Used 2021 MAZDA MAZDA6

The 2021 Mazda6 could easily be a midsize sedan from a premium marque. Going by the looks alone — including the elegant, high-quality interior — it’s clear the Mazda6 is in a different league than the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. Its clean lines seem timeless, and Mazda offers a gorgeous deep red metallic paint color that even appeals to people who don’t usually like red cars.

Mazda’s practice of bringing a certain specialness also happens beneath the skin. The suspension achieves a fine balance between comfort and agility, yet the cabin remains tranquil. The seats are ideal for long trips, although drivers will also want to find reasons for even a short run.

A turbocharged engine comes in at the higher trims and really adds some zest to the driving experience. But it means spending more money. And the infotainment system is not exactly cutting-edge, yet even that has improved this year with the availability of wireless Apple CarPlay smartphone integration.

Every contemporary Mazda has some degree of driving fun, and many have plenty. The Mazda6 balances high levels of engagement with a family-friendly ride quality. The steering is one of our favorites in this class, with the right amount of assistance and plenty of feel.

The G-Vectoring Control Plus system might sound daunting, but a driver never has to worry about it. The system makes subtle adjustments of engine power and braking to make everything smoother. It also helps during sudden lane changes and other evasive moves.

A standard 187-horsepower 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine delivers adequate power most will find acceptable, but the 227-horsepower turbocharged alternative gives the Mazda6 greater acceleration and passing power. The Mazda6’s 6-speed automatic transmission has fewer gears than many rivals, but it’s responsive and matches well to both engines. The inclusion of a Sport mode is another plus.

Despite younger rivals, the 2021 Mazda6 still has one of the best interiors in its class, with clean design, impressive materials, and upscale decor. The front seats are accommodating and comfortable, while the rears are also well-cushioned. Rear legroom of 38.7 inches seems good in theory, but can feel a tad tight in reality.

The infotainment system employs an 8-inch display, along with a rotary control dial in the center console. As mentioned earlier, 14.7 cubic feet of trunk space is not so impressive, but at least the rear seats split and fold in time-honored 60/40 fashion.

Replace the Mazda badge with Audi’s four rings, Tesla’s “T” or Jaguar’s leaping cat, and this exterior design would still look absolutely right. There’s a certain skill to giving a car a premium appearance, and Mazda’s designers have that talent by the truckload. The Mazda6 is a prime example.

There’s a cohesive quality to the shapes, lines, and proportions, giving the impression that it was designed by one person with a strong vision, as opposed to styling by committee and market-research findings. On either side of the grille are standard LED headlights, while at the rear are LED taillights and dual exhaust pipes.

The new-for-2021 Carbon Edition brings Polymetal Gray exterior paint, 19-inch alloy wheels with a metallic black finish, and red leather upholstery with black cross-stitching.

RADAR CRUISE CONTROL WITH STOP-AND-GO
Standard in every 2021 Mazda6, radar-based adaptive cruise control maintains a safe predetermined distance to the vehicle ahead, works at all speeds, and features stop-and-go capabilities, so it’ll apply the brakes or throttle in traffic.

SAFETY CREDENTIALS
The Mazda6 received the highest safety ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) with a 5-star overall score. And it aced the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) crash test program to become a Top Safety Pick.

To keep pricing keen, the entry-level Mazda6 Sport has cloth upholstery and manually adjustable front seats, but remains nicely equipped. Standard features include forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and automatic high beams.

In addition to those driver aids are G-Vectoring Control Plus and LED lighting, plus 17-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone automatic climate control, leather-wrapped steering wheel, automatic high beams, rain-sensing wipers, 8-inch color infotainment touchscreen, Bluetooth phone/audio, two USB ports, 6-speaker audio setup, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone integration.

To obtain more equipment in a new Mazda6 is not a case of ordering from a list of options, but choosing a higher trim. For example, the Touring has simulated leather upholstery, heated front seats, a 6-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, keyless entry/ignition, powered moonroof, 19-inch alloy wheels, and a couple more USB ports for the rear quarters.

Grand Touring adds the turbocharged engine, uprated brakes, wireless Apple CarPlay, satellite radio, and an 11-speaker Bose audio system among its extra features.

Things become ever grander until we reach Signature trim with Nappa leather, real Japanese Sen wood accents, a 360-degree camera system, front and rear parking sensors, road sign recognition, configurable driver display, and many other luxury touches.

The basic engine for the 2021 Mazda6 range is a 2.5-liter/4-cylinder unit. Unusually for the class, it has a cylinder deactivation feature to help save fuel when not under load. Its fuel economy figures are impressive, averaging 29 mpg combined with regular gasoline.

At the Grand Touring trim level and above comes a turbocharged 2.5-liter/4-cylinder engine endowing the Mazda6 with 250 horsepower (on 93-octane gasoline; 227 horsepower with the 87-octane stuff), yet able to achieve an average of 26 mpg combined.

Both engines link up to a 6-speed automatic transmission (Mazda engineers reckon six well-chosen ratios is still the optimum setup), and front-wheel drive is the sole configuration.

2.5-liter inline-4 (Sport, Touring)
187 horsepower @ 6,000 rpm
186 lb-ft of torque @ 4,000 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 26/35 mpg

2.5-liter turbocharged inline-4 (Grand Touring/Reserve, Signature)
227 horsepower @ 5,000 rpm (250 horsepower with 93-octane)
310 lb-ft of torque @ 2,000 rpm (320 lb-ft with 93-octane)
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 23/31 mpg

Our Expert Ratings come from hours of both driving and number crunching to make sure that you choose the best car for you. We comprehensively experience and analyze every new SUV, car, truck, or minivan for sale in the U.S. and compare it to its competitors. When all that dust settles, we have our ratings.

We require new ratings every time an all-new vehicle or a new generation of an existing vehicle comes out. Additionally, we reassess those ratings when a new-generation vehicle receives a mid-cycle refresh — basically, sprucing up a car in the middle of its product cycle (typically, around the 2-3 years mark) with a minor facelift, often with updates to features and technology.

Rather than pulling random numbers out of the air or off some meaningless checklist, KBB’s editors rank a vehicle to where it belongs in its class. Before any car earns its KBB rating, it must prove itself to be better (or worse) than the other cars it’s competing against as it tries to get you to spend your money buying or leasing.

Our editors drive and live with a given vehicle. We ask all the right questions about the interior, the exterior, the engine and powertrain, the ride and handling, the features, the comfort, and of course, about the price. Does it serve the purpose for which it was built? (Whether that purpose is commuting efficiently to and from work in the city, keeping your family safe, making you feel like you’ve made it to the top — or that you’re on your way — or making you feel like you’ve finally found just the right partner for your lifestyle.)

We take each vehicle we test through the mundane — parking, lane-changing, backing up, cargo space and loading — as well as the essential — acceleration, braking, handling, interior quiet and comfort, build quality, materials quality, reliability.