All-new Mazda mid-sizer for Tokyo

19 October 2001: Mazda Motor Corporation will reveal the all-new Mazda 6 at the Tokyo Motor Show on 24 October.

The Mazda 6 is an entirely new name for a completely new car platform designed to enhance Mazda's global impact in the important midsize market segment. There will be three body styles: 4-door saloon, 5-door hatchback and estate. The Mazda 6 will be powered by a new family of four-cylinder petrol engines plus next-generation common-rail diesel engines.

The first derivatives, manufactured in Hofu, Japan, will be introduced during the summer of 2002.

Benchmarking efforts included examining the BMW 3-series, Volkswagen Passat, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry and establishing a dialogue with their owners.

The interior of the Mazda 6 has a roomy, sporty interior with controls placed in a centre stack which is finished in titanium with chrome accents on round dials.

The all-new platform of the Mazda 6 has a newly designed front and rear suspension.

The new family of 4-cylinder engines will establish Mazda as Ford Motor Company’s development leader for large 4-cylinder engines. These will be used in a broad range of vehicles, beginning with the Mazda 6, in three displacements, including an advanced 2.3-litre with Mazda’s Sequential Valve Timing (S-VT).

Two new variants of the Mazda DIRECO-D 2.0-litre diesel engine make their debut in the Mazda 6, a 134 hp and a 118 hp version.

An innovative rear seat design folds to create an entirely flat load floor from the rear of the vehicle forward to the back of the front seats. The saloon version has a class-leading boot with a volume of 500 litres (17.6 cu.ft.) while the hatchback has 490 litres (17.3 cu.ft.) and the wagon has 504 litres (17.8 cu.ft.).

To support the new brand strategy, nomenclatures on Mazda products will now be much simpler. The Mazda 6 signature at the rear of the vehicle is the only badging beyond the large winged Mazda logo located in the centre of the front grille and the centre of the tailgate. Other badging, such as engine or bodystyle designations, will no longer be used. TW