Super 6

From straight highways to the windy roads up to Cameron Highlands, we gave the Mazda 6 a thorough shakedown

It has been years since I collected a Mazda 6 for a test.

Boy, now I know what was missing from my life.

Having the car for five days at my disposal was a treat indeed and it certainly allowed me to explore the car’s performance and blend it into my lifestyle.

I had two outstation assignments in four days with my golf bag in tow.

The first was to attend the Horizon Hills Media Golf tournament at the Horizon Hills Golf & Country Club in Johor.

After exiting the toll gate at Sungai Besi, it was pretty much a flat out drive to Johor Bharu.

The all aluminium Skyactiv-G 2.0 engine purred softly as the car accelerated swiftly moving up to the sixth gear of the Skyactiv Drive 6-Speed AT.

There was no jerky torque traits.

The aerodynamics that was derived from Mazda’s ‘Kodo-Soul of Motion’ design concept was evident. The car cut through the air effortlessly and gracefully.

It could do with added sound proofing though as the tire noise was pretty loud at speed.

During the three-hour plus journey, the acceleration was so effortless and smooth that I did not realise that I was travelling at 170 k/ph.

The one major factor that gave me much confidence on all driving conditions has to be the brakes. They were responsive and performed way beyond expectations especially when cars swerved on to your lane unexpectedly.

The emotive and dynamic exterior of the car was indeed a head turner. Heads turned at street corners when the car cruised by.

This was what sexy back meant to me.

But the “magic” of the Mazda 6 was presented itself when I had to travel up to Cameron Highlands to do a course review at Kelab Golf Sultan Ahmad Shah.

Travelling with me was Simon and Fred who were going to fly two drones to photograph the golf course.

So the 489 litres of boot space did come in handy to fit one golf bag, two drone cases and three overnight bags.

Now, the high quality three-spoke multi-function leather steering wheel did not have paddle shifters but, I rediscovered the beauty of shifting gears with a stick shift when I switched the automatic transmission to the manual mode.

Exiting at Simpang Pulai, it was pretty exhilarating hitting the apex of the corners and accelerating hard up the mountain with 1,998 cc’s of power.

The Electric Power-Assisted Steering (EPAS) system was impressive to say the least. It combined beautifully with the suspension and 17-inch tyres.

There was no hint of understeer or oversteer at the corners. All one needed was to twitch the steering and it just flows in and out of the corners effortlessly, and precisely.

I was enjoying my exciting high-speed adrenalin rush and had never felt so alive in a long time. As Fred would say to me after an hour of driving hard through the windy stretches to reach the Cameron Highlands Resort, “I’ve never seen you so happy before in a long time.”

It may not be a Ferrari, but the Mazda 6 possesses the sports performance characteristics that all motor heads crave for.

The car had all the traits as a true driver’s car. I was liberated.