Da, new Mazda6 making Moscow debut.
While most makers like to use key auto shows like Paris, Geneva, Detroit, Tokyo or even Beijing to reveal major new products Mazda has developed an unusual fascination with Moscow where it has introduced several products in recent years – and where it is today pulling the covers off the much anticipated 2014 Mazda6 sedan.
While the Japanese maker has already launched several other important new models this year — including the updated Mazda3 and the all-new CX-5 crossover – the 2014 Mazda6 is arguably the most critical for a company struggling to find its way after the effective break-up of its long partnership with Ford Motor Co.
The Mazda6 will go up against perhaps the toughest assortment of competitors ever seen in the midsize sedan market – everything from the recently updated Toyota Camry to newer offerings like the Nissan Altima, Honda Accord, Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Malibu – so it will have to score in every category, from design to fuel-economy, performance to functionality.
Though Moscovites will get the first look at a Russian-spec Mazda6 the basic design will be shared worldwide.
Mazda has offered several teaser images in recent weeks confirming that the new Mazda6 will adopt the new Kodo design language – borrowing heavily from the Takeri Concept vehicle first shown at the Tokyo Motor Show last autumn. That includes the sculpted side panels and coupe-like roofline.
The model shown here is the Russian-spec version of the 2014 Mazda6 featuring the maker’s new SkyActiv system. Much of the recent coverage of that technology has focused on the powertrain side but there’s a lot more to SkyActiv which touches just about every aspect of vehicle design, from the engine to the basic chassis. Mazda engineers have even re-examined such minutia as the shape of the impeller blades used in their water pumps to reduce weight and improve efficiency.
The basic design of the new Mazda6 uses the maker's Kodo design language and was strongly influenced by the Takeri Concept car.
In the case of the Mazda6 on display at the Moscow Motor Show, it features a SkyActiv-G 2.0-liter gasoline engine and 6-speed automatic gearbox. The driveline also features the innovative i-ELOOP braking system, which uses an ultracapacitor, rather than a battery, to store energy normally lost during braking or coasting. The system, which is more formally known as an intelligent energy loop, reportedly can improve mileage by up to 10% in stop-and-go driving.
Mazda isn’t saying much more about the new Mazda6 sedan, though it is expected to be the first offering from the Hiroshima-based maker to also get the new SkyActiv-D diesel – which, in turn, is expected to give Mazda bragging rights as the only Japanese maker to put a diesel into a passenger car aimed at the U.S. market.
Still to be answered is what Mazda will offer under the hood of the American-spec Mazda6.
One of the biggest questions is what gasoline engine will be offered in the States. If there’s been any serious complaint about the new Mazda CX-5 it’s that the 2.0-liter engine doesn’t quite match the maker’s Zoom-Zoom image.
Mazda plans to reveal more information about the 2014 Mazda6 at a news conference scheduled for August 29th. And the complete line-up, it says, will be shown in September at the Paris Motor Show.
Incidentally, the 2014 Mazda6 will no longer be produced in the U.S. Mazda has abandoned the Michigan joint venture assembly plant it operated as part of a long-standing alliance with Ford. The sedan will be imported from Japan.