The all-new Mazda 6 is a Tesla Model 3 hunter! Mazda 6e REVIEW (EZ-6)

This vehicle here behind me is huge for Mazda for two significant reasons. First of all, this is here the all-new, the successor of the Mazda6. And the second big reason, this here is the Mazda6e. So, their entry into the large EV segment, this is here a strong competitor to the Tesla Model 3. And does it work that it really can compete with the Model 3? We're going to find out here with Thomas Nautogerfuhl in 4K, full screen, full length. Let's go. Here with the new front, new design language, for example, with this playing with light, this, you know, like this wing that goes around basically. So, this is a new daring light design. Of course, this then here with the closed front grille, which is not a grille anymore, just has this structure right here, logo in the front, a camera, also a lot of sensors are being used and so on, and the typical sole red crystal color, a very strong red color. Of course, different colors are available. And, yeah, I finally bought a red T-shirt also to at least somewhat match the red colors. There was no sole red crystal T-shirt available, sadly. Then the length, this is very interesting here, 4 meters 92 or 194 inches, and that means it is slightly longer than a Tesla Model 3 and slightly shorter than a BMW i5. So, to speak lengthwise in between, and these could indeed be two competitors, but pricing-wise will be even more interesting soon more to that. 19-inch wheels in an aerodynamic design, this will always be that size here, and then also with the contrasting black around the wheel arches, master batching, contrasting side mirrors here, for example, and you have this really sensual roofline, look at that. So, design-wise, I think the vehicle works very, very well, and also you have to think about there are no official aerodynamics figures, CD value, yet when we film this video, so we can maybe present it in the text then later on, but since the car is very long, this is actually always good for aerodynamics. The longer the car is actually the better in a normal case, so we're really excited about that. And, of course, we have to talk about battery and range. This one will be a rear-wheel-drive-only car, and there will be two different versions available. So, the base version is actually a little bit quicker with 7.6 seconds in the acceleration figure to 100 kilometers an hour or 62 miles an hour, and then there will be another version with a slightly bigger battery at 7.8 seconds in the acceleration figure, so let's say more or less the same. So, that means in the performance figures, it cannot really compete that much with the Tesla Model 3. The Model 3 is quicker in that respect, also already in the rear-wheel-drive version, and here they do not yet offer an all-wheel-drive version, not sure if that's to come. Then about the battery sizes, so the entry-level battery will have 69 kilowatt-hours gross. We do not have the net figure because Mazda do not disclose that, Tesla does neither, but they usually have a small buffer. How big the buffer here is, we can only estimate maybe something between 5% to 10%, so the net value will be a little bit lower, so 69 kilowatt-hours gross, the small one, and 80 kilowatt-hours gross, the bigger one. That is also somewhat like the Tesla Model 3, which is at 60 and 80 kilowatt-hours, so definitely aiming towards the Model 3 direction, and here the rear design, really spectacular. They want to have the light strip all the way across, but at the same time, keep the typical Mazda design element, you know, of these round shapes in the tail lamps, and I think this one works very, very well, and you have to remember that the Mazda6, their midsize sedan, it's just running out, you know, there won't be like an ICE successor at this stage here, so this one will also take its place, and this is a very astonishing thing, definitely. Here, once again, more black contrast in the lower part, so I really have to say, looking forward to your comments, but I think design-wise, from the exterior, for my take, really top notch. More details to the battery technology because we also have to talk about recharging. We can see here on the driver's side, there's nothing, so we have to come around to the passenger side where we have the charging flap, and this will also probably, yeah, be a big difference in the purchasing by the customers because we have 11 kilowatt AC charging, so interesting here, and so there were different ports of all this, like your prototype vehicle, so we don't have the European ports here yet, so like the first hand-built one, so not everything is like 100% finished on this vehicle, but there will be 11 kilowatt AC charging, three-phase AC charging is highly dependent on the battery. Now, it gets interesting. The small battery with a 200 kilowatt peak will charge really quickly, in 22 minutes from 10% to 80% state of charge. The bigger battery will need 45 minutes and just has a 95 kilowatt peak, hmm, okay, and the small battery, the 69 kilowatt hours battery, is LFP, so that one is, in a way, making more sense to the customer because it's not sensitive to like how and when you charge the vehicle, and the other one, the big battery, is NMC chemistry, so that one is more sensitive when you like charge it to 100% and keep it there for a longer period of time. It's never good for a battery in that case, but the LFP batteries are, let's say, friendlier to a customer because you don't have to pay so much attention to always keep it light between 10% and 80%, like for the long-term durability and so on. So, if you ask me, looking at the car and from the exterior and reading the facts in acceleration figure and the battery capacity, this will sell with the small battery. It's just a little bit smaller than the bigger one. It charges in double speed. It's a little bit quicker in the acceleration, and it will be cheaper. It's a no-brainer. The 69 kilowatt-hour gross battery is where this car is being sold with. Wheelbase, by the way, about 2 meters and 90, so really long wheelbase. We'll also check out how this one will translate then into the rear legroom, but first of all, I want to show you something in the front because you might remember the first try from Mazda in the EV segment was the Mazda MX-30, and it was not like a serious EV competitor because it was more like, yeah, pretty unique, let's take it that way. I also liked it in a way, but it couldn't really compete like in range and so on and so on, and with the MX-30, everyone was looking at the possible frunk, and there was just like an open hole, and here, now we do have a frunk. There we go, gas struts, and this is 70 liters, and indeed, oh, there's another hidden storage underneath, so this can not only house a charging cable, but really also a large bag. That's pretty cool, and the realistic estimated range, taking a small battery because everyone will buy that one, so around 400 kilometers, 250 miles is realistic, but the concise one also with the, you know, consumption and so on, we got to see about that when we can really drive and test it because I don't trust the official cycles and so on, and we can drive this one here for you, of course, very soon if you stay subscribed here on our channel. And we have to talk about speed. First of all, V-Max, so the top speed is 170 kilometers an hour or 105 miles per hour for both versions. Thinking about the German autobahn, there might be some drivers who are driving quicker. Yeah, just saying, and also talking about speed, you see here this gap, so this is intended because this is here a retractable wing, and it deploys at speeds over 90 kilometers an hour and goes back under 50 kilometers an hour, and I have mounted here to a button so I can also deploy it for you. There we go. So this is how it lifts, and this is how it goes back. It's pretty fancy, right? What do you like? I've got to say, though, I think the car looks sleeker when it's not deployed, so, yeah, but it's definitely also something you could show off to your friends. And we've got to talk turning indicators or hazard lights here in the front, replace a part of the daytime running light, looks pretty fancy. In the rear, they're here inside the round structure. It looks cool, the integration, however, a little bit tinier. What do you think? By the way, here on the rear, there's also another trend here, master lettering instead of a logo. This is what a lot of manufacturers are doing lately. These door handles here will automatically go in flush, and usually, if I would open the vehicle, it will also come towards me again. In this case here, the prototype, I have to do it manually. And then here you see frameless doors, interesting, and door closing sound. Four frameless doors is actually quite decent. Here also frameless doors in the rear, and for that, good sound. And, yeah, that's the first hand-built vehicle. Then, inside of the doors, you can see here, there's a structured material on top. It's slightly soft, so to speak. This is Takumi Plus trim, so the higher trim level, then with microfiber already inside of the doors, otherwise, the base trim level would have leatherette. Then here, the door panels from the inside is also structured. It's not really soft or has no fabric, but at least it has also this interesting structure, so somewhat in between. Then, yeah, this is like the all-new interior. I can also hold the light while Levi's filming. This is also with a two-toe steering wheel. Here, there are some capacitive, hashtag capacitive BS buttons. So, the whole thing is one button. You see it right here on the right side as well. But the design is pretty cool here with the flat bottom and so on, more microfiber, and interesting, look at that here. These are, you know, the Mercedes stock columns. Tesla has used them for 10 years in the Tesla Model S, for example, and the X here. Also, there you see the other one. Yeah, we know them from Mercedes back like 10, 15 years ago, and also from Tesla. Interesting that they used them again, and here, microfiber seats in this case. These in the Takumi Plus seat, they also have some animal share, however. The base trim, however, the base Takumi trim would have full leatherette seats in black or in beige, and they are then also completely animal-free, and then also in the base trim, the steering is also animal-free. So, that is possible, actually, and I think pricing-wise, the base trim with the leatherette probably will be the best offer then overall together with the small battery like with the Tesla Model 3, actually. So, you feel and see also that they really try to orient a little bit on the Tesla, and that's not a bad thing because it is the price-performance leader, definitely. And here, seating itself. So, the ergonomics are actually good, comfortable. I'm going to see how it's long-term. Yeah. Actually, here, Lia found out. It's like in the ID bus, you know, where we had that meme. So, it's always like the sound like when someone is going in and out. So, when you have to get in the car again or say goodbye, then this chime goes. With 189 6 foot 2, there is some headroom left to this fixed panoramic roof. So, you feel that there's this skateboard architecture. So, the battery is underneath. So, you sit relatively high. It was worse in the new EQ5, for example, where you sit even higher, but for a tall person, you see that you sit relatively high indeed because the battery is in the bottom. It still works, though, but you see that, you know, my head is already quite high in the cabin itself. Also, for example, here, when I would lower the sun visor here, I can't see, you know. So, like this, the whole view is blocked. Like this, I could drive again. It's funny, right? The glass roof here, by the way, is standard also. That's also cool that most features are standard. And then, you could deploy a manual shade here, like folding with accessories, manually put it in there and leave it in there. The alternative would be in this very trim here, there's also or will be available an electrochrome shade for that one. Yeah. We'll see about that. And steering wheel here, manual control, in and out, up and down. Then, you have small digital instruments right here in 10-inch. There will also be a head-up display. And the head-up display, a real one projected to the windscreen, will also feature augmented reality functions. Then, the cockpit perspective, extremely clean and minimalistic, like definitely in the Tesla Model 3, 15-inch screen to be exact, 14.6-inch. And then, here, more microfiber used, which would then be also leatherette in the base version. Here, also some leatherette in this version here with a nice structure. So, that is actually well done. Also, nice design from the air vents. So, design-wise, it works very, very well. I feel just that there are no buttons left. So, this is also demo mode for the screen here. But here, the climate control will be in the screen, for example. Android Auto, Apple CarPlay will also be available. Then, yeah, you can see you have enough space in the cabin. Large middle console, relatively high. Inductive charging pad on the left side, which also has a ventilation function. Right side, just to put your phone. These cup holders will probably be also with an adaptive function later on. And this, you will also be able to lift to store some stuff. But here in this demo car, it's actually sealed off yet. And here in the lower part, more storage available. So, it's a, you know, very airy cabin in that case, design-wise. But yet again, yeah, you feel, you know, that the roof is just lower. But that's, again, a problem for tall persons. Won't be a problem if you're not as tall as me, for example. The screen quality, by the way, from the resolution, so far looks really good. We have to see then, for example, we can drive the vehicle, how that one holds up to. There will also be some Tesla-like modes available. For example, they would offer a dog mode, which they don't call dog mode. But leave, I think leaving mode it was. So, you can also keep a certain temperature in the vehicle when you, you know, go shopping or something. It could theoretically also then leave the dog. And then there will also be on the screen like the owner is returning soon, like we know, for example, from the Tesla dog mode. So, button-wise, this one here, the Mercedes dog column, you can press and hear the hazard light, tick-tock, tick-tock. But this one, you can actually push. Other than that, no buttons left whatsoever. And you remember from the recent Mazda models and our reviews, we especially applauded Mazda for keeping a lot of buttons and so on to make it easy and accessible, in that way, conservative, but good conservative for the user interface. Here, complete change of philosophy, all buttons are gone. What do you think about that? And a quick driver POV here, have a look at the steering wheel. Digital instruments will be in this 10-inch, will also feature the speed. So, good to have these, definitely. And then the augmented reality head-up display, looking over to the right, there you have then the large screen. And thanks, Leah, so much for filming us today. Ooh, and with the special light. You don't need the light, you always shine. Let's talk about the rear seats and the doors here. Nice structured material on the top, then microfiber inserts in this trim. And here also, somewhat structured here, but no like felt inside. But actually, in comparison to other models, still quite good. And then we have an even floor here in the lower part. You also have a separate climate unit for the rear seats right here. So, it's not working here in the prototype yet, but it will then later on, of course. ISOFIX here, separate covers, but yeah, you have to remove them entirely. Then you can fold down this here, cup holders with like this lip, and the seating position itself. So, once again, you feel that the floor is really high. We recently had it also with the Audi A6 e-tron. So, we have a similar seating position here. So, for tall people, not ideal because the feet would need to be lower, actually. Headroom is close, but still works with one A9 or 6x2. Yeah, and the overall comfort is, let's say, it's okay. It is comparable like the Audi A6 e-tron or Mercedes EQS. So, these electric sedans often, I mean, they have the floor like this. Okay, no middle tunnel, but then the feet are just too high, at least with that length here, you have a lot of legroom left. So, here for the knees, no problem at all, even if a tall person is driving, and that is, for example, better than in the Model 3. So, here the Mazda 6e plays out its interior length and also the wheelbase and so on, if you have just more space for rear passengers, and there's also a reason why they did that. I'm talking about that in the final, you know, conclusion and everything of the video very soon. Let's see what we can score here with our ruler and our trolley. So, the trunk, I mean, from the exterior, it's a sedan, but you see here, it has the fastback opening. This beep sound, by the way, will later on for the final customer version just be one beep sound, that's it. So, yes, cool access here with a fastback opening, and then this is only 330 liters without the underfloor compartment. So, the final liter figure will probably be a little bit more. You can store a cable as well, for example, but still, you see, it's relatively shallow. That's why the liter figure is not that high, and here the length, that's actually quite cool, like 1.05 meters or 42 inches, and here the width is a meter or 40 inches, and you can see here a cabin trolley, also still exactly fits underneath here in a vertical way. Fold the seats, we have a two-third, one-third split, and here the length here, wow, it's like 1.85 meters or 73 inches, so that is substantial in length. What facts are missing? Towing and 1.5 tons for all versions, and this car will receive nine airbags, and they are aiming at the five-star rating at the Euro NCAP crash test. But now, the big prize is, of course, the price, and one thing we can already reveal today here, the entry-level version, which will be, as I said, the most important one with a small battery, which is not that much smaller, but charges quicker, LFP chemistry makes more sense to most customers, and also then, if you think about the entry-level version, which is also enamel-free with the leatherette in two different colors. So, this car will make most sense in the entry-level version, and they are wont to sell it here, for example, German price below €45,000, and that is actually quite astonishing. Remember that a Tesla Model 3, rear-wheel drive, small battery, starts at €41,000 at this moment of the recording of the video in Germany, so it is close to a Model 3 and is quicker in charging, it is longer, it has more space in the rear of the interior, and it also has a lot of standard equipment. The head-up display is standard, the glass roof is standard, most of the features you saw today besides these microfiber animal skin seats, so the leatherette would be the standard one. So, it's actually quite clever to have a car where you can't choose too much like in the Tesla concept, so it will only be slightly more expensive, and then, of course, we have to see how the leasing rates actually play out. However, they do have a challenge with the price to still be profitable because they will now face additional taxes. You know about these import taxes from the EU, additional ones for EVs when they are built in China. So, that's a problem. So, it is built in China at Chang'an Automotive. It's a joint venture between Chang'an and Mazda. They are already doing that cooperation for, you know, for quite some years, and this vehicle here is already on sale as EZ or EZ6 in China as a Mazda also for the Chinese market, and Chang'an also has a similar vehicle also under a different name than they are selling there too. And this is also the secret to the price because otherwise, if this would have been a complete own Mazda development and production, they could have not offered it at that specific price. It would have been probably too expensive, too much R&D cost, and so on. So, on the one thing, you could say it is maybe a negative when this one is built in China because when you buy a Mazda, you in most case hope for that it's built in Japan, for example. Then again, it also enables the lower price because of lower energy cost, lower labor cost, lower R&D cost, and so on, and so on. So, we have to see, especially in driving, gets a fixed seal suspension, if they can still transport the true Mazda feeling of driving with this one because they did their own setup with this vehicle and so on. We can tell you more about that when we're able to drive this very vehicle. Yeah, looking forward to your feedback. Such an interesting vehicle here for sure and really crucial if it can be a true Mazda 6 successor and if it can really challenge the Model 3. In some aspects, we said yes. In other aspects, of course, the Model 3 is still ahead, and we have to see then how the driving plays out. Tune into that one very soon, and now to the competitors like the Tesla Model 3 or then, yeah, would be the double the price, but otherwise still the competitor, the BMW i5.