Interested in More Power? Mazda Drops a Turbo Into a Troubled Sedan

Underpowered. Not as refined as the competition. Fantastic looks. Excellent handling. It’s hard to find a review of the Mazda 6 midsize sedan that doesn’t include at least two of these observations.

For 2018, Mazda’s hoping the first criticism goes the way of disco (or of the midsize sedan segment). Ahead of its November 29th debut at the L.A. Auto Show, the zoom-zoom brand is letting everyone know that buyers enamored with the 6’s flowing lines needn’t suffer from mediocre grunt. Mazda’s blowing the 6’s 2.5-liter four-banger for the upcoming model year.

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  • Daniel J Our CX-5 has hit its automatic brakes a few times at in very unnecessary situations. My 2018 doesn't have it, but it will shake and throw a warning if it thinks you should brake. Only once was it needed. The dozen or so times it has gone off I was already on the brakes or traffic was in a pattern that just fooled it.
  • Kosmo This would become interesting with a turbo and 6MT.
  • CanadaCraig 'Afraid' is the wrong word. The question should be, "Do you trust autonomous cars to get you from point A to point B and all points in between safely?" And my answer to that question is 'NO'.
  • Daniel J For us it's just woefully underpowered. Put the 2.5T in it then I might consider it.
  • Bd2 Such practices are deeply frowned upon by Kia and Hyundai dealerships where consumers sport increasing credit scores and household incomes to boot.