Mazda 6e Review

If you're after an electric car that has room for the family and don't want a tall SUV, then the Mazda 6e is a viable – if slightly underwhelming – option.

Firstly, it's worth noting that it's made in China as a result of the joint venture between Mazda and Changan, who have been making Mazda models for the Chinese market for well over a decade. The 6e is the first Mazda to make its way to Europe from China, however, and the 6e's largely button-free interior appointment, fiddly infotainment system and frustrating advanced driver assistance (ADAS) systems are all slightly unwelcome imports.

The 6e is very Mazda in terms of its sleek and sporty appearance, and it looks like a premium product – especially in Mazda's iconic multi-layer Soul Red paint. LED headlights and a light-up moustache around the front grille give it real presence at night, while the back end gets a set of taillights that hark back to the RX-7 sports car. There's even a hidden spoiler which lifts automatically above 56mph.

Underneath the body you'll find either a 68.8kWh battery that's good for 298 miles of range, or a larger 80kWh item with the potential for 343 miles. Fast charging speeds vary greatly, with the smaller battery needing just 24 minutes to get from 10-80% charge, and the bigger battery taking a sluggish 47 minutes.

Inside, you get a lot of equipment as standard. Entry-level Takumi versions are hardly basic, with artificial leather ventilated and heated seats, a wireless phone charger, a giant 14.6-inch infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay, and a huge panoramic sunroof. Top-spec Takumi Plus models simply add eye-catching caramel-brown suede and leather upholstery.

Out on the road, the 6e fares reasonably well – once you've disabled the ADAS systems. Its steering doesn't have the satisfying precision of other Mazdas, but it feels far more connected to the road than other Chinese models such as the Jaecoo 7, with only a slightly firm ride on broken Tarmac interrupting the relaxing ambience in the cabin. Because the floor of the 6e is quite high – as a result of the battery pack underneath – taller drivers may find themselves banging their heads on the sunvisor when sitting forward at junctions, forcing a somewhat awkward driving position.

Overall, the 6e feels a little like a box-ticking attempt by Mazda to get a longer-range EV to market while focusing their R&D efforts on combustion-engined cars. It's a far more useful EV than the short-legged MX-30, but most buyers will find a Volkswagen ID.7 a much more practical car – if not quite as dashing as the Mazda.

At the time of writing, Mazda hasn't confirmed the 6e's UK price, but expect it to cost from around £40,000 for the model with the smaller battery, and all come with a six-year warranty.

If you know your Mazdas, you'll spot that the 6e's interior is entirely different to the rest of the range – and that's because it's been built by Chinese company Changan. While Mazda's always had a laudable approach to minimising touchscreen interactions in its cars, the 6e goes all in, requiring screen prods for just about every function. 

The 6e's giant 14.6-inch central screen runs software that'll be very familiar if you've driven a Jaecoo, BYD or Omoda. It's sharp and responsive to touch, but the menus are numerous and slightly confusing. You have to use the screen for everything from setting your desired temperature to adjusting the door mirrors, and you'll need to dig through some menus to disable the aggressive lane-departure assist. It does have an editable toolbar at the bottom of the screen for your most-used functions, and you can swipe down from the top or left to open more drawers of apps.

Thankfully it includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so you can use your own music and navigation apps. There's also a standard-fit head-up display to help keep your eyes on the road.

Behind the steering wheel is a smaller 10.2-inch screen which is shared with many other Chinese-made EVs. It's packed with information and does look a little cluttered, but you soon get used to using the steering wheel's haptic buttons to flick between efficiency and infotainment screens.

The wheel itself has two 'star' buttons, which you can customise. On our test car, these were set to cycle through headlight settings (there's no physical dial to switch between side lights and dipped beam), and windscreen wiper speed (there's no physical stalk to quickly knock the wipers on – although pressing the end of the indicator stalk will spray the windscreen). More physical controls for these fundamentals would be welcome.

Otherwise, the 6e's cabin is very well equipped. The ventilated and heated seats are comfortable – if set six inches too high for our 6'3" test subject, who kept banging his head on the sunvisor at junctions. It's worth noting that the centre console has a wireless phone charger as standard.

At 4.9 metres you'd think the Mazda would offer space to rival the Sistine chapel on a quiet day, but sadly it doesn't score quite the beatific home-run you'd hope for.

While back-seat space is okay in terms of kneeroom, your back-seat passengers will struggle for footroom if the front seats are on their lowest setting (which is quite likely given the lack of front-seat headroom). Headroom is only an issue for people well over 6-feet tall, and even then only if they fully recline in their seats. A wide middle seat and completely flat floor also means it's easy to carry three abreast in the back of the Mazda 6e. A fold-down centre armrest contains two cupholders, but it's a shame there's only a single USB-C for back-seat gadgeting. The rear doorbins can hold a big bottle of water apiece.

Boot space is the 6e's biggest disappointment. Despite the car's length, you're only treated to 336 litres of space, augmented by a 72-litre frunk. That's 200 litres less boot space than in the ID.7 saloon – ouch. The Mazda does offer a wide-opening hatchback as opposed to a tricky saloon boot, but it's still a bit of a letdown for people wishing to carry tall items.

Up-front storage is reasonable, with door bins that can hold big bottles of water and a large cubby under the front armrest, and a nice wide glovebox.

There are two battery and powertrain options for the Mazda 6e – sounds simple, but they're oddly specced and a little confusing.

The standard-range car has a 68.8kWh battery that's good for 298 miles officially, can fast-charge at 165kW and has a 258hp motor on the rear axle. Great. So far, so good.

The more expensive long-range car, however, has a 80kWh battery that can theoretically travel for 343 miles. Annoyingly, it has a much lower charging rate of 90kW, meaning a 10-80% charge takes a yawnsome 47 minutes – an owner of the smaller battery will be done in 24 minutes. The bigger battery car has a slightly less powerful 245hp motor and takes 7.8 seconds to get from 0-62mph, as opposed to 7.6 seconds in the cheaper version.

A bit of a kick in the teeth really, and in reality the smaller-battery car will likely be better for long journeys given how much quicker it can charge. It's a really bizarre offering.

Those looking for an engaging drive typical of previous Mazda models will be disappointed by the 6e. It lacks the usual weighty Mazda precision to its steering, and the suspension hasn't been set up with a sporty drive in mind, which is a real shame given the 6e is rear-wheel drive. There's a little bit of a lumpy response from the suspension around town, but it's not enough to annoy. You'll also find a bevy of driving modes, but they mostly serve to sharpen or soften the throttle response.

At a cruise, the 6e is reasonably refined, but we didn't see startling efficiency figures on our test drive, with 3.0mi/kWh showing on the trip computer, suggesting a real-world range of 240 miles from the big battery. More town driving will likely increase this slightly.

As with many other Chinese-made cars, the 6e's driver-assistance systems are a little baffled by left-hand-drive traffic, and there's a fairly aggressive lane departure system which will have the steering wheel vibrating in your hands like a pneumatic drill if you have to drive close to the edge of a country lane to allow other traffic to pass. You can turn all the systems off or customise the driver-assistance responses to a ridiculous degree, but it does require a lot of prods of the touchscreen.