2014 Mazda6: Up Close

More 2012 L.A. Auto Show Coverage

So did the tepid-selling previous generation.

There are some misses: The door armrests are narrow, with sculpting that sends your elbows off them too easily, and from the tiny door pockets to the undersized center console, you’ll have to get creative to find ways to stash the usual car junk.

Aside from a large center floor hump, the backseat is a good compromise between seat height and headroom. Mazda has yet to release volume figures for the trunk, which is deep but shallow. Still, the wide opening should allow for plenty of luggage, and the arm hinges go into channels — as the Fusion and Chevy Malibu do — instead of descending exposed to crunch any cargo stacked near the trunk’s corners.

Power figures are still out for Mazda’s 2.2-liter turbo-diesel, which arrives in the second half of 2013, but he promised “bags of torque” — typical of a diesel engine — as early prototypes have tested at more than 300 pounds-feet. That’s well beyond the 2.0-liter diesel in Volkswagen’s competing Passat TDI (236 pounds-feet) so if the Mazda6 diesel comes anywhere close, it could pack serious oomph.