What's the news?
Mazda is having another go at fettling its flagship 6 saloon, demonstrating the latest model at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Launched in 2012, the Mazda6 was facelifted in 2015 and then, in 2016, the Japanese company added some extra tech in the form of G-Vectoring Control and a Natural Sound Smoother, while also finessing some of the cabin switchgear and displays. Well, this time around, the Mazda6 receives new chassis settings - focusing on the spring rates, geometry and employing extra bracing - which are aimed at making it both sharper in the handling stakes, while also comfier to drive.
Minor visual changes have again taken place at the front, where the LED headlights are now picked out in chrome and the grille has become a mesh-design item, while you can choose from 17- or 19-inch alloy wheels with Soul Red Crystal paint now among the colour palette.
Inside, a larger eight-inch touchscreen sits on the centre console for the infotainment, while the top-end Mazda6 variants will also now enjoy a seven-inch TFT instrument cluster. Some buttons and the air vents have also been simplified, and Mazda's i-Activsense safety bundle has been enhanced with items such as radar cruise control and a 360-degree monitor.
Anything else?
Perhaps the biggest news is that, in the US at least - where the revised Mazda6 will go on sale first, hence its LA debut - there will be two four-cylinder Skyactiv-G petrol engines offered, both 2.5 litres in capacity. However, the interesting point is that one of these features a turbocharger; Mazda's Skyactiv petrol units are usually all normally aspirated.
However, over here, we're likely to stick with the 2.0-litre petrol and 2.2-litre diesel engines for the 6. No turbocharged petrols for us. Sadly...