The 2009 Mazda6 is my new favorite mid-size family sedan. Why? First of all, it does family-sedan stuff brilliantly well. It's roomy and fuel-efficient with a great cabin and a very reasonable price tag. Second, it makes safety a priority, with six airbags and electronic stability control standard in all models, even the cheapest one. And third, it's brilliant to drive. The standard four-cylinder engine delivers plenty of power (the optional V6 delivers tons more) and the road manners are fantastic -- the Mazda6 is amazingly fun in the curves, yet it has a smooth, quiet ride that makes it a pleasure to live with on a day-to-day basis. If there's a downside to this car, I haven't found it yet.
The Mazda6 has always been popular among people who love to drive, but it fell down on many of the aspects most important to mid-size buyers: Back seat room, trunk space, engine power, and (by Mazda's own rather candid admission) build quality. Normally, having a niche product is a good thing -- but with almost 3 million Americans buying mid-size sedans in 2007, and only a small fraction of them taking home a Mazda6, Mazda decided it was time to get a bigger slice of the pie chart.
Mazda's formula was simple: Copy Nissan. Back in 2001, the Nissan Altima was a smallish four-cylinder sedan sized somewhere between a compact and a Camry. In 2002, Nissan introduced a bigger Altima, exclusive to the North American market, with options including a muscle-car V6 engine. Sales exploded, and the invincible duo (Toyota Camry and Honda Accord) became the invincible trio.
The 2009 Mazda6 follows the same pattern. While the previous Six was the same as the car sold in Europe, the new Six is exclusive to the US, Canada and Mexico. Everything is bigger -- length, width, cabin and trunk volume, engine sizes, even the car's commitment to safety. The new Six casts a shadow larger than the Camry and Altima and just a shade smaller than the Accord. Viewed from the front (link goes to photo), there's a distinct family resemblance to Mazda's RX-8 sports car, while the teardrop-like profile reminds me of Nissan's Maxima (as well as Mazda's MX-6 from the 90s -- anyone remember that one? Man, what a beautiful car.)