Happier mediums
Filed Under Curt Hennig | Posted on April 6, 2008
Mid-sized sedans are finding favour among fuel-conscious buyers
who don’t want to scrimp on space. Motoring Editor Joshua Dowling
compares the new Mazda6 with its rivals.
As Australians continue to fall out of love with large cars,
about one in 10 new vehicles sold is a medium-sized sedan. The
original Mazda6, released six years ago, helped rejuvenate what was
once a stagnant part of the new car market.
With the arrival of the second-generation Mazda6, we thought it
would be prudent to get reacquainted with the best seller in the
class, the Toyota Camry, and another new player, the Ford Mondeo,
which won its category in Drive’s Car of the Year award in
2007.
The Camry is Australia’s most popular medium-sized car,
outselling the Mazda6 by more than two to one last year, but its
lead has gradually reduced as more rivals have entered the
market.
Ordinarily we would have included the Honda Accord Euro and
Subaru Liberty, two other highly regarded mid-sized cars, but the
Honda is being replaced mid-year and a new Subaru is due next
year.
Meanwhile, we wanted to see how the two new players compared to
Australia’s top-selling medium-sized sedan.
FORD MONDEO
The Ford Mondeo is back after a mixed reaction to the first
model, which came to Australia from Europe in 1995 - and was
discontinued because of weak sales after just five years.
In 2000, petrol was cheap, sales of large sedans were booming
and the Mondeo didn’t make much financial sense - to customers or
to Ford Australia. Indeed, the Mondeo of the time highlighted the
value of the locally made Falcon sedan, which didn’t cost much more
than a Mondeo and was roomier and relatively affordable to run.
But a few things have changed since then: medium-sized cars have
grown and the cost of petrol has almost doubled. Suddenly,
mid-sized cars are in vogue. Today’s Mondeo has almost as much
space as a Falcon and is the roomiest of our three. According to
our tape measure, the difference in rear-seat leg room between a
Mondeo and a Falcon is a few centimetres.
It has a choice of three engines, two of them particularly
frugal: a 2.3-litre petrol engine and a 2.0-litre turbo diesel for
the fuel misers and a 2.5-litre turbo five-cylinder for those
craving performance. For most of its life cycle, the previous
Mondeo was only available with one breathless 2.0-litre petrol
engine.
Ford Australia learned from experience that, in order to be
competitive, it needed to give Mondeo buyers a choice of engines
and to bargain harder with its European colleagues to make sure the
price is right and the car is well equipped.
This is why the Mondeo range starts from $29,990 for a car with
seven airbags, stability control, a six-speed automatic
transmission with sports shift (a manual is only available on the
performance model) and most other basic luxuries such as remote
entry, air-conditioning and a CD player.
The only catch with the $29,990 LX model is that only the front
occupants have power windows but there is a $1500 option pack with
power rear windows, cruise control, a leather-wrapped steering
wheel and alloy wheels - which brings the price to $31,490.
For the purposes of this exercise we’ve compared the equipment
levels of the middle-of-the-range $34,990 Zetec model which,
despite its zippy sounding name, is powered by the same 2.3-litre
engine as the cheaper model.
Instead, it gets some extra kit such as four power windows,
leather-wrapped wheel, cruise control, larger alloy wheels, dual
zone air-conditioning, front and rear parking sensors, automatic
wipers and fog lights.
All new Mondeos have a five-star safety rating, according to the
independent crash test body NCAP (New Car Assessment Program). In
addition to a sound body structure, the Mondeo earns its points
thanks to front, side and curtain airbags plus an airbag under the
steering column to protect the driver’s knee. A handful of other
cars on sale in Australia have a knee airbag but, among this trio,
the Mondeo is the only one with this safety feature.
As with all cars here, there are five lap-sash belts and
adjustable headrests.
The cabin is well presented, all controls are well placed and
the quality of materials feels upmarket - forward of the front
seats. In a cute example of cost cutting, the quality of the
plastics in the rear door trims is not as good as the front door
trims or the soft-touch material lining the dashboard.
Large wide-view or convex mirrors on both sides give an
excellent over-the-shoulder view. (Not everyone is a fan of convex
mirrors but we are advocates - once you get used to them. Soon we
won’t have a choice as new legislation overseas is prompting
carmakers to fit convex mirrors to meet the new requirements.)
The view when parking is restricted by the tapered windows at
the rear and the high boot. Parking sensors on the mid-grade model
help eliminate some of the guesswork. Some controls in the cabin
feel a little flimsy but at least they look impressive.
Given the Mondeo is from Ford of Europe, the indicators are on
the left of the steering wheel (again, something to get used to).
As with many European cars, it has soft-touch indicators that flash
three times when the stalk is moved half-way - ideal for lane
changing on freeways.
The Mondeo is a quiet freeway cruiser and absorbs backroad bumps
with gratifying ease. It feels sure-footed in corners. The only
letdown is the 2.3-litre petrol engine. It is the smallest engine
in this trio and yet it propels the heaviest car. At least it runs
on regular unleaded.
The deficit is apparent when driving uphill with a load on
board. In Drive’s laden, uphill 0 to 100kmh test - possibly the
slowest acceleration test in the industry but we use it because it
better highlights the differences in engine power - the Mondeo took
a rather leisurely 15.5 seconds. We did it twice to make sure it
wasn’t an error.
This possibly explains why the diesel Mondeo is so popular. Ford
expected diesel versions to account for 20 per cent of Mondeo sales
but they represent about half.
There is still much to like about the new Mondeo. It’s roomy,
safe, priced right, comes with a good level of equipment and drives
well. With 15,000km service intervals (the Mazda’s check-ups are
every 10,000km) it should be relatively cheap to run, although
Toyota aced it recently with fixed price servicing on all new
Camrys ($120) for routine 15,000km intervals.
MAZDA6
The original Mazda6 helped revive the medium-car market when it
was released in 2002. That car replaced a boxy-looking model with a
vehicle with sleek lines and sporty handling. Buyers voted with
their wallets and the Mazda6 helped drive the Japanese brand to
record sales.
So the second-generation model released in February has a tough
act to follow.
As before, the new Mazda6 is available as a sedan, wagon or
hatch. We’ve chosen the middle-of-the-range sedan as it’s likely to
be the most popular model.
The Mazda range starts from $29,740 and stretches to $46,910 -
the car tested is the $35,940 Classic.
All new Mazda6s come with a comprehensive level of safety
equipment. Front, side and curtain airbags - and stability control
- are standard across the range.
All models come with basic luxuries such as remote entry,
air-conditioning, cruise control and an MP3 compatible CD player.
The Classic upgrades are a six-disc CD player, dual zone
air-conditioning, alloy wheels and front fog lights, among other
things.
The biggest difference between the new and the old model, in
Drive’s opinion, is the improvement in cabin quality and
presentation. The soft-touch materials on the dash and doors,
combined with the classy instrument layout, are a step up. The
“mouse fur” roof lining has been replaced by a more technical (and
less furry) pattern and the cabin ambience is closer to a Honda
than a Mazda. Tyre noise is quieter than before but still merely on
par with class rivals now.
Turn the key to start the car and you’re treated to (if that’s
the word) a subtle, digital version of Mazda’s advertising jingle
“zoom, zoom, zoom”. So the jingle might have got you into the
dealership but now it has also found its way into your car.
We’re yet to confirm with Mazda whether it can be disabled but
we reckon with enough searching you could find the fuse for it
somewhere under the dash. That said, you’re better off having a
Mazda technician take a look at it if you want to disable the tiny
tune every time the ignition is engaged.
On the media test drive of the new Mazda6 earlier this year,
Drive experienced some electrical gremlins after an emergency stop
to avoid some wallabies. It turned out the brakes were pushed so
hard the brake pedal arm was bent slightly, which meant it didn’t
align with the sensor that activated the brake lights.
The brakes worked fine but the brake lights remained on for the
remainder of the 400km journey until eventually the car’s computer
detected a fault and switched off the anti-lock brakes and
stability control. A new brake pedal and a reboot of the computer
solved the problem.
All new Mazda6s are powered by a 2.5-litre engine, which has
grown from the 2.3-litre from the previous model. It has a fraction
more power (just three extra kilowatts) but there is a 9 per cent
improvement in torque, or pulling power. It’s also more fuel
efficient, sipping a claimed 8.7 litres/100km according to the fuel
rating label. That makes it the most frugal car here. However,
there is a catch: it prefers the more expensive premium unleaded
(minimum 95 octane). The other two cars in this test take
regular.
There are two transmissions: a six-speed manual or a five-speed
automatic with sports shift. We tested the auto.
The extra torque and the longer, wider body improve the Mazda6’s
driving dynamics, especially on winding roads. On some hills the
engine needs a bit of a prod to kick the auto down a gear but
generally it gets on with the job. In our laden uphill 0-100kmh
test, the Mazda6 stopped the clock once at 14.9 seconds and then a
Mondeo-equalling 15.5 seconds. However, the Mazda was faster to
60kmh than the Ford on both occasions (5.5 versus 6.3 seconds).
The new Mazda6 is an impressive car and Mazda fans will no doubt
be queuing up for the new one. It’s not the cheapest of this trio
but it has a couple of differences: metallic paint is a no-cost
option (it’s up to $350 extra on the other cars) and Mazda’s
warranty is three years and unlimited kilometres - handy for anyone
likely to exceed 100,000km in three years.
TOYOTA CAMRY
The Camry is Australia’s biggest selling medium-sized car but
most sales are to fleets. Mazda claims it sells a greater
percentage of its mid-sized model to private buyers. With that in
mind we thought we’d test the Camry that appeals most to buyers
paying out of their own wallets rather than through company-car
salary deductions or lease agreements.
The Camry range stretches from $28,490 to $39,990 - we’ve tested
the $35,250 mid-level Sportivo, which, as the name implies, comes
with a sports body kit (and alloy wheels) to spruce up its
appearance.
The Camry was released about two years ago but a revision in
August last year made stability control standard across the range
and some models gained side and curtain airbags if they didn’t
already have them. The cheapest Camry in the catalogue still lists
side and curtain airbags as a $750 option (even though its main
rivals have a minimum of six airbags) but Toyota argues the price
is still on par with others once the option is included.
Ironically, curtain airbags are optional on the most affordable
Camry because many government fleets want to get the cheapest model
possible - yet some of these government departments are the ones
advocating curtain airbags. Go figure.
The Camry earned four stars in NCAP testing but would earn five
stars if Toyota paid for a side-impact “pole” test, fitted a knee
airbag or fitted a seatbelt warning reminder to earn it the single
point required to step up from four stars to five.
The Camry has a roomy, well-laid-out cabin but this is dominated
by lots of school-uniform-grey plastic. The bright white audio
display with grey-silver buttons (apparently inspired by Apple
computers) looks great in the day but is too bright at night. A fix
is on the way later this year. Rather than fit a dimmer switch,
Toyota is going to fit a duller globe.
The three large air-conditioning dials below the audio display
look good but feel flimsy. I sat in a US-made Camry at the New York
motor show two weeks ago and they weren’t nearly as bad, so there
must be a difference in suppliers who make the parts behind the
dashboard.
The Camry’s cabin is huge. After all, it’s the same interior
package as the Toyota Aurion V6 - a Holden Commodore and Ford
Falcon rival. The Camry has a huge boot but was the only one among
its peers with hinges that impinge on boot space.
Of all the Camrys, the Sportivo is the most enjoyable to drive.
Its Michelin tyres grip corners well and the suspension has been
tuned locally to suit our roads.
The 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine is largely untouched from the
previous Camry - and, despite the sporty looks and Sportivo badge,
it’s the same engine that powers the run-of-the-mill models.
It has middle-of-the-road power, average fuel economy and
middle-of-the-road acceleration (15.2 seconds in our uphill
0-100kmh test).
That said, the Camry gets along with the job and the five-speed
auto is smooth, which is helpful, given that the Camry’s auto lacks
a manual sports shift mode. The Camry is fuss-free, reliable and,
generally, well-built. There were some unsightly weld marks where
the window frames meet the doors but only trainspotters like us
would notice this.
With more than 26,000 sales to its credit last year - making it
the seventh best-selling car in Australia - the Camry is a popular
choice. But, as this test showed, newer competition has closed the
gap.
THE VERDICT
The Camry is a good car and many buyers will be attracted by the
security of the Toyota brand. Yet it is outclassed in this instance
by two newer rivals.
Choosing between the Ford and Mazda isn’t straightforward: both
are roomy, well-made, safe and capable cars.
The Mazda has more zip but is expensive fuel-wise. The Mondeo is
roomier but has a more relaxed approach to acceleration, although
it runs on regular unleaded. If these are factors for individual
buyers, we’d happily recommend either car. However, we lean towards
the Mazda6. It’s the most complete package when it comes to price,
safety, equipment and driving enjoyment.
FORD MONDEO ZETEC SEDAN
As tested $34,990.
Country of origin Belgium.
Engine 2.3-litre, four-cylinder.
Power 118kW at 6500rpm.
Torque 208Nm at 4200Nm.
Economy and emissions 9.5L/100km, 227g/km.
Fuel type Regular unleaded.
Transmission Six-speed automatic with sports shift.
Weight 1562kg.
Value after three years 45 to 55 per cent*.
Safety Five stars according to tests by NCAP in Europe. Front,
side and curtain airbags (plus one for the driver’s knee) and
stability control are standard across the Mondeo range.
MAZDA6 CLASSIC SEDAN
As tested $35,940.
Country of origin Japan.
Engine 2.5-litre, four-cylinder.
Power 125kW at 6000rpm.
Torque 226Nm at 4000rpm.
Economy and emissions 8.7 L/100km, 206g/km.
Fuel type Premium unleaded recommended (minimum 95 octane).
Transmission Five-speed automatic with sports shift.
Weight 1441kg.
Value after three years 48 to 59 per cent*.
Safety Not yet tested by NCAP but previous model earned four
stars. New model has front, side and curtain airbags and stability
control standard.
TOYOTA CAMRY SPORTIVO
As tested $35,250.
Country of orgin Australia.
Engine 2.4-litre, four-cylinder.
Power 117kW at 5700rpm.
Torque 218Nm at 4000rpm.
Economy and emissions 9.9L/100km, 235g/km.
Fuel type Regular unleaded.
Transmission Five-speed automatic, no sports shift.
Weight 1505kg.
Value after three years45 to 55 per cent*.
Safety Front, side and curtain airbags and stability control are
standard on this model but side and curtain airbags are an option
on the cheapest Camry. Four-star safety rating.
*Resale values forecast by Redbook.
SEE THE VIDEO Go to drive.com.au/video
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