Looks aren’t everything, though. Specs also matter, and they’re intriguing, to say the least.
Mazda's first proper EV is here.
After the rather disappointing MX-30 EV, the brand-new Mazda 6e comes to save the day.
With looks to die for, the new electric mid-size EV has rear-wheel drive and a perfect 50:50 weight distribution.
Car lovers, your constant requests for a good-looking rear-wheel drive sedan have been answered by Mazda. This is the brand-new Mazda 6e, an all-electric successor to the front-wheel drive mid-size Mazda 6 sedan that was discontinued in the United States back in 2021.
The new Mazda 6e EV is stunning to look at, it has a hatchback, it’s RWD-only, and there’s an LFP battery on offer, so the basics are there. But that’s just part of the story, as you’ll soon find out.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. The Mazda 6e will be available in Europe starting this summer, and it’s not coming to the United States, at least not for the foreseeable future. Then, you should know that it’s the same car as the Chinese-spec Mazda EZ-6, which in turn is heavily based on the Deepal SL03. In other words, it’s not an EV that Mazda built from the ground up, but rather leaned on its partners to cut development costs and bring the car to the market sooner–that’s not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination.
Now for the specs
The Mazda 6e has two battery options. The base version is a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack that can store up to 68.8 kilowatt-hours of energy, enough for a WLTP-rated range of 297 miles on a full charge. The battery is paired with a single rear motor that makes 254 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. It can be DC fast-charged at up to 200 kW, for a 10% top-up in 22 minutes, while plugging it into a three-phase 11 kW AC wall charger will replenish the state of charge from 10% to 80% in eight hours.
The base model can accelerate from zero to 62 miles per hour in 7.6 seconds and has a top speed of 108 miles per hour.
There’s a chunky center console between the two front seats with a pair of cupholders and a pair of smartphone cradles. Beneath it, there’s a spacious cubby to store things like handbags or other large objects. Plus another cubby under the armrest.
Exterior and safety systems
Up front, the Mazda 6e has a Cadillac-like illuminated grille, and because of the black wheel arch surrounds, the car has a crossover vibe to it–for better or worse. At the back, there’s a full-width LED bar and a retractable electric spoiler that automatically goes up at 56 mph, but it can also be raised manually below this threshold.
The EV comes with 19-inch wheels as standard, as well as a multi-link suspension setup at the rear and a MacPherson strut arrangement for the front wheels. Mazda boasts a perfect 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution, which–together with the suspension setup–should make for a pretty engaging drive.
The Mazda 6e was designed for a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. It comes as standard with nine airbags and the company’s i-Activesense advanced driving assistance system (ADAS) with Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, traffic sign recognition, Emergency Lane Keeping, Rear Collision Warning and Smart Brake Support.
The safety pack uses M-pixel cameras, millimeter-wave radar and ultrasonic radar to continuously monitor the car’s surroundings and take emergency action if needed. There’s also an Occupancy Monitoring System that can detect children in the rear seats and warn the driver to prevent a child from being left in the car.
The Mazda 6e will arrive in European showrooms this summer. Pricing has not been announced yet.
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