The all-new Mazda6 has been named by fleet motor industry experts as car of choice in the upper-medium category, fighting off tough competition from brands such as VW, Ford, Hyundai and Vauxhall. The award for ‘Best Upper Medium’ car was given to the all-new Mazda6 at the prestigious Fleet News Awards, held last night in London, with the new car praised for its ground-breaking SKYACTIV technology, its class-leading efficiency and its ‘exceptional’ drive experience. The all-new Mazda6 Tourer was also shortlisted in the ‘Best Estate category’ and Mazda CX-5 was highly commended in the ‘Best Crossover category’.
The judging panel, chaired by former chief executive of the SMMT Christopher Macgowan, included Stephen Briers, Editor-in-Chief at Fleet News; Martin Ward, CAP manufacturer relationships manager; Andy Cutler, UK Car Editor – Forecast Values at Glass’s, Paul Tate, Siemens commodity manager fleet, Colin Marriott, Centrica general manager fleet, Emma Parfitt, LeasePlan general manager – manufacturer engagement, and Jay Nagley, Redspy managing director.
Explaining their selection of the all-new Mazda6 as a class winner, the judges summarised: “The Mazda6 offers power with efficiency. Its ground-breaking technology in using lightweight materials and re-engineering the drivetrain has resulted in excellent, highly efficient petrol and diesel engines. The car is well equipped and exceptional to drive, while the judges noted the fleet-friendly badging for a simplified line up.”
Accepting the award last, Head of Fleet at Mazda Steve Tomlinson commented: “It is with great pleasure that we accept this accolade for the Mazda6. Thanks to Mazda’s breakthrough SKYACTIV technology, engineers have been able to deliver class-leading environmental credentials without resorting to the smaller engine displacements of some rivals.”
“Company car drivers can obtain the seemingly impossible of top-notch diesel performance with unrivalled low emissions and excellent fuel economy courtesy of the all-new Mazda6,” he adds.
The all-new third generation Mazda6 was launched in January and is powered by the manufacturer’s range of high-efficiency SKYACTIV engines, including two petrol and two diesels units mated to six-speed manual or automatic transmissions.
Low CO2 emissions, which are critical to keeping company car-related taxes and operating costs in check, are among the many attributes of Mazda’s unique SKYACTIV technology.
All-new Mazda6 priced from £19,595 to £28,045 (on the road). The 150ps 2.2-litre SKYACTIV-D Saloon diesel has class-leading CO2 emissions of just 108g/km and combined fuel consumption of 67.3mpg. Benefit in Kind tax for a 40 percent tax payer is £127 a month (Sport trim).
