SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8
This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.
My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.
The cheat sheet
Price: R 430 500
Engine: 2191 cc, four-cylinder, chain driven DOHC, 16-valve turbodiesel
Power: 129 kW at 4500 rpm
Torque: 420 Nm between 1800 and 3000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 8.4 seconds
Maximum speed: 215 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 7.3 l/100 km
Tank: 62 litres
Boot: 483 litres
Warranty: 3 years/unlimited distance; with roadside assistance
Service plan: 3 years/unlimited distance; at 15 000 km intervals
Mazda Southern Africa has kept a low profile recently. For example, the 2012 facelift of Mazda6 passed unheralded locally and its new 2.2-litre Skyactiv-D engine, developed from the MZR-CD series, wasn’t mentioned.
Now separated from Ford, the SA unit was reborn in a burst of publicity over the past few months. With 46 dedicated dealerships and separate marketing, spares and maintenance programmes, the brand aims to regain its almost-cult status of bygone years. New model releases are in the pipeline, but for now the company is running with updated and facelifted versions of old favourites. That includes Mazda6 with its legacy pair of petrol engines and the newly updated diesel.
Briefly, it’s a common rail diesel running on a low14:1 compression ratio to reduce operating temperatures and, consequently, nitrous-oxide emissions. Its aluminium block reduces weight to the same as that of a petrol engine and eliminates nose-heaviness often found with diesel-powered cars. Twin (big and small) turbochargers kick in and out as needed to produce a smooth and even spread of power; revving freely to over 5000 rpm.
Put plainly it drives smoothly, revs almost like a petrol motor and has big-engine torque for loafing along at low rpm with power in reserve for overtaking. Obviously a diesel while listening outside, its interior ambience is practically silent. If you switch off the Bose 11-speaker sound system and keep aircon fan speed low, all you should hear, while getting a hustle on, is the subdued snarl of a sporty car doing its work.
On that note, the car’s front strut- and multilink rear suspension might be set a little too firm for drivers expecting luxuriously cushioned comfort, but those wanting a sporty performer that handles confidently, and hangs on tenaciously, will be pleased with it. An unfortunate side-effect of the firmness is that it tends to “clonk” over speed humps; even taken at whatever cautious speed was posted for that section of road.
Mazda rejected dual-clutch technology for its six-speed SkyActiv automatic transmission because dual clutch apparently doesn’t behave well in certain situations. Instead, Mazda re-designed its conventional autobox so the torque converter takes less strain while a multi-plate clutch keeps it disengaged most of the time. The transmission, with its short torque converter and integrated clutch, occupies the same space as a manual ‘box.
In plain English it shifts quickly and smoothly without defaulting to a higher ratio simply because that’s what others do. Sixty km/h on a level road is usually tackled in fourth at usable revs, for example, and it always seems to be in the perfect gear whatever the occasion. It behaves exactly like a decent twin-clutch even though Mazda doesn’t like you to say so.
Speaking of defaulting, the music player switches back to radio on restarting the engine, so you have to reselect USB for instance. And retell it to play random tracks. It gets annoying. A less irritating default-to-off is rear vehicle monitoring (RVM) that lets you know when a vehicle is in your blind spot or about to overtake. It stays off until you engage it, because unwanted beeping and flashing could become tiresome.
Because this is the top-of-line Atenza model, it is very well equipped. Apart from the expected braking, handling and safety features including six airbags, cruise control, ISOFix, lane departure warning, RVM, daytime running lights, automatically dipping rearview mirror, adaptive bi-xenon headlights and high beam control, it also features parking monitors and a reversing camera. It is 5-star ANCAP rated.
Comfort and luxury items include dual channel climate control, Bluetooth, touch-screen controls, leather upholstery with powered adjusters for both front chairs, two memory settings and lumbar adjustment for the driver, powered sunroof, autolock, remote opening boot lid, electric windows and mirrors, keyless entry with push-button starting and a trip computer.
The boot is generous without being huge. A bonus is that it’s sufficiently deep for a big cooler box to fit below the reinforcing beam – so you don’t lose loading length as on some cars. Back seat passenger space is plentiful and nicely appointed, although the usual caveat for middle passengers applies.
Attractively styled, spacious, well made, economical and with all the power you need, the Mazda6 is your free-will alternative to pretentious and predictable Deutsche-wagens.
Test car from Mazda SA press fleet
This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.
Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.
Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? If you're polite, I will get back to you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8