2.0 petrol Sport Nav Tourer

Unbelievable driving and owning experience

The best thing about my 6 is driving it. Whether that's down to the Bose sound system, which is excellent once set up properly, the superbly slick gearbox or precise sorts car-like steering it doesn't matter. It's sporty on A and B-roads, but quiet and refined on the motorway. Conversation at over 70mph doesn't require raised voices, even with back seat passengers.

I took delivery, new, in Sep 2015 and nothing has gone wrong. I don't mean that faults have been minor or fixable, NOTHING has gone wrong. I've replaced wiper blades, brake pads and tyres, but only these consumables. I even have the stop-start active all the time and I'm still on the original battery. The exterior paint is a little easy to chip and the plastic bumpers scratch easily when forced into hedges on narrow roads, but the touch up kit from Mazda is very reasonable (a tenner for paint plus clear coat) and hides such things so well, you need to look very closely to spot them.

I ran my engine in really carefully, even though it's supposedly not necessary with modern engines. Whether it's down to this or not, I routinely get 54mpg, with AC in eco mode all the way, on a 30 mile run to my mum's on the A41 and only if I get really busy with the box and the pedals will it drop under 40mpg.

Inside is a comfy place to be, with supportive seats and all the necessary equipment. I didn't get the optional safety-pack as any driver who needs to be made aware of drifting lanes or cars overtaking really should be sat at home. I opted for the stone leather and it looks lovely, drawing praise from friends, MOT technicians and all sorts. My only gripe inside is that the Infotainment system hasn't had a Gracenote (music database) update since 2018 so any new albums aren't automatically recognised and this also affects voice control for those albums. Not a deal breaker as the Bose sound is so good you can live with 'substitute' album art, but annoying that Mazda don't even acknowledge that this is an issue. In fact the dealership staff are remarkably uninformed with all four of the dealerships I've used - I move a lot - having no idea how the infotainment system is supposed to work.....mention the Gracenote music database and they go all cross-eyed.

In all, the softish paint and poor infotainment support are my only gripes. The drive is superb for such a big car, it's a lovely looking thing in the car park, goes well if you gas it, but will give great economy if you take it easy. Add into this the fact that I've not even had a bulb blow in 8 yrs of ownership and I really can't find fault.

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