Faults:

Nothing but wear ad tear parts replaced. No major problems in three years and 30K + miles.

General Comments:

I had a diesel Mazda 6 before this car and it was terrible. Read the other reviews on here and elsewhere to understand why.

But the reason I kept with Mazda all this time was it was a one off - I have had a Mazda since the 626 saloon days in the 1990's, and the petrol ones were always OK.

Being a 2.0 you cannot expect much more than around 37 mpg, but it will do more than 40 mpg on a long drive, which for petrol is impressive.

The car is smooth to drive and has plenty of power. Gorgeous looks inside and out. My car is red, common and best color.

Interior is as comfortable as it gets. High step up in quality from previous models. My car is ten years old yet looks brand new.

If you see a low mileage petrol Mazda 6 of this generation at a good price, go for it, you have no worries reliability wise, so long as you avoid the diesels.

Faults:

Not much over the last couple of years I have had the car. Last week however the car became sluggish and the engine light came on. Taking it to a diesel specialist soon as my local mechanic was unsure, hopefully nothing too serious.

General Comments:

Sporty, good looking, fun to drive, and very spacious estate tourer, the Mazda 6 is a fun family car to own.

Engine is punchy and economical.

Seats are perfect for my height. Love being in this car. The car has all the electrics you would expect. Comfortable.

It's a very good , but no better than a Vauxhall Insignia or Ford Mondeo or whatever.

Not too confident in it lately though - I have read horror stories of the diesel engine problems in these cars, hopefully my problem will be something simple. But lately I'm thinking I should have went for a petrol engine Mazda 6...

Faults:

Where to begin. EGR valve started going faulty with rough running; the car would hesitate and idle erratically. £700 to fix.

Clutch/flywheel = £1000 !

Start / Stop system would not operate sometimes and when it did it always cut in at the worst moments.

Oil leaking from somewhere. Oil light sometimes comes on even though the oil level is at the correct level.

Climate control has a mind of its own.

Slight rust here and there.

The list goes on. The car was bought approved used, full Mazda history and I continued to drive carefully and service it on time, yet it still gave all these problems.

General Comments:

On the positive side, the Mazda 6 performs well, is economical (when running correctly) and the interior is very comfortable. It is also a very good looking car in red.

However, the reliability issues I have had have been terrible. This is easily one of the worst cars I have ever had, yet the most modern and expensive at the same time. Some research around the web says the diesel Mazda 6 has known issues. This engine is a disaster. Avoid the 2.2 diesel. The car feels like scrap at only nine years and about 90K miles. A long time ago my 1980's Mazda 626 (relatively problem free as well I might add) lasted sixteen years and 180K miles! This car cannot compare! What a step backwards in quality.

Mazda main dealer was terrible, rude and uninterested when I returned with the problems; only a couple of things were fixed under warranty.

Previously had a 2006 Ford Mondeo to this car (petrol); had some issues but was overall a better and more reliable car than this. Would I buy Mazda again? Possibly, always like them, and it is such a good looking fun to drive car so it is a shame, but I'd definitely go with a petrol engine next time. Not exclusive to Mazda to be fair - a lot of modern diesel cars are like this, diesels are overrated in my opinion!