GTP Cool Wall: 2012+ Mazda Mazda6

[GranTurismo916]

2012+ Mazda Mazda6 nominated by @titleguy1

Engines: 2.0L I4 (SkyActiv-G PE-VPS), 2.5L I4 (SkyActiv-G PY-VPS), 2.2L Diesel I4 (SkyActiv-D SH-VPTS)
Power: PE-VPS: 155 hp; PY-VPS: 184 hp; SH-VPTS: 173 hp
Torque: PE-VPS: 150 lb-ft.; PY-VPS: 185 lb-ft.; SH-VPTS: 310 lb-ft.
Weight: 1444-1466 kg
Transmission: 6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic
Drivetrain: Front engine, front wheel drive
Body Styles: 4-door sedan
Additional Info: "A contender in the ever-competitive midsize sedan segment, the Mazda 6 stands out as the sporty option in the segment, especially when compared to cars like the Camry."​

Spoiler: Additional Pics

 

[Roger the Horse]

Good looking, slightly leftfield saloon.

 

[GranTurismo916]

Same thing with this car as the Mazdaspeed6.

Meh. It's a nice car but when I think of it I don't really think of it as "cool".

 

[AudiMan2011]

An executive saloon for people who don't want an equivalent Mondeo or Passat. Will end up being used as a fleet car and that's Uncool.

 

[niky]

It's just a family car.

But it's a very pretty family car that happens to drive very, very nicely.

Very pretty. The shoulder line still strikes me as a sexier than on any modern Jag or Aston.

Cool.

Not subzero. Not iconic or a classic. Maybe in a few decades, it might be.

 

[Legro]

Not an Avensis. Cool.

 

[ToyGTone]

it's not that unique, thought it's looks prety okay for me so it's meh.

 

[titleguy1]

It's just a family car.

But it's a very pretty family car that happens to drive very, very nicely.

Very pretty. The shoulder line still strikes me as a sexier than on any modern Jag or Aston.

Cool.

Not subzero. Not iconic or a classic. Maybe in a few decades, it might be.

What Niky said is the reason why I'm voting cool.

 

[mustafur]

Good looking car, but family cars with average power can't be cool.

 

[Epic B]

Cool. Yeah, it's not the most exciting vehicle out there (And you can't get a V6, and the diesel STILL hasn't made it to North America), but it looks good and it's not a bad car.

 

[Legro]

it's not a car.

It was a car, last time I checked.

 

[Adamgp]

Mehmobile.

Meh.

 

[All Your Base]

Cool, because it looks amazing for a family car.

 

[Dagger311]

Looks nice. Low cool.

 

[Epic B]

It was a car, last time I checked.

Typo. I changed it shortly. I meant to write "not a bad car".

 

[Aesthetics]

An execptionaly good looking car.
However it still is a family sedan, so until they make a MazdaSpeed version, it's a Meh. A very high meh, but still a Meh.

 

[Wiegert]

A level of style that caters to the tastes of most people. This sits alongside the original Passat CC as one of the very few cool modern rep mobiles.

Extra points for looking swish in tourer form. Alhough the OP doesn't appear to have included it.

 

[Niku Driver HC]

Oh hey, another Mazda! Unlike the 6 MPS, this is properly well designed. Sure, as an honest-to-god family car, it won't raise the blood pressure of most car fans. But it is also not-coma inducing, unlike a Toyota Avensis. And with the Mazda tag, very few of its drivers will be arrogant and selfish rich folk, so it's a people's car of sorts. Its elegant, smooth design gives the modern 6 a low-cool. If they make a MPS version? Who knows...

And here's the tourer version, for information's sake:

 

[ildd]

Great looking car, good materials, rides nicely, good build quality. But it isn't cool.

 

[Grandea GTR]

Curse you iPhone and your sideways photos.

Showing bias because it's my own car. Cool. Rides nice, feels sporty, handles great, stands out from the crowd in a way.

Needs more power though.

 

[Wolfe]

Any 2010's car needs to be special to be cool. A FWD midsize sedan is not special enough, no matter how sporty it drives. It's also inoffensive, so Meh.

 

[Sage Ages]

Mazda stopped making cool cars when they stopped using that cool badge from the 90s.

 

[jeffgoddin]

Yeah really not seeing where all the cools are coming from, but maybe a lot of people think common sedans with slightly better than average handling and looks are cool for some reason...

 

[MatskiMonk]

Kind of average Japanese family saloon. Overly styled, but not good looking enough to back it up. Just M'eh... I hear its not a bad car though.

 

[Famine]

Yeah really not seeing where all the cools are coming from, but maybe a lot of people think common sedans with slightly better than average handling and looks are cool for some reason...

It's cool because Mazda decided it's going to fight the mainstream Mondeo/Insignia/Passat triopoly not by making it quirky (Peugeot, Citroen) or cheap (Hyundai), but by making it better. They've deliberately set out to make the best car they possibly can - including making it as close to the MX-5 to drive as they can get away with - and the best-looking car in the sector and stuffed it full of kit and not put a stupid price tag on it.

Joe Q will see the Mazda as a good looking car and car guys will see someone who could have gone mundane and mainstream but bought a car that you can actually like.


Incidentally, I drove the facelift recently and Mazda has ditched the handbrake for an electronic version. Somehow they've even made that nice to use. And when I drove the original model it was so much fun down Welsh mountain roads I made everyone in the car sick.

 

[Niku Driver HC]

It's cool because Mazda decided it's going to fight the mainstream Mondeo/Insignia/Passat triopoly not by making it quirky (Peugeot, Citroen) or cheap (Hyundai), but by making it better. They've deliberately set out to make the best car they possibly can - including making it as close to the MX-5 to drive as they can get away with - and the best-looking car in the sector and stuffed it full of kit and not put a stupid price tag on it.

Joe Q will see the Mazda as a good looking car and car guys will see someone who could have gone mundane and mainstream but bought a car that you can actually like.


Incidentally, I drove the facelift recently and Mazda has ditched the handbrake for an electronic version. Somehow they've even made that nice to use. And when I drove the original model it was so much fun down Welsh mountain roads I made everyone in the car sick.

See? There's the right answer to Jeff's question. Even within a segment where most cars are similar amongst themselves both in feel and looks, there can be a cool car. Mazda did this by being themselves, as Famine explained. They set goals that no-one else had set, designed the car resorting to a very fluid design style and then made sure that it drives in a way that will surprise many. In a good manner.

Joe Q can have his own cool car, and the Mazda is a great example. Different from the common ideas, while being good to drive. It's as simple as that.

 

[Wolfe]

See that, kids? Everyone's a fanboy/fangirl for something or another, even Famine with Mazda.

 

[edawg456]

Seriously bland. Meh.

 

[Famine]

See that, kids? Everyone's a fanboy/fangirl for something or another, even Famine with Mazda.

Can't stand the 5 or the Fiesta-based 2.

But I'm going on the launch for the new 2 next month

 

[Rotary Junkie]

I'm gonna have to go ahead and call it cool.

It's damned good looking, drives extremely well (amazingly can be used with the qualifier of "for a family sedan"), and everything about it makes sense. There's nothing that can be held against it, and plenty going for it.

Edit: @Famine : Is the 5 really so bad considering it's a small MPV? It's the only thing of its kind over here, is there anything over there truly "better" in the same class?