Mazda has announced that it will soon unveil their upcoming Mazda6 at the 2012 Moscow Motor Show, which will follow in the footsteps of the Mazda CX-5 becoming infused with their SKYACTIV Technology with a host of electrical, mechanical and structural improvements thanks to their “KODO – Soul of Motion” design language. All of which contribute towards improving fuel economy and performance. And Mazda will be introducing the new Mazda6 to global markets starting late 2012.
The 3rd generation Mazda6 will have that ‘signature wing’ for its grille that separates the pair of LED headlights that come incorporated with halo ring lights. The new Mazda6 is going to be longer, wider, lower and more spacious as a host of electronic features get included within that includes Start/Stop functionality (i-stop) that restarts the engine in only 0.35s and brake energy regeneration system (i-ELOOP) that utilizes capacitors instead of the battery.
Mazda has indicated that the interior is driver-centric with greater use of soft materials for frequently touched areas, such as the door trim and the upper part of the instrument panel for that neat, simple, premium finish. Imposing a comfortable and relaxed environment that helps heighten the sense for driving pleasure.
Mazda has outfitted their new 6 with a set of 19” alloy rims for greater stability, and much like what BMW loves to do, Mazda has shifted their front wheels forward by as much as 100mm in relation to the A-pillar in order to reduce over-hang and the rear-deck has been shortened in comparison to the previous model. All of which gives the new Mazda6 a far more sportier than previously muscular stance.
There’s going to be more at the rear as knee clearance has been increased by 43mm, with leg space being provided at 984mm (a 37mm improvement from the previous model). The rear seat cushion has been lengthened by 20mm and the seat back length increased 33mm. The rear centre arm-rest has been enlarged by 60mm. It’s not just more space being provided in the boot, but cargo access has been made more ergonomic having been widened by 32mm.
The centre console will also house a multi-commander 5” display that will allow you to control audio, navigation, wiper-sensitivity and trip management will be located in the meter-cluster via a 3.5” display.
In terms of power delivery, the Russians will be getting two engine variants a SKYACTIV-G 2.0 and 2.5 litre petrol engines that will offer 147bhp at 6,000rppm and 210Nm of torque at 4,000rpm, whereas the 2.5L SKYACTIV petrol engine is being rated at 189bhp at 5.700rpm and 256Nm of torque from as low as 3,250rpm. Mazda promises that their 2.5L engine will be quieter and smoother thanks to the usage of a balance shaft too help mitigate all that noisy rock and roll.
While Russians get to choose either a 6-speed manual or a SKYACTIV-Drive automatic transmission, we should be getting the latter, while the 2.5L variant will only be mated to the 6-speed SKYACTIV-Drive auto tranny that Mazda says will offer nimble performance in response to your accelerator pedal input, yet smooth transitions between gears.
In terms of safety, the new Mazda6 is being infused with Rear Vehicle Monitoring (RVM) and Adaptive Front-lighting System (AFS) for greater driver awareness by improving the field of vision at night and Smart City Brake Support (SCBS) will be made available, which takes steps to avoid or reduce the severity of an accident even if the driver takes no action.
There’s even what Mazda calls; Hill Launch Assist (HLA) which prevents the stationary car from rolling back-wards when on a hill as your foot moves from the brake pedal to the accelerator.
Once on the move at speeds from 50kmh and higher, should you need to stop in a hurry, the Mazda6’s hazard lights will rapidly flicker thanks to their Emergency Stop Signal (ESS), to help warn other vehicles at your rear of what you’re doing.
There’s even Rear Vehicle Monitoring (RVM) that’s automatically activated once you’ve reached 30kmh or higher, where it will detect cars approaching from behind or in your blind spot by warning the driver when they should turn on the indicator to change lanes.
A camera for the Mazda6’s Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS) will judge the position of lines on the road and will warn the driver of unintentional lane departures.
Infrared beam sensors for the Smart City Brake Support (SCBS) will help provide information to the car as to whether it should automatically engage the brakes to help prevent or reduce the impact of a frontal collision.
Although the Mazda6 will be unveiled at the upcoming 2012 Moscow Motor Show with Russian specs, we’re pretty sure the Mazda6 that will be headed here soon should have the high-end bells and whistles. But do take heed about engine performance since fuel grades differ from countries, thus requiring Mazda to increase or decrease compression ratios depending on the grade of fuel used, thus affecting the performance figures of the SKYACTIV engines. Currently, the Mazda CX-5 in Malaysia has a compression ratio of 13:1, due to our predominant usage of RON95.
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