps around the MKAD or a trip from Moscow, say, to Petrozavodsk and back.

How much did this pleasure cost? For 406.04 liters of 95-octane gasoline, we've already spent 11,797 rubles and 99 kopecks, which is about $480 at today's exchange rate. In addition, 920 rubles went to car washes. No one smokes in the car or litters with wrappers, we vacuum the mats and trunk ourselves, so a full cleaning is still far off. Interestingly, the washer fluid level indicator only lit up this morning. Although when the front washer is activated, the Mazda generously sprays both the windshield and the headlights.

According to our estimates, during the test the station wagon carried about 3,400 kg of cargo.

But — no side costs. No oil, no repairs... We haven't even been fined once while driving the Mazda. And not even stopped! Maybe the image of a family car has such a beneficial effect? True, no matter how I tried this week to drive decently and save fuel — it didn't help. One day yesterday erased all efforts: first, I had to crawl around almost fully loaded, stuck in traffic jams. Then actively make up for lost time. In these worries, the Mazda drank a third of the tank.

From dusk to dawn (August 22, 2008) Total mileage — 6616 km
Our mileage — 2900 km
Fuel consumption — 13.5 l/100 km (combined cycle)

Night transfer. Here it is, an almost perfectly suited task for the Mazda! Picking up passengers from the plane. The schedule is complex: the flights I need arrive one after another at different airports. During the day we'd be exhausted, but at night, the Mazda and I have intimacy and reconciliation. She, in all her glory of highlights and backlighting, glides smoothly and easily over the freshly laid asphalt of empty streets. Although for extra confidence, I still lead her by the "handle." In the warm embrace of the seat with two-mode heating...

Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo... In 4 hours 15 minutes, 202 kilometers were covered. The range decreased by only a fifth, and the average consumption dropped by as much as five tenths.

Passengers are glad they got a Mazda. Their companions, who were picked up in "heel-Citroens," look envious. We set off: two people comfortably settle on the rear sofa and doze — loaded with camera cases, the Mazda rides softer. The automatic's work is just right: it shifts its "condensed milk," and smooth changes don't disturb those tired from the flight. And I don't worry about consumption. It decreases. The engine seems to work at half power. It's a pity that the "empty night city" mode is so rarely available.

Car washes are also empty at night. Finally, there's time for the ritual of comprehensive cleaning — both body and interior. The result — 540 rubles. Although the guy grumbled: the hassle is a hundred more, like for an SUV. If we're going all out: after the bath, the Mazda drained a four-liter canister of "washer fluid" for another 70 rubles. Kirill Ivanov will find it useful. He's planning a long trip in the Mazda.

To the north and back (Kirill Ivanov, August 29, 2008) Total mileage — 8535 km
Our mileage — 4819 km
Fuel consumption — 12.4 l/100 km (combined cycle)

Unlike my colleagues, Anton Bolotov and Sasha Kataev, I didn't use our station wagon for transporting things or family. I have little stuff, and no wife or kids yet. But I have business in St. Petersburg, and while it's summer and the road hasn't deteriorated again, I headed to the Northern capital in the Mazda. The trunk is empty, the tank is full, and in the cabin — just me and a friend. Time — one in the morning, ahead — almost 700 km.

After Klin, the lit part of the road ends, and for the first two hundred kilometers of darkness, everything suits me. The seat profile, the smooth ride... We float like on waves toward the drawbridges and cafes on Nevsky. But in the Tver region, joy turns to indignation. The road here is the worst, but the xenon headlights don't shine; they sniff at something under the wheels. I have to peer into the darkness looking for potholes and bumps — my eyes tire very quickly from this.

The downside of zoom-zoom also shows: you feel like you're on a vibration stand. The floor shakes, the steering wheel broadcasts live from the contact patch of the front wheels, the plastic lives its own life and creaks in time with the vibrations. You don't want to drive fast at all, and only music saves you from extra sounds.

But as soon as the road levels out — everything returns to normal. The Mazda again confidently holds the straight, allowing even a bit of relaxation. But only until it's time for the 374th overtake of a convoy of four trucks. Overtaking lanes are not as frequent as I'd like, and they last only half a kilometer. A kilometer at most. Here, power is lacking like air, and usually, an old intercity bus with worn brake pads is sitting on your tail. If in city conditions 150 "horses" are enough, on the highway they only irritate with a dull hum at high revs.

Going for an overtake at the last moment, relying on adequate support from the automatic, is like death. Switching to manual mode on the highway has almost no effect. So before overtaking anyone, you should think several times, calculate everything, and not even try to do it at the last second. Especially since your hand sometimes involuntarily grabs the bottle neck instead of the automatic selector — the shallow cup holders are located too close to the lever...

However, here comes the dawn — and the Leningrad region. A glance at the fuel gauge, and the needle is already ready to go around for the second time. We're driving on fumes and wind power. In the end, on one tank, we couldn't make it about 30 km to St. Petersburg. But the average fuel consumption over the entire editorial test dropped to 12.4 liters per hundred.

What I really liked was the layout and backlighting of the instrument panel. Despite the abundance of colors, everything is easy to read and doesn't irritate the eyes.

After nine hours of exhausting road, St. Petersburg pleased us with clear weather and smooth asphalt. And, pleasantly, you get out of the cabin without a aching back or numb legs. In a day, we set off on the return trip, and only one thing worries me: in 300 km, I won't remember what car I'm driving. Just some car carrying me. It carries me well, but absolutely without a spark. I haven't felt such indifference in any of the cars I've driven around the country. So I won't be a buyer of the Mazda 6 — neither the station wagon, nor the sedan, nor the hatchback. In my opinion, a car shouldn't just be owned — it should be loved and felt. Between the Mazda and me, nothing sparked even after fifteen hundred kilometers.

Sci-fi (Alexander Kataev, September 12, 2008)
Total mileage — 9216 km
Our mileage — 5500 km
Fuel consumption — 12.7 l/100 km (city cycle)

Remember the Mazda Kazamai concept car? While the car was being prepared for the Moscow premiere, the Japanese invited journalists to their design center and offered a game of "Draw a Crossover." And then allegedly brought their ideas to life in the concept. So we decided to play a similar game: we'll describe what we'd like the Mazda6 station wagon to be, and imagine that the Japanese will listen to us.

We have nothing against fixed trim levels. But for our optional package, we would prefer a cheaper variant: without the Bose audio system and leather seats with electric adjustments, but with the long-awaited parking sensors and tire pressure monitoring. Fabric seats with the same adjustments and heating appeal to us more. And with the 62 thousand saved, we could stock up on all sorts of goodies for the trunk. Though, to be honest, a couple of floor nets would suffice.

Give the "wagon" the keyless entry system that the sedan and hatchback have! And a power liftgate for the massive fifth door. We are ready to sacrifice trunk volume for a full-size spare tire. And the wonder curtain — for the ability to open the rear window. Even if it's fantasy, let the rain sensor watch over it too.

Long winter nights lie ahead — we vote for a lighter interior and heated rear seats. The trip to St. Petersburg is not the last long-distance journey, so give us a couple more compartments for small items. And a console with a navigation screen — like in European versions. And could we raise the ground clearance a bit?

However, what we truly want is just one thing — the latest 2.2 turbodiesel with 185 hp. With four hundred newton-meters, our "automatic" would find common ground. And fuel consumption would be lower. But for now, such a combination is fantasy even in Europe.

To be continued...