Error parsing XSLT file: \xslt\FacebookOpenGraph.xslt Our Fleet Test Drive: Mazda 6 - Final report
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Our Fleet Test Drive: Mazda 6 - Final report

Date: 07 August 2014   |   Author: Tristan Young

The Mazda 6 leaves the BusinessCar long-term fleet

A year and more than 18,000 miles in our Mazda 6 Sport Tourer means we have had one of the most thorough long-term tests in BusinessCar's history.

The Mazda 6 may not have been perfect, but it was certainly impressive.

Our aim was to find out how suitable the estate would be for fleet use, and in particular if the Skyactive technology, which delivers some serious official fuel and CO2 results, can deliver in the real world. For the record, those official figures are 64.2mpg and 116g/km, which is good going for a car of this size, and if you factor in the performance from the 150hp 2.2 diesel then there are very few cars that can better it on paper, or in the taxman's eyes.

However, in reality, we only once got a tank of fuel above 60mpg. Our average was just the wrong side of 50mpg at 48.6mpg. And while this doesn't sound great, it still meant fuel only cost 13 pence a mile. Against HMRC's advisory fuel rate of 17p per mile for diesel cars over 2.0 litres, that means fleet drivers won't be out of pocket.

While experimenting with what worked and didn't work in terms of improving the Mazda 6's mpg figure, we found that only setting a steady cruise below 60mph would produce 60mpg-plus. The flip-side to this is that you could drive the 6 in any other way you choose and it would always return just under 50mpg.

Driving the car was a pleasure in all circumstances. We used it for everything from continent crossing to the school run and from motorways to B-roads. The powered, memory, leather seats were some of the most comfortable you can find and never caused any back pain (and were heated too, which was great in winter). But the car wasn't just about comfort - it could do fun and spirited too, something eco rivals powered by tiny diesel engines cannot.

The level of standard equipment helped the experience too: parking sensors, cruise control and a trip computer all made life simpler and less stressful. The 6 also came with a good stereo including Bluetooth phone connection for calls or your music. And then there was the satnav.

While it was really easy to set up and input routes, thanks to TomTom software, the live traffic information was an electronic niggle. After one of the 6's black box brains expired [3], requiring a couple of days at the garage being repaired, the live traffic information never worked again despite an attempted fix. Online searches reveal I'm not the only one to suffer from satnav woes.

Would we recommend this Mazda as a business model? Absolutely - there are very few cars that can offer this kind of space, comfort and equipment that are also a stylish and a pleasure to drive while also keeping running costs and tax costs to a minimum.



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