As early as March 2022, there were rumors that Mazda's original plan for the rear-wheel drive six-cylinder new Ma6 project was stillborn, and Mazda would shift more research and development focus to the SUV market, which made many fans and fans regret.
The Mazda6 model on sale at that time was also discontinued in North America, the United Kingdom, and China, and just this month, the Mazda6 will also be discontinued in Japan, completely drawing an end to this classic car series.
Top: Angkesaila / Bottom: All-new Ma6 camouflage
However, in the Chinese market, Mazda did not intend to completely rot, but decided to work with their partner Changan to develop a new generation of Mazda6, internally codenamed J90A, and may be named EZ-6 in the future (hereinafter referred to as J90A). Judging from the spy photos exposed this time, Mazda J90A still adopts the styling design of a sports coupe, and the overall posture is swooping, especially the four round taillights at the rear, which are very similar to the Ankesaila on sale.
However, a discerning person should know at a glance that Mazda's new J90A is actually the sister car of the dark blue SL03, and the body posture of the two is very similar, but there are differences in the taillights, C-pillar shape and window line design.
It is worth mentioning that the rear windshield bezel of Mazda's new spy photo is very thick, so it should also use the same liftback tailgate structure as the dark blue SL03, which can be regarded as a replica of the classic Mazda6 hatchback coupe.
In terms of the interior of the car, we speculate that the J90A should be a big change from the SL03, and according to the Mazda brand style, they will definitely retain a lot of ergonomics for driving control, such as more physical buttons, sportier seat shapes, etc.
As for the chassis platform, the Mazda J90A will be built on the Changan EPA1 pure electric platform, providing two power forms: pure electric and extended range, and will also use rear-wheel drive. According to previous news, Changan will provide the chassis platform, intelligence and three-electric system, while Mazda is responsible for the chassis tuning of the vehicle. There is no reliable news on the range extender yet, and there are rumors that Mazda will provide the range extender itself, but considering Mazda's current internal combustion engine lineup, this is unlikely.
In terms of power, the 2024 SL03 adopts a rear-mounted single-motor rear-wheel drive, and the pure electric version provides two types of power: 218 horsepower and 258 horsepower, and the 0-100km/h acceleration is 6.9 and 6.2 seconds, respectively. The battery capacity of the two versions is 58.89 kWh and 66.8 kWh, respectively, and the corresponding CLTC range is 530 km and 610 km, respectively. The extended-range version uses a 95-horsepower 1.5L four-cylinder self-priming range extender, paired with a rear-mounted 238-horsepower motor, which accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in 7.2 seconds, and with a 18.99kWh battery pack, the CLTC pure electric range is 135km, the CLTC has a full fuel range of 1140km, and the fuel consumption is 4.4L.
This kind of power specification is already strong for Mazda's models in the Chinese market in the past, after all, the 2.5L version of the previous generation Artez accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in about 8 seconds. It's just that in the era of electric vehicles, Mazda, a brand that focuses on sports, will be a little "slow" with a motor of more than 200 horsepower, and I hope Mazda can replace the J90A with a higher-power motor. However, from another point of view, at least the rear-wheel drive "Ma 6" that many people are looking forward to has been realized on the J90A.
According to previous rumors, the Mazda J90A will make its debut at the Beijing Auto Show at the end of this month, and is expected to be officially launched in the fourth quarter of this year. At present, the price of the dark blue SL03 series is 139,900-206,900 yuan, and Mazda's brand premium in the Chinese market is not very high, so after the J90A is listed in the future, the price should also be in the range of 15-200,000 yuan.