Thinking of a Mazda 6 estate and test drove the 2.2 163ps diesel today – very impressed!

Was also looking at the Passat estate but reliability probs (98th in 2009 Driver Power reliability survey!) and unhelpful dealers put me right off.

Anything to be wary of with the Mazda? I’ve heard worrying things about the DPF system being unreliable and VERY expensive to fix but the salesman said getting the revs over 3000 for 30secs per journey prevents that problem (he also said there’s probably going to be a recall for this).

I probably do 14-16k miles pa so petrol is an option too but I’ve heard bad things about the oxygen sensors in the 2.0.

Any thoughts?

Mazda6 IMO- just looks better etc and actually steers.

I have a 185ps hatchback and think it’s ace, handles well, fast, not too thirsty (about 46 mpg), insurance not too bad, no DPF problems experienced…had it for about 1 year, done 18k miles. What trim level are you looking at? Had a couple of minor issues with the keymess entry system but all sorted out under warrenty. I’d have another one given the choice..

Had a 2.5L Sport petrol estate from new for nearly 2 years now. Good car, no problems at all, drives well and practical for carting stuff around. There were some reports of engine failures and long waiting times for spares when the new 2.2 diesel came out. I don’t know how widespread this was and its probably long sorted now.

Also, I have a couple of friends with Passats that have had loads of problems with them. I think the Mazda is better built and certainly more reliable.

My old man has a Mazda 6 TS2, its been reliable with nothing going wrong in 2 years (only covered 14k though) the Bose stereo sounds good and the boot is ample for bikes. I can say as a passenger it feels smooth. Did an annoying thing were the stereo got louder the quicker you drove, but that feature can be disabled. I think they look smart too but that’s subjective.

Sounding good so far 🙂

What are the servicing costs like? Salesman said £170ish for first and £300ish for second.

I’m probably going to plump for ts2 trim unless there is a good offer for the sport

Those servicing costs look about right but shop around, I found quite a difference between main dealers near me.

I’ve had 2 bikes in the back of mine with wheels on & back seats down as well as all the ususal biking kit with no trouble at all. Could get 3 in with 2/3 of the rear seat down if I took front wheels off. Did a 1200 mile motoring holiday last summer loaded up with 4 passengers and all the holiday kit and used less than 2 tanks of diesel. 🙂 Also £125 a year RFL is good for a car of its size IMO.

As I said above, great car getting better with age for both economy and performance 🙂

Edit, +1 for the Bose stereo 😉

I had a last gen Mazda 6 TS2 140bhp diesel and it was a great car – drove nicer than the Passat that replaced it – Bose stereo was great too.

The subsequent Passat though, was all round a better car, comfort and build wise – and I suffered no reliability issues whatsoever.

Drove a latest gen Mazda 6 and although it was a lovely car, I found it not as nice a drive as my old one and the steering was way too light.

Very good cars by all accounts, on my next car list along with the Octavia vRS diesel and an Insignia CDTi 160 4X4…

Thanks for the replies 🙂

Annoyingly the BOSE stereo is now only available on the Sport spec :-/

More of a general question but is 150-160bhp enough with a fully loaded estate car? My civic has (had!) 125bhp and struggles a bit with climbs, although it’s 8 years old so is probably nearer 110bhp now.

I have been looking on and off at estates.

I believe the Mazda6 drops its seat bases as you lower the backs rather than having to lift the bases out of the way. This seems like an eminently sensible idea and almost a good enough reason to buy one on that alone.

Other estates may do this I am not sure, but none of them seem to mention it on websites etc.

My old Honda Accord estate did this, folding the seats down with a lever. My newer car does this and a few other.

More of a general question but is 150-160bhp enough with a fully loaded estate car? My civic has (had!) 125bhp and struggles a bit with climbs, although it’s 8 years old so is probably nearer 110bhp now.

Depends how fast you want to go – my pick-up is 2t+ with tools in the back and pulls like a train uphill (170bhp). It was 140bhp before it was chipped, but never struggled – was just found a little wanting.

I keep waiting for my S reg Mazda 626 to fail an MOT or die, apart from a new battery and regreasing the handbrake cable its now on 120k and bumbling along fine. Its my 2nd Mazda, I will probably get another.

I’ve had a Mazda 6 2.5litre petrol sport for 2 years from new. It’s ace.

When you talk of power do you mean BHP or torque. Got an accord estate 2.2 diesel. Only has 130bhp ish but has loads of torque which is what you want when lugging loads. Assume your civic was petrol?

Taken it to various parts of Wales with lots of nice hills with four people and a weeks worth of kit in the boot. No problems blatting up hills thanks to the torque.

Guess this is a bit late now. I was searching net for Mazda 6 est and DPF issues and found this. As I am MTBer thought I add my contribution.
I would be very wary of any diesel fitted with a DPF don’t believe what sales guys tell you they very likely do not understand the system. I have a 55 reg Vectra est 1.9 diesel (150), great load lugger and great for bikes, especially as wheel base longer than hatch – another feature to look out for and one few manufacturers do, though I think mazda 6 is one. I like others have had DPF issues, mine went away for a year but has now returned. Alot of manufacturers are suffering from poor implementations of DPF systems and its a shame Mazda appear to be one of them as this is yet another good car ruined by ill concieved euro emissions. If I were buying new I would ask alot of questions about reliability of DPF regen sys and what is covered by warranty. It may be that eventually they will get it right, but I don’t think we are there yet. I too do about 14k/year, hence petrol is an option and given current DPF situation thats where I would go and return to diesel in about 5 years (hows that for helping the environoment!!). By then either most DPFs will not longer be fitted (prefered opt) or technology/software has improved.
Sorry this is not very single tacky, but really think people should know the problems of cars fitted with a DPF. When they go into limp mode they can be dangerous too, I has a great time last year on German motorway where I could not accelerate past slow lorries up hill.

we have the 2.3 litre sport that is now 5 years old (so the last model and as I am in Denmark it may be slightly different spec) but as said, the reliability has been faultless and the Bose sperio is fantastic. I have and do recommend them to anyone who asks.

We considered an Avensis at the time, but it was more expensive and more boring. Passat is dull and VW dealers are a PITA.

Most of the good gadgets are only on the Sport – xenon lights, blind spot warning, keyless entry (IIRC).

Are you buying or leasing?

I very nearly leased one (business purchase) then found a CHEAPER deal on the outgoing model Audi A6 S-Line Special Edition.

I was only commenting on diesel models fitted with DPF and warning of issues with this. I am sure that in general mazdas are good. I had a 323 zxi v6 a few years back which is still the most reliable car I have ever owned. Hence if I were looking to replace vectra est mazda 6 est would be worth a look, but not if they have DPF issues most other manufacturers seems to have. Note DPF is not a gadget, you would never want one if offered as an option!

Cant see how Mazda would be rated so highly by users above and in the car survey stakes if their cars were saddled with serious DPF issues?

FWIW I had a 185D Sport for 18 months, thrashed the arse out of it for 40k and it never missed a beat. That included accidentally fueling it with petrol when it was only months. mtb tr Driven dozens of similar cars over the years and I rate the 6 very highly – way better than the unreliable Passat which preceded it.

Bit late – I bought the 2.0 petrol version in the end! In some ways I’m glad because I don’t have any nagging concerns about the dpf BUT the petrol engine is really low on torque. I’ve never changed gear so much on the motorway, even with only 2 people and minimal hiking gear.

thrashed the arse out of it for 40k and it never missed a beat.

That’s why it was fine. afaik it’s drivers who bimble around in the diesels that suffered problems. A long or foot heavy run clears out the DPF so it doesn’t overflow

My two year old Toyota Avensis Tourer T4 Sat Nav only has 128Bhp but even with five blokes and five bikes on it pulled really well, loads of leg room in the back and they appear to hold some resale value. Never missed a beat and only had regular servicing from very good dealers.

I wouldn’t touch a VW with a barge pole, the dealers think the cars are second to none and the manufacturer goes into denial about issues at the flick of the switch. The Japanese manufacturers don’t give a stuff about you using their dealers as they obey the block exemption rule, the Germans enforce their warranty like their life depends on it.

I had a mate who had a turbo and wiring loom let go with 50K on clock, VW wouldn’t entertain it because he has one service done at a VW specialist (non franchise). I wrote a letter for him reminding them of block exemption and asking them to point out where in the service schedule the turbo and wiring loom are serviced and they just wrote back confirming they won’t pay. As soon as we sent their legal dept a £5K CCJ claim form they instructed the dealer to sort if FOC.

Jap manufacturers would just sort it our without a two month merry dance…..

Wise move going petrol at least you know you will get to your next outing with no issues.

That’s why it was fine. afaik it’s drivers who bimble around in the diesels that suffered problems. A long or foot heavy run clears out the DPF so it doesn’t overflow

This is a big misconception. Ok I don’t undertand the mazda system (prob same as ford) but in general its all about doing a suitable drive at the right time. Hence if you do nothing but motorway miles you are ok, but not one does – you drive home at some point and if car wants to do regen then and drive is not suitable – guess what DPF regen may not occur. Also my car (vauxhall) will complete a regen on country roads around 2000 revs @ 40, it will also manage when regen is interupted. However, it will go wrong if over fuelling occurs, hoses are split, sensors go wrong etc etc…. DPF regen by thrashing is unusual I suspect and unless car has some feature that this will trigger a regen (very unlikely) or cause whats called passive regen (gets very hot under normal usage), again very unlikely, it will do no good – I know I’ve tried! But not all systems are the same.

As I understand it the engine has to be at x revs for a while (maybe >3k but I’m not sure) before the DPF regen will start. I’ve heard of folks’ DPF filters clogging on long m’way trips because they were in 6th doing 60mph so 1.5k-2k ish revs for 6 hours

The dealer I bought mine from said to rev it at 4k rpm for 10mins every few weeks, so probably 4th at 70mph on the m’way.

For 12k miles a year I just couldn’t be arsed!

Did a stop box track day hijack pretend thing in the petrol 6 quick version a coupla yrs ago, it handled mint on the handbrake and j turn and stopped on a sixpence. I’ll never forget the dudes face with the kalashnikov when ( as told to by the instructor) i flicked him the finger, I genuinely thought he was gonna drag me out as we were reversing 😯
Hope that helps!

I’ve heard of folks’ DPF filters clogging on long m’way trips because they were in 6th doing 60mph so 1.5k-2k ish revs for 6 hours

My 09 plate Vrs diesel Octavia gets driven like that….when not on a country lane anyway 😯

Endless trips up to Scotland or Somerset are the order of my business life currently and no DPF issues in 45,000 miles on my 09 octavia.