Mazda 6 - Mazda 6 2013 tourer - diesel or petrol?

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Tue 18 Nov 2014 11:10
Mazda 6 - Mazda 6 2013 tourer - diesel or petrol? - Eddy56

Any views on the latest 6 diesel engine vs. the petrol? there's a lot of noise online about Mazda diesel engine prolems but do these woes apply to the latest generation? I do around 12k mile per year, mostly motorway. The latest 2.0 petrol Mazda motor seems a sensible alernative, with great economy. Makes me wonder whether there's any point even considering the diesel other than perhaps for a more grunt at motroway speeds. I realise that even without the Mazda sepcific issues, modern diesels are considered to be more prone to expesive failure than petrol, but is there any reason to suspect issues with this petrol engine? thanks

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Tue 18 Nov 2014 12:12
Mazda 6 - Mazda 6 2013 tourer - diesel or petrol? - craig-pd130

There's been several posts recently on here about problems with the new-generation 2.2 diesel in the Mazda CX-7, which imply that the firm still hasn't fully sorted its diesel engines.

If you're doing mostly motorway miles, you may well be OK, and in those conditions the diesel will be more economical. It also depends if it's going to be a company car or a private purchase, if it's a new or used vehicle, and how long you plan to keep it.

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Tue 18 Nov 2014 13:04
Mazda 6 - Mazda 6 2013 tourer - diesel or petrol? - Eddy56

I had a read of this thread www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=102168 which I think is the post you meant (CX5 rather than CX7). One person seems to have trouble but HJ says no probs on their long termer. I'm looking to buy new, privately, keep long term 5 years or more. I dont know, maybe petrol is the safe bet if it means the best chance of 5 + years with nothing more than an annual trip to the dealer for an oil/filters change. If it really does deliver 50+ mpg extra urban then it'd be cheap enough to run for me.

I'm looking to replace an end of life 2003 Passat diesel PD130 estate and struggling for ideas. Was drawn to the Mazda for producing a decent estate with what seemed like a sensible, honest petrol motor - not one of these small capacity jobs with a fancy turbo or supercharger. But then I keep looking at the diesel economy figures and I suspect the diesel will be a better drive.

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Tue 18 Nov 2014 13:57
Mazda 6 - Mazda 6 2013 tourer - diesel or petrol? - craig-pd130

Problem is those B5.5 Passats are a good car, and hard to replace .... I had one for over 5 years!

I've run a 2008 Mondeo 2.0 TDCI estate for over 3 years from new, and am now on my second Volvo V60 diesel. All have been company cars with the manufacturer's warranty from new.

The Mondeo had no DPF problems at all, despite the fact that my driving involves lots of journeys of less than 5 miles - but it wasn't economical, it averaged 42.5mpg at the pump.

I really, really like the Volvo V60 -- in my opinion, a brilliant mix of performance, economy and practicality -- but my first one did have a DPF sensor fail at around 30,000 miles. It was fixed under warranty, but it did take the main dealer 3 attempts (and about 7 days total in their workshop) to accurately diagnose the problem and trace it to the dodgy sensor.

If you're planning to run a car from new, at least you're protected by the 3-year warranty. After that you could get an aftermarket warranty that covers the DPF and sensors for peace of mind: some do cover this.

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Tue 18 Nov 2014 14:23
Mazda 6 - Mazda 6 2013 tourer - diesel or petrol? - HandCart

I know Mazda’s Skyactiv technology is supposed to be good, but I have doubts that a large petrol estate car will achieve 50+ mpg in reality.
It might, just, but I’d only believe it if I saw it.

It depends whether the fuel economy is a priority for you.

If you really need diesel economy in a large estate, the Hyundai i40 Tourer comes with a 5 year warranty.

The smaller but still spacious Honda Civic 1.6 diesel estate offers exceptional economy.

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Tue 18 Nov 2014 23:06
Mazda 6 - Mazda 6 2013 tourer - diesel or petrol? - Eddy56

I think I'm going to take a test drive in the petrol. I'll look for a decent motorway run and at least be able see what the indicated mpg looks like under various conditions. I would tend to agree that 57mpg extra urban seems rather optimistic for a 2.0 petrol estate,

Edited by Eddy56 on 18/11/2014 at 23:08

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Thu 20 Nov 2014 16:01
Mazda 6 - Mazda 6 2013 tourer - diesel or petrol? - Mike H

I think I'm going to take a test drive in the petrol. I'll look for a decent motorway run and at least be able see what the indicated mpg looks like under various conditions. I would tend to agree that 57mpg extra urban seems rather optimistic for a 2.0 petrol estate,

I'd be interested in your findings, the petrol Mazda 6 tourer is on my shortlist for when my Saab gives up the ghost.

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Thu 20 Nov 2014 17:13
Mazda 6 - Mazda 6 2013 tourer - diesel or petrol? - skidpan

I would tend to agree that 57mpg extra urban seems rather optimistic for a 2.0 petrol estate,

I have been out today, done 160 miles mostly on motorways in 2 1/2 hours, average speed 64 mph.

Car is a Seat Leon 1.4 TSi 140 bhp.

Dash said 56.7 mpg when I got home.

But I know its a liar, probably 52 mpg in the real world.

To expect a true 57 mpg out of a petrol Mazda 6 estate is totally unrealistic. The Seats official figures are way better than the Mazda's. I would be delighted if the Mazda did mid 40's on the same trip.

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Sun 23 Nov 2014 16:35
Mazda 6 - Mazda 6 2013 tourer - diesel or petrol? - Eddy56

well, I dropped into my local dealership for a chat. They dont have a petrol demonstrator (in the 6 or the CX5) so I will have to wait for a test drive. The salesman said he'd make some calls and see whether they could get hold of one. I plan to drive both the diesel and petrol and see what's what. He said he had heard the petrol would pull around high 40s to 50mpg real world on the motorway and averaged low 40s with mixed driving - we'll have to see.

Another slight issue is that the options are rather limited. To get the higher output petrol you need sports trim. I looked at a sports diesel - nice leather, uprated stereo and some other nice bits - good. But sport trim comes with 19inch wheels - I'll reserve judgement but suspect the ride will be unacceptably firm for my tastes. Good news was the salesman believes the suspension is the same on all trim levels and a factory ordered sports trim vehicle may be possible supplied with 17inch wheels.

I will update should I get offered a drive in the petrol. One last point was that the salesman said a facelifted model is expected around Feb time.

Edited by Eddy56 on 23/11/2014 at 16:36

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Thu 27 Nov 2014 15:20
Mazda 6 - Mazda 6 2013 tourer - diesel or petrol? - Eddy56

looks like test driving a petrol is proving to be a pretty big ask. My nearest dealer cannot lay his hands on one - saying they dont sell many and the facelifted model means they are holding on for fresh stock. I tried another dealer - same story and he said he hadn't sold a single one. Maybe someone's trying to tell me something! I do still have one or two more dealers to try for a petrol test drive.

I am going to test drive the diesel this weekend - the dealer said turn up and take it out on your own for an hour, which is exactly my kind of test drive. Still not sure about the diesel, have to decide whether I trust Mazda to have sorted the engine.

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Thu 27 Nov 2014 15:34
Mazda 6 - Mazda 6 2013 tourer - diesel or petrol? - gordonbennet

I suppose the lack of petrol demo is because the vast majority of sales will be company lease or renter, so Diesel the default choice as cars will be shifted on before warranty expires.

I can't be the only one who would be reluctant to buy from a dealer, or maker, that can't organise a test drive with the correct engine, its not as if you want something rare.

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Thu 27 Nov 2014 15:55
Mazda 6 - Mazda 6 2013 tourer - diesel or petrol? - skidpan

Before I bought the Leon one car I wanted to drive was the Volvo V40 with the 1.6 petrol turbo. Went to local dealer who told me they did not sell petrols since no one bought them. He insisted I would have no issues with DPF, it was simply magazines telling lies.

Wife beat me to the exit.

In the past Toyota treated me exactly the same as did Volkswagen whose arrogant salesman told me that "he would decide what car I drove".

In total contrast when i bought the BMW 1 series I was deciding between the 116i, the 118i the 118D and the 120D. Local BMW dealer had all on the demo fleet and let us drive them all over the same route.

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Sat 29 Nov 2014 23:09
Mazda 6 - Mazda 6 2013 tourer - diesel or petrol? - Eddy56

I drove the 150ps diesel Mazda 6 today. I found the engine disapointing on the motorway - lacklustre acceleration in 6th from 60, I expected more shove on the motorway from a 2.2 diesel. I found the engine to be quiet and refined, but the road noise from the 19 inch wheels on the demonstrator was shocking. The ride was firm but not as firm as I expected, tolerable but still a bit too hard for me. It felt good to drive through a few fast roundabouts but that road noise was there at all speeds and so the 19inch wheels are a non-starter. While the road noise and firm ride I think would be fixed with the 17inch wheels, a dealbreaker for me was wind noise - lots of it around the A pillars and windows. I actually had to check the windows weren't open a crack. I reset the trip and the Indicated fuel consumption for a dual carriageway and motorway run at around 70 was 51.2mpg, not great, felt like I was nursing it along and thought I'd see high 50s. It felt like a decent car overall but I didnt fall in love. It's a car I'd maybe consider leasing for 24 months but I wouldn't consider buying one. The dealer said the facelift may address some of the wind noise issues (he agreed it wasn't good). Not sure I was taken enough with the engine to consider hanging on til Feb for the facelifted model. And given no one can provide me a petrol to test drive, it looks like the 6 has been crossed off my list.

I did also test drive a 320d M sport touring today as well. That didn't help the Mazda's cause! The BMW engine was very impressive indeed.

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Sun 30 Nov 2014 10:18
Mazda 6 - Mazda 6 2013 tourer - diesel or petrol? - balleballe

The 6th is a cruising gear, not great for acceleration unless doing 75mph+

Bmws diesels are very good indeed, hence why there's a lot of them on the roads now

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