Coveting thy colleague’s estate
Prestige German vs anonymous Japanese? It’s a close call. By Ben Barry
I’d barely settled in to CAR’s new Audi A6 test car when photographer Alex Tapley (in hat, on my car) asked for a week-long swap with his Mazda 6 Tourer. The two 6s do make an interesting comparison: a large German luxury estate that’s a default choice, and a Japanese alternative that’s much cheaper but rarely seen – it’s £8k more affordable in standard form, £14k as tested. Are UK buyers missing a trick here?
Well, Alex seemed pretty excited about nabbing the A6. Part of the appeal came down to the badge, he admitted. He felt a more successful kind of photographer driving something with four rings on its nose. But the A6’s boot also proved to be a useful bit bigger for all that camera gear he lugs around – what is all that stu? – with 565 litres seats-up to the Mazda’s 480. That’s partly because the Audi is 74mm longer at 4939mm.
With all the miles Alex covers, the Audi’s apparently huge mpg advantage also appealed. ‘It’s pretty impressive that the Mazda ocially does 41.5mpg considering it’s a big car with a 2.5-litre petrol engine,’ he commented, ‘but the Audi’s four-cylinder turbodiesel would make a big difference to my fuel costs if it gets anywhere near 60.1mpg.’
The Audi’s cockpit made the biggest impression. ‘Its infotainment is far superior to the Mazda’s,’ noted Alex, pointing to the slick twin touchscreens that define the dashboard. ‘It’s also a much
nicer place to spend a journey – it’s quieter, looks smarter, and I find it easier to get comfortable in the A6.’
To drive? ‘Both cars are pretty undynamic and gutless,’ he observed, damning both with no praise at all.
And so I found myself in the Mazda 6. I like the Mazda’s design, with its muscular haunches and poised stance. Inside, though, I’m definitely on the same page as Alex – the Mazda’s back in the mircrofilm era where the Audi’s gone full iPad. Not that it’s all bad. I don’t mind the analogue dash instruments at all, because even though they’re not as flashy as the Audi’s digi dash, they’re easier to process at a glance. Which is the point. And I appreciate the minimalist feel. But the infotainment looks a couple of generations out of date after the Audi’s, and in general you don’t get the same sense of slick execution or chunky quality.
On the go, you notice there’s much more road noise fizzing through the Mazda’s cabin than the Audi’s, but then the Mazda is almost 100kg lighter, and the payback seems to be a sharper feel dynamically – there’s a bit of ants-in-its-pants fidgeting over small imperfections, but mostly you notice the generous, comfortable stroke of the dampers. This makes the 6 flow quite sweetly over a twisty backroad, and you can play with the bodyroll to make it feel quite responsive and adjustable where the Audi is more one-dimensional. I also prefer the Mazda’s steering – nice and light, but accurate and responsive too.
But, yes, Alex is right about the Mazda feeling gutless – if you took the plunge and opted for a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol rather than the default four-cylinder diesel, you’d probably feel a bit excited. Instead, the Mazda is lethargic in the midrange and quite thrashy when stretched – the Audi 2.0 TDI is no peach, but I missed its generous low- and midrange punch. Having 105lb ft extra is just a better fit for a big estate. As you can see from our mpg, though, the two are closer than you’d think – the petrol Mazda is typically averaging around 34mpg where the diesel Audi is only just making 40mpg. With diesel often 10p a litre pricier than petrol, that means on today’s prices you’ll pay around £56 to go 350 miles in the Mazda, but £52 in the Audi. Not what you’d expect if you looked at the stats.
Meeting up a week later, Alex seemed to like the Audi a bit more than I do, and I think I liked the Mazda a bit more than he does. He said he’d prefer to stick in the Audi. I said I’d prefer him to give it back. But it’s a decent car, that Mazda. @IamBenBarry
Our rarely-seen Mazda is £14k cheaper than our default Audi. Are UK buyers missing a trick?