Testing the new electric Mazda 6e

DW (English)

REV puts Mazda’s all new electric 6e to the test. It’s a stylish sedan that promises comfort, range, and great value. But in a growing EV market full of fierce competition, can it truly stand out?

Transcript

00:00There are a lot of purely electric cars on the market right now but most of these are SUVs and

00:09for people that don't like SUVs just like me there are not so many choices but now there is a new

00:15competitor Mazda is adding its new 6e. Welcome to RAV!

00:28The new 6e is available with two different power outputs 258 horsepower 190 kilowatts or

00:37245 horsepower 180 kilowatts. We're testing the more powerful version but basically those feel the

00:48same because they both make the dash from 0 to 100 kilometers an hour in around seven and a half

00:54seconds the one is a little faster the one is a little slower and have a top speed of 175 kilometers

01:00an hour. The main difference between these two versions are the batteries. Not only are there

01:10two different types of batteries but also two different sizes. One is 80 kilowatt hours and the

01:17other one 68.8 kilowatt hours. Now you would think that the more powerful battery is for the more

01:24powerful car but that is not the case. The less powerful car is what Mazda calls the long range

01:30version and it has the bigger battery. Which gives you more than 550 kilometers of WLTP range.

01:43Now you would think that this is the car that most people will go for but Mazda thinks that around 10%

01:50of 6e customers will choose that and the other 90% will choose the more powerful but with the smaller battery.

02:00Why is that? There is a very simple reason because the battery that is bigger will take way longer

02:09when charging. It has a max charging capacity of 90 kilowatts while the other one will go up to 165

02:17kilowatts. So that means for the small battery you have a charging time of 10 to 80% of around 27 minutes

02:23and for the big one there is way more than 40 minutes which is absolutely crazy.

02:35Unlike what you would think the more powerful version is also the cheaper one. Of course because

02:42a smaller battery is cheaper a battery always makes up a lot of the cost of a purely electric car. So the

02:50entry-level price for a test car is just under 45,000 euros which is very very good considering all the

02:58things you get. As always Mazda provides a six-year or 150,000 kilometer warranty on all its vehicles.

03:08The interior of the Mazda 6e is as you can tell very high quality. Even though this is a pre-production

03:18model everything looks and feels very good. The more than 14-inch infotainment display is standard

03:25with a lot of other things. Apart from that you have typical buttons at the steering wheel for the most

03:30important functions. What I don't like though is that those are kept in high gloss black which will

03:36then of course cause them to have dust fingerprints or even scratches on them.

03:44Down here you have two spaces for smartphones. The left one is also for wireless charging and it's not

03:51only charging but it's also cool. So it has these openings right here that will blow air under the

03:57smartphone because some of the phones tend to get quite hot if you charge them wirelessly.

04:06Apart from the 14.6 inch infotainment display that comes as standard there also is a fully digital

04:12instrument cluster and a head-up display, heated steering wheel, heated seats and also

04:17electrically adjustable seats and all of that standard as well.

04:21The space in the back is quite ample as you would expect it from a car that is more than 4 meter 90

04:32in length. You have quite some legroom left and also the headroom is okay despite the flat form of

04:40the car and of course the panoramic glass roof that we have.

04:43The floor because of the battery is rather high and that's why your legs will not be resting completely

04:56on the seat which can be a little bit difficult to sit for longer trips but the seats are very very

05:03comfortable so maybe it will still be okay.

05:12What you can also do back here is adjust the temperature, open and close the panoramic glass roof

05:19and also move the passenger seat if you need some more space and you're sitting on the right side of course.

05:25The trunk provides up to 1074 liters of space plus there's an extra 70 liter frunk.

05:34What I really like about the new Mazda 6e is that the head-up display comes as standard. I think head-up

05:41displays are also a very good thing for every car but most of the time you will have to buy them

05:48optionally or go for a higher trim level and that is not the case with this car. You will always have

05:54your current speed in your field of view and also the speed limit most of the times which is very

06:00practical for everyday use. Of course the car will also warn you there are speakers in the headrest

06:07that will talk to you if you're going too fast it will tell you hey you're going over the speed limit.

06:18As with most other cars on the market nowadays the Mazda 6e has different drive modes

06:24but there are not too many there's normal sport and individual you can only adjust the level of

06:29recuperation in the individual mode that means you basically have to use it if you want to adjust that

06:38and you can only do that with the touch screen you can choose between low normal mid and high which is

06:43good don't get me wrong but the fact that you have to do that with the touch screen

06:49is not exactly very user friendly and not exactly very good for everyday use.

07:00If you take a look around with other cars in that segment of sedans that are purely electric

07:07then you will find cars like VW's ID7 or maybe even the Tesla Model 3 even though that one is around 20 centimeters shorter

07:17and if you compare just the technical aspects then you will see that most of the time the Mazda cannot

07:25exactly compete with the others. It is a little cheaper than the VW but also a little more expensive

07:33than some of the versions of the Model 3. However, if you take a look at the standard equipment that

07:40Mazda offers which is basically almost everything then the picture changes because in that aspect the

07:46Mazda is way better than both VW or Tesla.

07:55The general driving impression in the Mazda 6E is very very good. You can definitely tell that this is a car

08:05that Mazda put a lot of thoughts and effort into. It is very silent, very comfortable. You don't notice

08:13most of the bumps on the street and also the wind noises do not get into the interior very much. So

08:21this is a car that you can definitely use for long distance trips. Of course, if you recharge it regularly.

08:28And talking about charging, the Mazda 6E has a built-in navigation that will suggest charging spots along

08:41your route if you use it. Of course, you can also use your Android or Apple smartphone because the car is

08:50equipped with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

08:59By the way, there is also an app for the car which you can then set up to use your smartphone as a key

09:07and even share the key with other smartphone users. Up to three are possible and those can then use the

09:14car with just their smartphone without the need for a physical key.

09:20As I mentioned earlier, there is as a standard no possibility to change the recuperation. However,

09:31Mazda does have two start buttons here at the steering wheel and if you keep those pressed,

09:37or one of those, then you can assign these buttons a function and one of the functions you can assign is

09:46indeed the energy recovery intensity.

09:54What you can unfortunately not assign to these buttons is a function to mute all assistance systems.

10:03For example, warning if you're going too fast or if you're driving over the line. That is the thing.

10:08Of course, I think maybe Mazda can add that later with a software update, but as of now that is not

10:15possible and I think it really should be because getting warned just because you're driving two,

10:22three or four kilometers an hour too fast every time is quite annoying.

10:35Summing up my Mazda 6e experience, I have to say I enjoyed driving the car.

10:40It is really good looking, especially at the front. The rear not so much, but that's personal preference.

10:46What you get is a very big car with a lot of space and a lot of standard equipment. And an entry-level

10:54price of under 45 000 euros in Germany is really good, especially in comparison with the competitors.

11:00On the downside, of course, if you really want more than 500 kilometers of purely electric range,

11:06you'll have to go for the bigger battery that only charges with a max of 90 kilowatts.

11:11The Mazda 6e is a well-built electric sedan. Stylish on the outside, roomy on the inside,

11:18and well-equipped even in its standard trim. Range is solid even with the smaller battery.

11:23The only real drawbacks are the long charging times with the larger pack

11:28and the lack of paddles to adjust recuperation.

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