2009 Mazda6 s Grand Touring

Giametta’s Driveway
By Chuck Giametta

2009 MAZDA6 s GRAND TOURING
Lookin’ good and knowing it

What are you driving? Mazda’s bid to bust onto the A-list of midsize sedans, where the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry claw over the high-volume family market and the Nissan Altima winks seductively at a sportier subset. The 2003-2008 Mazda6, with less-than-midsize dimensions and anonymous styling, fought for the scraps. But the fully redesigned 2009 Mazda6 is as large as the class-giant, the Accord, and arguably the most visually alluring sedan in the segment. The example in the driveway this week is the top-of-the-line s Grand Touring model. It has a 272-horsepower V-6, a six-speed automatic transmission, and like all Mazda6’s, front-wheel drive. (Mazda uses “s” to denote models with this V-6; versions with the 170-horse four-cylinder carry an “i” tag.)     

How much does it cost? Base price for the 2009 Mazda6 s Grand Touring is $28,260, which includes leather upholstery with heated front seats, 18-inch alloy wheels, keyless ignition, heated mirrors, and other goodies. The test example was optionally equipped with a voice-activated navigation system ($2,000), the moonroof and Bose package with a six-disc in-dash CD changer and satellite radio ($1,700), and California-compliant emissions tuning ($100). With the $670 destination fee, total manufacturer’s suggested retail price was $32,790. That’s a big-boy stride from the $18,550 base price of the entry-level 2009 Mazda6 i SV model. In between are four- and six-cylinder Sport, Touring models, and a four-cylinder Grand Touring. Their base prices range from $20,250-$25,070, not including destination.    

Is it worth it? A great body can sweep you off your feet, and there’s little to complain about under the hood. But a sticker in the low-$30,000s also gets you into a similarly equipped V-6 Accord, Camry, or Altima. Each has its own personality and virtues, and the 2009 Mazda6 s Grand Touring’s are distinct enough to stand comparison with any of these cars. But a history of steep discounts and relatively low residual value shadows the Mazda6. Yes, the 2009 version is an all-new car, but $32,000 is a pretty penny for a Mazda sedan, even one that looks like this. A smartly equipped Touring model with the four or the V-6 is $24,000-$27,000, and a better value.


What’s to like? That body. Fluid, strapping, and extroverted, the overall effect is undeniably fetching -- almost theatrical (more on this later). Acceleration and handling are first-rate, the 2009 Mazda6 s Grand Touring responding briskly and with control to throttle and steering. Ride is sporty-car firm but never punishing. The dashboard is attractively laid out and the touch-screen navigation system is easy to program. The front seats are roomy and comfortable, the trunk spacious, and the cabin materials, though let down here and there by some thin plastics, are competitive with those of like-priced rivals.   

What does it need? A sense of follow-through. The instrument panel’s curves and dips are at odds with the 90-degree-angles present elsewhere in the interior. The rear seat has plenty of foot space, but shortchanges on thigh support. The transmission has a manual gear mode, but there are no paddles to let you shift it from the steering wheel. The outside mirrors are heated, but don’t fold or include turn-signal repeaters. The main gauges are arranged in a sports-car cluster, but their orange/blue/white illumination is anti-sports-car gaudy. Blame some of these nits on cost considerations, but they take effort to ignore. So might fuel economy ratings that are inferior to the V-6 competition. The 2009 Mazda6 s Grand Touring is rated at 17/25 (city/highway) versus 19/26 for the Altima, 19/28 for Camry, 19/29 for Accord. A four-cylinder automatic-transmission 2009 Mazda6 is rated at 21/30.

What’s Mazda’s opinion? “Mazda’s Zoom-Zoom spirit influences every aspect of the MAZDA6’s visual appearance, driving personality, and core disposition.”

What do you say? The 2009 Mazda6 s Grand Touring answers the spur with gusto and invites you to aggressively explore twisting roads. But there’s something eerily calculated about the way this new 6 pushes all the beautiful-car buttons. Those front-fender bulges shout “muscled-up,” for example, but they don’t have a stylistic echo anywhere else on the car. Similarly, the chrome-ringed cat’s-eye cutouts for the exhaust are stunning, but a second look reveals the prosaic round-metal piping of the real exhaust just behind. Then there’s that vaudevillian instrument lighting. Is there a point attractiveness becomes vanity?

Vital statistics
2009 Mazda6 s Grand Touring

• Base price: $28,260

• Price of test car including $670 destination fee: $32,790

• Size: 193.7 inches long, 109.8-inch wheelbase, 3,547-pound base curb weight

• Engine: 272-horsepower 3.7-liter V-6; front-wheel drive

• Fuel economy: 17 mpg city/ 25 highway (EPA ratings)

• Warranty: 3 years/36,000 miles bumper-to-bumper, 5/60,000 powertrain

• Safety ratings: government crash testing not yet conducted.  

Automotive journalist Chuck Giametta has covered the auto industry for more than 20 years as a newspaper reporter, Executive Auto Editor of Consumer Guide books and magazines, and as Managing Editor of Iguida.com. This test vehicle was provided by the manufacturer.