Brawlers: 2014 Mazda 6 / Mazda 3 It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.
We have an $80,000 base-price cap
for the vehicles invited to 10Best, and for good reason: It’s easier to
build a great car if it will command a great price. And frankly, the
thrill of some megabuck über-cars fades even more rapidly than
those machines accelerate. Don’t misunderstand us; we’re not saying that
squabbling over the keys to a Ferrari is not worthy of fisticuffs, or
that driving a Bugatti shouldn’t be on your bucket list. But the cars of
privilege are extremists, pulling everything else along in their wake.
It can be just as gratifying to slide behind the wheel of those
mainstream models that have tucked into that slipstream.
Mazda
proves it with two such standouts named to 10Best this year: the 3 and
the 6. Even when they’re well equipped, you could own the pair for less
than 80 grand and still have enough change to buy a new Miata. Mazda’s
venerable roadster dropped off our list this year, not for being
eclipsed by a direct competitor, but in deference to its new
siblings—cars brimming with the sort of vigor and personality that the
Miata brought to the summer of 1989.
The
compact 3 and mid-size 6 are perfectly timed products from a company
that many had presumed down for the count. Two years ago, Mazda was
losing billions, and analysts talked of a potential bankruptcy.
Abandoned by Ford, its longtime partner, Mazda would need its next crop
of cars to stand on its own, with zero margin for error. Tiny Mazda
finished just 13th in U.S. sales in 2012, at the back of the pack with
lowly Mitsubishi. That’s not much higher than Maserati, which wishes it
had a sedan as beautiful as the 6 in its stable.
The
new 6 delivers Mazda’s 2010 Shinari concept essentially intact to its
637 U.S. dealers. The 6 not only looks like a million bucks inside and
out, it drives like it. Mazda’s long-held reputation for selecting
suspension bushings is on prominent display in the 6, which has an
imperturbable chassis that is always comfortable and controlled. Its
steering, suspension, and structure coordinate deftly. A six-speed
manual is available, yet its automatic shifts so quickly and
effortlessly that the 2.5-liter four feels more robust than any 184-hp
engine has a right to.
The
uncommon commonality of this pair of Mazdas is that both are so much
better than expected. Mazda tells us its parts work better together
because of its Skyactiv concept—a holistic approach to design,
manufacturing, and fuel-saving technologies that began with the
previous-generation 3. But it’s in these newest models that Skyactiv
seems most alchemical. Stiffer and lighter structures—the 6 sheds more
than 200 pounds in its redesign—translate to improved handling. Engines
with a lofty 13.0:1 compression ratio and direct injection help boost
fuel economy as high as 41 mpg on the EPA highway cycle. Keeping with
the company’s iconoclasm, its optional i-ELOOP electrification system
makes Mazda the first automaker to employ capacitors in a regenerative
braking system.
In some ways, the 3 is the more impressive car here.
Whether it’s the hatchback or sedan, we can’t stop admiring the long
hood and Italianate grille of the new 3, which hides its front-drive
underpinnings as well as anything since the original Oldsmobile
Toronado. Interior appointments, including an excellent infotainment
system with a central command knob, set a new, Audi-like standard for
the class. An optional head-up speedometer display projects its data
onto a transparent pane on the dash, fighter-jock style, and keeps your
eyes up and on the road.
Mazda
offers the 6’s 2.5-liter in the 3, as well as an entry-level 155-hp
2.0-liter four, but neither is neck-snappingly powerful. The Mazdas
aren’t here because of their brawn. These are finesse cars, balanced and
ergonomically perfect. Their cowls are low, their sightlines are
unencumbered, and Mazda hasn’t done anything silly such as jacking the
front seats’ H-points to make its cars feel more like crossovers; its
excellent CX-5 already serves that purpose.
Indeed,
Mazda is punching above its weight class when it comes to product. For a
company that builds one-sixth the number of vehicles of giants like
General Motors, Toyota, and Volkswagen, its achievements are nothing
short of shocking, like Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson. Mazda
has no luxury brand to generate Lexus-size profits, not even a
high-margin pickup truck in its lineup. No, Mazda just sells efficiently
built small and mid-size cars and crossovers, all of them entertaining
and none with a base price above $31K. In an industry in which most
carmakers are trying to be everywhere at once, Mazda’s dedication to
doing what it does best earns it our highest acclaim.