The 2017 Mazda 6 gets some added safety technology
Mazda has always been one of our favorite vehicles to test drive over the year for a couple of reasons, one would be that the first car we drove upon embarking on this journey 7 years ago was a Mazda Miata, what a fantastic way to get things started right? Then there is the moniker that Mazda has used over the past few years, a very subtle ‘Zoom Zoom’ has become synonymous with the brand, and for this manufacture it has worked as they always seem to add that little ‘Zoom Zoom’ to their products.
After hearing about the new ‘Zoom Zoom’ for the Mazda 6 in the form of a new technology they are calling G-Vectoring Control we were very excited to see if we would notice the difference with this enhancement added to the vehicle. Most folks even those at Mazda say it’s hard to feel, but adds a great deal of safety, along with the overall driving experience that it comes on all trim levels of the 6 and at no additional cost.
Eight years in the making Mazda says that this is the first in what will be a ‘series’ of technologies that will enhance the driving experience. So the question is what is this new wizardry called G-Vectoring Control, how it works and more importantly what will it do for the driver, as Mazda pointed out, this is the most important part of the equation, the driver.
According to Mazda this new exclusive technology uses engine timing to control chassis dynamics, leading to smoother, more accurate steering inputs resulting in greater confidence and control for the driver, because the car does exactly what he wants it to with very minute turns of the steering wheel or touches on the accelerator.
Usually when going into a corner the turning of the front wheels will slightly reduce the amount of tire contact the vehicle has with the road, this slight loss of contact can cause the vehicle to not go exactly where the driver intended. Although this is a very slight misalignment and most of us would just correct for the steering deficit, becoming used to our car not quite performing as we would have liked.
The engineers at Mazda came up with the formula of eight pounds of pressure added to the front wheels of the vehicle would take care of these slight changes in direction by increasing the contact patch of the front tires. Their first thought was to add 8 pounds of braking as the vehicle went into the turn, but this made the vehicle feel unnatural and took too long to apply.
So they, in the end accomplished this by reducing ignition spark that would immediately provide engine braking, this is all controlled through software and reacts in milliseconds to the drivers every input. The really awesome benefit of this new technology is that as road conditions get worse, the better it works. To put that in perspective here in the mountain west the more snow and ice…. the better for this technology to work and help the driver.
We did have to admit at first it was hard to detect this new system working, but it did help us to get through turns better and with a small snowstorm we had one day there was no sliding or grip problems with the Mazda. We sure could have used it a couple of weeks before this on a very snowy night drive to St. George!
Our favorite addition over the past couple of years is the unusual way Mazda has incorporated a heads up display into many of their vehicles, and you won’t have to pay a $50,000 price tag to get Mazda’s version of the HUD. This very cool tech is added by a small see through piece of plastic that comes up from the upper part of the steering column that then has the speed, navigation and even when a stop sign is coming displayed in full color. It may not be the HUD that others have put in the front window, but the effect is exactly the same and the price is much less!
Inside the 6 was all luxury, especially since our test ride included the Grand Touring package that gave it a huge number of standard upgrades to make the ride even better than we could have imagined. Mazda is a company that wants the driver to be involved in the drive- not just the guy that is sitting behind the steering wheel, as evidenced by the new G-Vectoring Control, giving the driver a slightly different ride than normal.
So getting into the 6 with leather trimmed sport seats that were both comfortable and supportive, and it was no surprise that both the drivers and passengers were power adjustable and of course heated! With the addition of the GT Premium Package we received, they were upgraded to beautiful beige supple Nappa leather, along with heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel and some really neat looking LED accent lights.
Standard was also the Mazda 7.0 inch color touch screen monitor that also comes with a rotary control in the center console, this would have to be one of our only complaints as it can become cumbersome to navigate through the menus at times with this control, and it is almost out of reach of the driver to use the touchscreen.
Bluetooth, paddle shifters, keyless entry, steering wheel mounted controls for most functions, power windows with one touch on all 4, dual zone climate control, navigation and a 11 speaker Bose audio system were all standard on the Grand Touring, it seemed there was a never ending list of features to add that little extra to the Mazda 6 that we would not have expected at the price point.
On the safety side the Mazda 6 gets 5 stars from the government on ratings and the Grand Touring version comes with all the great safety features we love. Blind spot monitoring, smart city brake support, smart brake support, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, hill launch assist, rear cross traffic alert, automatic high beams, and our favorite radar cruise control. One has to remember that these are all standard features on the Grand Touring, something we would definitely look for when getting a new vehicle as any one of these could save our lives one day!
The Mazda 6 turned out to be not only great looking and fun to drive, and with the Mazda engineers in control of development it promises to continue to offer even more ‘Zoom Zoom’ in the future. See one today at Orem Mazda, 55 East University Parkway, in Orem, 801-226-8555.
Base Price: $30,695
Price as Driven: $34,530
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