Mazda has officially released pricing for the new Mazda 6e in Europe, where the car will go on sale in September. In Germany, the electric sedan will be priced starting from €44,900 (RM223,700) for the base Takumi spec, rising up to €46,500 (RM231,600) with the Long Range battery. Buyers who opt for the Takumi Plus variant will have to pony up €46,900 (RM233,600), or €48,500 (RM241,600) with the larger battery.
By comparison, the Tesla Model 3 starts from €39,990 (RM199,600) for the base rear-wheel-drive version, and even the Long Range RWD model (not offered in Malaysia) costs €44,990 (RM224,500), despite offering significantly more range model-for-model.
As previously reported, all models will be powered by a single rear motor, with the base variant pushing out 190 kW (258 PS) and 320 Nm of torque, enabling it to sprint from zero to 100 km/h in 7.6 seconds on its way to a top speed of 175 km/h. A 68.8 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery provides a range of 479 km on the WLTP cycle and accepts up to 165 kW of DC fast charging, topping it up from 10 to 80% charge in 24 minutes and delivering 235 km of extra range with just 15 minutes of charging.
The Long Range variants gain an 80 kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) pack that boosts range to 552 km. Oddly enough, the motor is actually slightly detuned to 245 PS (180 kW) and results in a century sprint two tenths of a second slower at 7.8 seconds. Because it’s an NMC pack, DC charging drops to a paltry 90 kW, taking a leisurely 45 minutes to charge from 10 to 80%. An 11 kW onboard AC charger comes standard.
Based on the Deepal L07 from Chinese partner Changan, the 6e has been styled according to the “Authentic Modern” concept, featuring slim L-shaped daytime running lights and the trademark Kodo grille (closed off here, of course), the latter framed by an illuminated “signature wing”. The main headlights are actually split off from the DRLs and are hidden within the said frame.
Along the side, the 6e continues with the voluptuous side surfacing of “proper” Mazdas, with the curved flanks in particular said to be inspired by the spray produced by a speedboat on water. The full-width taillights, meanwhile, come with quad cylinders and sit above the Mazda script in lieu of the usual logo – a cue also adopted by the forthcoming third-generation CX-5.
The sweeping roofline and short deck belie a hatchback that opens up to a 466 litre boot, expandable to 1,071 litres with the rear seats folded and complemented by a 72 litre front boot. A set of handsome 19-inch turbine-style alloy wheels with aero fairings come standard.
Being that it’s based on a Chinese car, the cabin is a departure from current Mazdas, sporting a 10.25-inch instrument display behind a two-spoke flat-bottomed steering wheel and a massive 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreen. There’s also a large augmented-reality head-up display, a 14-speaker Sony sound system (instead of the usual Bose), advanced voice control and gesture control – the last two are Mazda firsts.
Standard kit includes heated and ventilated front seats, a panoramic glass roof, black faux leather upholstery, triple-zone auto air-con, a Qi wireless charger and a 360-degree camera system. The Takumi Plus adds brown Nappa leather, a faux suede-wrapped dashboard, an electric sunshade for that glass roof and a rear touchscreen for controlling the air-con and rear side window sunshades.
Safety-wise, the 6e comes as standard with a full complement of nine airbags (including a centre airbag and rear side airbags) and a suite of driver assistance systems. These include autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane centring assist, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert with auto brake, rear collision warning and reverse AEB.
Under the skin, the 6e’s suspension tuning has been refined by Mazda engineers in Japan and Germany, while a brake-by-wire system is also fitted. An active rear spoiler, which cuts rear lift and improves high-speed stability, raises up automatically at speeds above 90 km/h.
Could the Mazda 6e come to Malaysia? It certainly seems likely, given that it’s already been confirmed for our northern neighbour Thailand this year. Local distributor Bermaz has already secured the rights to sell Deepal EVs here, making servicing the 6e much easier. There is a complication in that Malaysia’s tax exemptions on CBU fully-imported EVs will be terminated at the end of the year, meaning that the car will enjoy at most only a few months of being tax-free.