Top Car

OUR CARSJanuary 2016|TOPCAR.CO.ZA 103RIGHT OFF THEbatit’s absolutelynot the Mazda’sfault. Livingin asmallish townsomedistance outsidethe city, the cargets ample opportunity tostretch its legs and playeconomical continental cruiser. This isa role it loves,eating distancesfor breakfast, or moreoften thannot,lunch and dinner too.The only problem is that saidtownlies at the end of a simple one-lane-each-way road,once empty but, in the way of our country, nowcloggedwith trucks doing what the railroads are supposedtodo. This means that any trip downthe road – it is in theprocess of beingupgraded thankfully –is a gameofgauge and go, makingconstant decisions about power,distance, overtaking hazardsand yes, courage. Simplyput, there’s alot of barrelling past 22-wheelers. This theMazdaalso loves, possibly evenmorethanthe longdistance cruising. The 420Nm of torque means thecracking2.2-litre diesel is never anything but upfor thechallenge. And of course that lower back shove is aneensie bit addictive, truthbe told.There’s aprice to pay for this Charge of the Light``````Brigade stuff. Whenthe 6arrived back in the day itneededto be run in and that meant 1000kmat halfthrottle and noTrevor Howard storm trooping. Theresult was avery exciting 6.3ℓ/100km,a figure that putmein mind of 1000kmtankrange and birthdays beforerefilling. The reality, as with life, has beena littledifferent,with figures averaging between 7and9ℓ/100km. I’ve nowcometo terms with that; there’s gotto be a balance between economy and enjoyment.While others onthe team literally spend every drivingkilometre eekingout the best mileage, Ilike to thinkmypurpose onEarth is to slay the Dieselgate dragonand deliver upentirely real world figures, ones thatinclude momentsof glee, the odd Light Brigade chargeand agooddose of fun. After all, that is what thedelightful6 seemsto be all about.In other news, frustratingly froma writing point ofview, nothing has gone wrong. Atall. A tiresomesqueakfromthe dashboard obviously heard themoaning fromthe cockpit and fixed itself. Ty res appearto be made of something other thanrubber because,despite the 22-wheeler antics, there is nodiscernibletread reduction. The only thing it seemsnot to be anygoodat is washing itself, which, given aparticularlygluttonous pigeonthat nests above its home, isunfortunate. I have takentips fromBorrill(Our Cars Dec 2015) but getless enjoymentfromit thanperhaps I did whenI was 18.This too is unfortunate, and Iwish thegoodfolk at MazdaHQcould hurry upandperfect a self-cleaning exterior paint (thereis one in the labs apparently). Now there’saninnovation worth shouting about.Onward.Dist ant rela tionsUps/downsSpeeddemon``````Not pigeon proof``````LOGBOOKMAZDA6 2.2DEDYNAMIC>Odoreading start/now:60km/6650km>Distance covered:6590km>Fuel consumed: 559 ℓ>Average fuel consumption:8.5ℓ/100 km>Service interval:15000km>Service cost:Covered by 3-year/unlimitedkm service plan>Total Fuel cost:R5899.51>Running cost:89c/kmThemooiMazcontinu es tocharm, chaseand cosset, but economy isstarting to be anissue.Blamethe driver. ByPeter FrostMONTH 5MAZDA6