2008 Mazda 6 GLX 2.0 petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Reliable, good looking, safe modern wagon

Faults:

Nothing. Just regular maintenance - oil changes, tyres needed replacing, air filter.

General Comments:

Quieter and more comfortable than my previous car, a Corolla. This particular model only has a 2.0 litre engine, so for a fairly big car like this, I would have preferred the 2.5 litre. But it is a 6 speed manual, so that helps mitigate the lack of low down torque. It is good when it gets going, and the gearbox has a slick change. This car is quite a high mileage, but having owned 2 previous Mazdas (MX5s) I was confident that this would be reliable even at high mileages. I expect to get into the mid 250,000km before I think about getting a new car.

It has a great boot, with clever easy fold down seats in the wagon. Very practical and useful.

Handles well, looks good, and is extremely practical. It's not a sports car, but it does what it's supposed to do. They are popular wagons in NZ. The diesels that get a bad review on here are confined to the US it seems. Are they made in the US??

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th December, 2014

21st Dec 2014, 05:33

No diesel Mazda6 in North America, at least not for the superseded models. I believe the turbo diesels are yet to appear in America due to either emissions compliance, or performance due to that compliance. The diesels will be most common in Europe.

In reply to 21st Dec 2014, 05:33

15th Nov 2019, 20:18

You're right, not many (if any) diesel Mazda 6's in the USA or Australia. I can tell you they are commonplace here in the UK though. You aren't missing much; what you save on fuel you end up spending on expensive diesel repairs - the diesel engines in this particular model are not very reliable.

2008 Mazda 6 2.0D TS 2.0 turbo diesel from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Absolute junk

Faults:

Nothing has gone "wrong" yet, but a very annoying rattle has developed from where the sun blind attaches to the roof, and another even more annoying rattle coming from the boot.

The driver seat has started to squeak at an embarrassing level, and it's only covered 25000 miles.

General Comments:

Absolute junk. For a car that gets 4 out of 5 in every review I read, the build quality is horrendous. This isn't the Japanese build that I remember. It's below a French car for build quality. It feels like a really cheap Ford.

Performance... what can I say? This is supposed to be 138BHP, but it feels more like 90, and is sluggish. Torque does not exist anywhere through the rev range, and the engine sounds exactly like a Ford. Very disappointing.

The driving position is a disaster. The seat doesn't go low enough, and no matter what you do, you'll get a pain in your lower back as the seat is too cheap and spongy. The lumbar adjust is also cheap, and doesn't ease the pain in your back. The problem is the seat itself, as it needed to be harder.

Handling is OK, but nothing to write home about, like all the car media would lead you to believe.

Listening to the provided stereo was a shock to the system. They are like iPhone speakers, and have zero bass. They distort as soon as they play any form of bass, and are nowhere near loud enough. The sound quality is awful.

And finally, as a final nail in the coffin, I'm not heavy footed and I get absolutely nowhere near 50MPG. More like 39. My old W reg Passat still managed 46MPG, and it had 130,000 miles on it.

If you are upgrading your car, and your old car was German, do not touch this. You will be in for a shock.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 21st April, 2012

22nd Apr 2012, 06:56

The Mazda 6 and Ford Mondeo share a lot of components, as do the Mazda 3 and Focus. The Ford Probe was pure Mazda, as is the Ranger pick up.

22nd Apr 2012, 08:52

Most of the items you mentioned would have been apparent on a test drive before purchase.

In reply to 22nd Apr 2012, 08:52

22nd Apr 2012, 13:52

I'm the original poster of this review. On paper you would think that all the issues I mentioned would be picked up during a test drive, but this isn't always the case. We all have busy lives, and sometimes a 15 to 20 minute test drive with the salesman next to you doesn't give an accurate representation of the car. I only had about a day to look for cars due to my workload and family commitments. I did read the reviews on the Mazda 6 however.

There's a lot to take in during a test drive. For example, performance may initially appear adequate during a test drive, but it may only reveal its true self when you've owned the car for a week, and you've covered your usual daily routes.

Similarly, one may not pay too much attention to the stereo, and I didn't at the time. I took it for granted that Mazda, being a major car player, would have provided a stereo with some sort of reasonable quality.

Squeaks, rattles and poor build quality may also only become evident after you've owned the car for a while (as they did in my car), and fuel economy is more or less impossible to determine during a test drive.

My opinion remains the same. This car is junk.

In reply to 22nd Apr 2012, 13:52

2nd Mar 2022, 21:51

I agree. Mazda from this time period are not great. The 6 from 2013 onwards is a much more sorted car for the long term however.