New Mazda 6e revealed as an all-electric rival to the Tesla Model 3
Mazda isn’t ready to give up on the saloon market as it announces a new all-electric successor to the Mazda 6
The MX-30 is currently the only all-electric Mazda on sale in the UK, but the Japanese’s EV line-up is to be bolstered by a new saloon called the Mazda 6e.
However, despite already being on sale in China as the EZ-6, the Mazda 6e is not planned to arrive here until 2026. That’s some time after the European launch (set for summer 2025), possibly due to the necessity to swap to right-hand drive, with the 6e produced in China rather than Japan.
However, Mazda has already provided details on the newcomer, including expected range and performance figures, although pricing has not been announced.
In terms of size, the car is 4,921mm long, 1,890mm wide and 1,485mm tall, making it larger in every dimension than the Tesla Model 3 and longer and wider than a Hyundai Ioniq 6, albeit a little lower. As such, we expect the Mazda to start from around the £40,000 mark when it arrives in the UK.
Two versions of the Mazda 6e will be available, a standard E-Skyactiv EV and a Long Range model. The standard car gets a 68.8kWh battery, which can provide a WLTP-approved 297-mile range. Power goes to a rear-mounted electric motor with 254bhp and 320Nm of torque, for a 0-62mph time of 7.6 seconds and a top speed of 105mph.
The Mazda 6e Long Range is equipped with an 80kWh battery that can serve up 342 miles of range (also WLTP-approved). The electric motor in the Long Range is slightly less powerful than that of the standard car, with 241bhp and 320Nm of torque allowing for a 0-62mph time of 7.8 seconds. Top speed remains the same, however.
The two versions also differ slightly on charging capability. While the standard car will be able to take on a 200kW recharge rate, the Long Range tops out at 95kW. That means a 10 to 80 per cent charge for the smaller battery takes 22 minutes with the Long Range requiring 45 minutes. During charging, the front wing lights up to indicate battery charge status.
Although the Mazda 6e may have originally been designed for the Chinese market, the firm claims the driving dynamics have “the sort of road behaviour one would expect from a manufacturer with decades of experience building fun-to-drive cars”. There’s 50:50 weight distribution, a multi-link rear suspension and an electric rear spoiler that deploys at 55mph (or manually) to improve stability.
The exterior design of the 6e is identical to the EZ-6 we’ve already seen, aside from some different rear badging. Five-spoke 19-inch wheels feature a supposed ‘range-boosting’ design and there’ll be eight exterior colours to choose from, including Melting Copper, Aero Grey and Mazda’s iconic Soul Red.
The interior certainly represents a change from Mazda’s current range of models. Gone are the buttons for climate control and radio in the centre of the dash; instead there’s a huge 14.6-inch touchscreen combined with a 10.2-inch driver’s display along with a head-up display. However, it’s not yet known whether this will be a standard feature or not.
During our time with the 6e in the studio we were unable to use the new infotainment, although Mazda claims the car’s screen provides “a smartphone-like interface with swipe functionality”. In the rear there’s another touchscreen to control climate settings for passengers, operate the sunshade or adjust the front passenger seat position when the car is parked.
Despite the size of the Mazda 6e, boot space stands at 330 litres, which is some way off the Ioniq 6’s 401 litres and well behind the Model 3’s 425 litres. The 6e does at least get another boot under the bonnet with a 70-litre capacity.
It’s sufficiently spacious inside, though. Sitting up front and in the rear of the 6e we found that a six-foot adult will be able to get perfectly comfortable in the electric Mazda.
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