| The 2010 Mazda6 is half a foot longer than the previous generation, with 4.5 inches added to wheelbase and 2.3 inches to width.
Despite this, it doesn't look like a big car, especially with nothing adjacent for scale.
But with its flowing roofline similar to oxymoronic four-door coupes and real coupes like the Audi TT, wraparound overhangs that appear shorter than they are, and sleek lines overall, the Mazda6 comes across as a smaller, trimmer, tidier car than some of its more boxy competitors.
From dead ahead or in your mirror the diamond teardrop headlamps laid over the front corners add a hint of French to a Mazda RX-8 face, and from any other angle the floating front fenders are signature Mazda: The edgiest, most distinctive front-end in the mid-size market.
An upper body crease that would normally go to the front wheel stops just shy of that floating fender, and the rear wheel arches have double creases to mirror the front.
The Mazda6 five-sided grille has a deep V-shape to it and it's all body-colored.
There is no chrome beyond the logo wings, and darker colors show even fewer character lines for the most fluid appearance.
Fog lights are set in horizontal openings but the lights themselves are vertically-oriented.
At the rear, taillamps wrap well around the sides, and V6-model exhausts are distinctively shaped stand-offs not actually connected to the pipes themselves.
You could stretch the shape and find the RX-8's influence in numerous places on the Mazda6.
This is a very distinctive-looking car and, if you like edgier style and more modern design, you will probably love the Mazda6. |