The Mazda 6 celebrates 20 years with a car that has stayed largely the same for 10, and for some buyers, that might just be what they’re after.
2023 Mazda 6 20th Anniversary Edition
Back in mid-2002, Mazda welcomed a bouncing baby mid-sized sedan, wagon and hatch to the global market. While Emily and Joshua were the newborn names of choice, Mazda opted for something far more sensible and we all met the Mazda 6.
The ‘6 replaced the Mazda 626, a nameplate that originated 1978, and was an immediate local success. Mazda sold more than 70,000 first-generation cars, with more than half (52 per cent) in the five-door liftback body. Two more generations followed and to date, Mazda Australia has moved over 144,000 units of the Mazda 6.
The third-generation car launched in late 2012 which means as well as marking a 20th Anniversary (platinum) for the badge, the current Mazda 6 has also turned 10. For some ‘feel old yet’ context, the car’s launch predated the word ‘selfie’ being officially added to the dictionary.
But while the Mazda 6 is hardly new, Mazda has continually refined and updated the model, making the 2023 version the most ‘6 it ever has been.
Is that enough for it to flourish in a world of fast-moving technology and advancements in electrification? Probably not, but not every new car buyer wants to move at the speed of light. To that point. if you want a new car that isn’t all that new, maybe the celebratory Mazda 6 is just what you need?
How much does the Mazda 6 cost in Australia?
The Mazda’s platinum anniversary celebrations aren’t limited to the special edition model, as tweaks have filtered across the five-variant lineup with prices only moving slightly.
New for 2023 is the addition of wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless phone charging across the range, a traffic queuing function integrated with the cruise control on GT SP and above, some trim and colour changes, and of course, the inclusion of the anniversary variants.
Your Mazda 6 journey can start from $35,540 for a G25 Sport sedan (a rise of $300) and climbs to $54,935 for our 20th Anniversary wagon, with prices noted before options and on-road costs. All model grades (Sport, Touring, GT SP, Atenza and 20th Anniv.) are offered in both body styles with the wagon commanding a $1300 premium over an equivalent grade sedan.
The 20th Anniversary wagon has no available options and only asks that buyers make a selection from two unique paints (Rhodium White or Artisan Red) for no additional cost.
A breakdown of all Mazda 6 variant prices and changes for 2023 can be found here.
In terms of Mazda context, the ‘6 tracks the pricing of the CX-5 SUV with near parity (a base-trim CX-5 G20 Maxx is $35,510 whereas a range-topping CX-5 Akera diesel AWD is $54,500 before on-roads), but undercuts the entry point of the new CX-60 range, which kicks off at $59,800.
If cross-shopping wagons is more your thing, then the Mazda is a sharper proposition than both the $57,190 Volkswagen Passat 162TSI and $57,590 Skoda Octavia RS, as well as the $58,990 Skoda Superb 162 Style, but to be fair, all three have a bit more ‘youth’ on their side.
| Key details | 2023 Mazda 6 20th Anniversary wagon |
| Price | $54,935 plus on-road costs |
| Colour of test car | Artisan Red |
| Options | None |
| Price as tested | $54,935 plus on-road costs |
| Drive-away price | $59,920 (VIC) / $59,629 (NSW) |
| Rivals | Volkswagen Passat | Skoda Superb | Mazda CX-5 |
How much space does the Mazda 6 have inside?
In an automotive rarity, the Mazda 6 sedan has a wheelbase that is 80mm longer than the wagon, and is 65mm longer overall. This makes the rear legroom of the wagon a little tighter than the saloon, but it still offers plenty of room as a family car.
Up front, the cabin is very well laid out, with ergonomic switchgear and an excellent driving position. There is a modest tilt-slide sunroof, rather than a more modern panoramic number, but it’s still a nice place to spend time.
Part of the enhancements to the 20th Anniversary edition car are tan Nappa leather seats and a faux-suede dashboard trim that gives the car a far more upmarket feel.
In terms of cargo space, the boot has 506-litres with the blind and seats in place, which expands to 1648-litres when the 60:40 seats are folded. It’s a good load area, and being a wagon not an SUV, is lower to the ground for easy loading.
On the plus side, you get a space-saver spare tyre, but on the down side, there is no powered tailgate, which feels a bit poor on a $55k car.
| 2023 Mazda 6 20th Anniversary wagon | |
| Seats | Five |
| Boot volume | 506L seats up 1648L seats folded |
| Length | 4800mm |
| Width | 1840mm |
| Height | 1480mm |
| Wheelbase | 2750mm |
Does the Mazda 6 have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?
The eight-inch colour touch screen in the middle of the dash offers integrated navigation, DAB digital radio and now, support for wireless Apple CarPlay phone projection. Android Auto is supported via a cabled connection.
When stopped, you can interact with the touch panel or using the MZD ‘shuttle’ controls on the console. Here, the MZD connect and Android/CarPlay functions work well enough, albeit without any of the newer interface design elements of the system found in the CX-30 or even CX-5.
Start moving though, and the touch screen ‘touch’ function is disabled.
This makes MZD Connect access easy enough, as there are shortcut buttons and a reasonably intuitive interface, but CarPlay in particular is borderline unusable.At times it almost forces you to interact with your phone to complete a process, which is counter-productive to having the motion-lockout feature in the first place.
You have to concentrate so much more on the screen to see what you are doing with the click-scroll wheel, akin to trying to be competitive in a car-racing computer game just using the keyboard. It simply doesn’t work.
I would have like to have seen the newer, widescreen infotainment system from the CX-30 make its way here, but feel at the very least Mazda should update the coding on the current MZD system to bring the usability inline with most other platforms.
On the up side, wireless charging is now included across the Mazda 6 range and the 20th Anniversary car has a pleasant 11-speaker Bose sound system. There are USB ports in the rear armrest as as well as in the centre console too.
Is the Mazda 6 a safe car?
The Mazda 6 scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating when it was tested in 2018.
Scores were high interms of adult (95 per cent) and child (91 per cent) occupant protection, but it only achieved 66 per cent for road user protection and 73 per cent for safety assistant categories. This is due to the lack of cyclist detection in the AEB system, poor performance for pedestrian detection at night.
Further, the lane keeping system doesn’t handle soft edges (where there are no line markings) as well as does with line markings.
| 2023 Mazda 6 20th Anniversary wagon | |
| ANCAP rating | Five stars (tested 2018) |
| Safety report | Link to ANCAP report |
What safety technology does the Mazda 6 have?
Mazda has done well to keep the ‘6 up to date in terms of driver assistance and safety technology, particularly as they have done so across the range.
It’s also an area where the slightly ‘older’ platform of the Mazda can work in your favour, especially if the idea of self-driving cars is a bit of a step too far.
The systems include the usual array of acronyms, like BSM (Blind Spot Monitoring), HBC (High Beam Control), RCTA (Rear Cross Traffic Alert)… you get the idea. It all works reasonably well, and is intuitive enough to use, but isn’t quite at the cutting edge. Maybe the ‘spreading edge’ would be more apt.
In a way though, this works in the Mazda’s favour as you have the benefit of some good technology that doesn’t have the agressiveness of some more modern systems. Sometimes this is good, like the lane keeping aid that will gently tug at the wheel if you cross the line but not in such a way that your deliberate movements to avoid potholes or other obstacles is seen as an incitement to the robot uprising.
It’s not perfect though, as we noted the speed sign recognition system fail to update once a roadwork zone had been passed, however the car wasn’t ‘trying’ to do anything we weren’t asking of it, making these very much driver assistance features as opposed to ‘driving aids’.
Plus, the surround view camera looks like VHS security footage from the 1990s. Surely it wouldn’t have been too hard to swap in a newer system?
Bottom line, the Mazda 6 has all the features you need, but you don’t need to completely re-learn how to drive to work with them.
How much does the Mazda 6 cost to maintain?
The Mazda 6 is supported by a capped-price service program and 15,000km (12m) intervals. For the first five years you’ll spend $354, $528, $439, $830 and $354 with the major interval at 60,000km (4yr) including spark plug replacement along with all fluids, filters and a full diagnostic assessment.
Insurance is quoted at $1562.90 per annum for comprehensive cover through NRMA.
Please note the insurance figure is based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver, living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.
| At a glance | 2023 Mazda 6 20th Anniversary wagon |
| Warranty | Five years, unlimited km |
| Service intervals | 12 months or 15,000km |
| Servicing costs | $1321 (3 years) $2505 (5 years) |
Is the Mazda 6 fuel efficient?
Yes and no.
Mazda claims a combined cycle consumption of 7.6L/100km, with urban at 10L/100km and highway at 6.2L/100km. This alone isn’t too bad, and while our mostly touring drive saw things end a bit higher at 8.9L/100km, even that isn’t too bad for a purely petrol car, especially one tuned to run on 91-RON unleaded.
But this is the thing. There is no hybrid option, even a mild one, for the Mazda 6. Yes, the i-Loop capacitive energy saving system works in stop start traffic, but I’d argue it is mostly offset by a heavier fuel use when you get going again.
We are seeing more and more people look to electric or hybrid solutions to save at the pump and generally reduce consumption and emissions, but of all the cars available that work to this end, the Mazda 6 isn’t one of them.
There are more efficient options out there, so take that into account if this is a primary decision factor for you. Remeber too, when this car launched we compared it to a six-cylinder VF Holden Commodore which had an ambitious 9L/100km combined cycle claim!
Fuel Consumption – brought to you by bp
| Fuel Useage | Fuel Stats |
| Fuel cons. (claimed) | 7.6L/100km |
| Fuel cons. (on test) | 8.9L/100km |
| Fuel type | 91-octane premium unleaded |
| Fuel tank size | 62L |
What is the Mazda 6 like to drive?
While the Mazda 6 may have fallen behind in terms of technology and efficiency, it is still a hugely impressive car to drive.
I can’t say you can feel the extra 3kW Mazda has squeezed out of the 2.5-litre turbo engine, but the low-down torque response and mid-range peak power band make it a very flexible powerplant that works in both urban and extra-urban environments.
It’s nice and sharp off the line, almost too sharp if the road is wet or unsealed, and even offers a muted but subtly present purr under load.
Touring is a specialty, and the car will kick down swiftly to pull away when overtaking, the six-speed transmission largely irrelevant to your decision making process, as it works away in the background.
Body control is excellent, as is the ride on the 19-inch wheels. Our launch drive took us on a range of regional Victorian roads, and the Mazda managed the changing surfaces, patches and potholes without a murmor. In fact for the entire drive I only noted one point where the suspension was felt to have hit the stops, over a particularly sharp-edged dip.
It’s quiet, visibility is good, and with the improved cabin materials, just a really nice place to spend time.
Wind it up a bit, and the middle-aged wagon still has some sport to its step, with Mazda’s G-Vectoring system balancing engine outputs with the car’s lateral movement to both support the driver’s goal but not upset the passengers in the process. The SPORT drive mode will hold gear changes for a smidge longer, but to be honest, you don’t even need it.
Transition from touring highway to winding switchbacks and the Mazda will be there to support you. It’s not trying to be a hyper-performance machine, but manages to feel willing and engaging through all manner of roads, feeling far more youthful than its age would suggest.
Plus, and you can see this in the video, it still looks really good doing it!
| Key details | 2023 Mazda 6 20th Anniversary wagon |
| Engine | 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol |
| Power | 173kW @ 4250rpm |
| Torque | 420Nm @ 2000rpm |
| Drive type | Fron-wheel drive |
| Transmission | Six-speed torque converter automatic |
| Power-to-weight ratio | 109.8kW/t |
| Weight (tare) | 1575kg |
| Spare tyre type | Space-saver |
| Tow rating | 1600kg braked 750kg unbraked |
| Turning circle | 11.0m |
Should I buy a Mazda 6?
Not every new car needs to be a NEW car. The Mazda 6 shows there’s still plenty of benefit to having a well-sorted and proven platform, even in this world of rapid change.
While the GT SP Wagon ($49,740 before on-road costs) is the best buying option in the Mazda 6 range, the plush interior of the 20th Anniversary car, and that lovely burgundy paint, is enough to make this one an appealing option for buyers who want a nice, new car without having to change to a brand-new car.
Yes there are plenty of options for you at this price point. Yes that media interface is a pain. Yes the boot should open itself for this kind of spend. And yes, it really would have been good to see all-wheel drive or some form of hybridisation work its way into the venerable Mazda 6 by now, but it hasn’t and it won’t and that’s OK.
The world is moving very fast, and things are changing all the time, but sometimes its nice to know that you can still have something you understand and can relate to immediately, rather than having to start with a clean sheet of learning paper each time.
The Mazda 6 is old, no doubt, but it’s still good. As a big country tourer or classy family hauler, few cars can match’s its ease and competence, and given car-years are like dog-years, I think we all wish we could look this good on the eve of retirement.
Will there be another Mazda 6 generation? Maybe. But for now, for buyers who want a new car that isn’t all that new, this one still has a lot to offer.
Happy birthday Mazda 6. Here’s to the next 20 years!
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