VxDesigns

mazda6

The 2009 Mazda6 is supposed to be the driver’s car in the mid-size sedan segment. Considering it competes with the Camry, that’s not exactly a challenge. Still, can it get us hot and bothered?

Hotness is relative; there’s actual hot, as in Megan Fox or John Hamm, and office hot, as in someone hot compared to people you work with. Is the 2009 Mazda6 hot… or just office hot?

Since most of us don’t work in the same office, I’m going to lean on the cast of NBC’s The Office, which is notable for employing actors almost as unattractive as the rest of us. The 2009 Mazda6 is Pam, a.k.a. Jenna Fischer, who is smokin’ hot for a receptionist from Scranton, PA but nothing special compared to the cast of most NBC programs (ahem, Chuck). In the same way, this new Mazda is fun for what it is, but that’s still a FWD mid-size sedan.

The 2009 Mazda6 is the replacement for the beloved first-generation Mazda6, a sedan notable for offering a sporty ride and enough style to differentiate it from the appliance-like competition. Unfortunately, the biggest difference in the eyes of most buyers was the size. It was much smaller. This is why the little Mazda was more likely to get duty as the daily driver for a hot twentysomething than a MILF.

The only Mazda6 available with the six-speed manual gearbox is the 6i version, which comes paired with the 2.5-liter four-cylinder. Compared to the previous generation’s 2.3-liter four-banger, power is up modestly to 170 HP and 167 lb.-ft. of torque, an increase of 14 HP and 11 lb-ft. The V6-powered 6s jumps stratospherically to 272 HP and 269 lb.-ft. of torque, thanks to a switch to the six-cylinder engine out of the Mazda CX-9. We wanted the manual transmission, so we opted for the heavily-optioned Mazda 6i Grand Touring.