This electrified Mazda sedan is to land in China in both full BEV as well as PHEV flavours.
It was really not too long ago that Chinese automakers were still building cars upon old Mazda platforms, with this current outgoing iteration of Mazda6 in particular serving as the base for the Hongqi H5. Though in what surely constitutes an ironic twist of fate, the inverse now seems to have come true, with the newly revealed Mazda EZ-6 being essentially a reskinned version of Changan’s Deepal SL03.
Yes, unveiled recently at the 2024 Beijing Auto Show, this supposed successor to the admittedly aging Mazda6 is based upon the same EPA1 architecture as the Deepal SL03 produced by the Japanese automaker’s Chinese joint venture partner Changan. The reason for why this came to be however should become clear when it is highlighted for this sedan to come packing a fully-electric powertrain (that is actually competent), not to mention an apparent PHEV option as well.
But before delving into the powertrain specs, let’s give at least some credit to Mazda in doing what is a rather good job at reskinning the Deepal SL03 into the EZ-6. Up front its face is to be highlighted by a set of slim LED daytime running lights that sandwich an illuminated grille, with this enormous unit (blanked off in the EV and hollow for the PHEV) further given additional visual weight from the adjoining black panels that houses the headlights and a rather svelte front bumper.
Down its side now, 19-inch dual-tone alloys (that looks reminiscent of a flower) and discrete black arch extensions does its best in helping mask the fact that the EZ-6 has the typical e-sedan trait of having a higher waistline and ride height than its traditionally sleeker ICE predecessors. Carried over from the Deepal meanwhile are to be its fastback roofline and retractable door handles, with the latter likely being a first on a Mazda.
Unchanged from the Changan too is to be fold on the lower third of its rump and resulting protruding bumper, which does see for this EZ-6 to look somewhat like it has been karate chopped up its arse. Mazda has nevertheless tried to draw the eye away from this though through the incorporation of a full width rear light bar flanked on either end by its signature blade-like taillights, along with an electrically-deployable rear spoiler.
Powertrain-wise, the all-electric version of this EZ-6 features a rear-mounted 190 kW electric motor and 66.8 kWh CATL-supplied lithium iron phosphate battery pack that is apparently good for 600 km on the CLTC test cycle. The range extender hybrid variant in turn nets a 95 PS 1.5-litre four cylinder and a 160 kW electric motor pairing, with the Japanese automaker touting for this particular dual-motor trim being capable of over 1,000 km of driving range on a full tank and charge.
And while conveniently on the subject of figures, the EZ-6 comes in at 4,921 mm in length, 1,890 mm in width and 1,485 mm in height. This translates for it to be 56 mm longer, 50 mm wider and 35 mm taller than the outgoing Mazda6, with a 70 mm stretch to its wheelbase too.
In spite of this predominantly being a Changan as well, Mazda has nevertheless still asserted that this EZ-6 is still to be carrying the automaker’s famed Jimba Ittai (car and driver as one) driving dynamics. This bold claim is backed up by this e-sedan featuring 50:50 weight distribution between the front and rear (for the fully electric version at least), in addition to a front strut suspension and rear multi-link suspension setup.
Moving on within, the massive 14.6-inch central infotainment touchscreen and lack of any physical buttons does show for this EZ-6 to really not be a true Mazda. A twin-spoke squircle steering wheel with haptic buttons (in place of a traditional circle unit with physical buttons), as well as a flat 10.2-inch digital instrument panel (instead of Mazda’s traditional cluster pod) further reinforces this point too.
That being said though, with this not being a true Mazda, the cabin of this EZ-6 does actually looks to be quite spacious inside. A full length panoramic sunroof further adds to the feeling of airiness within what is admittedly a plush cabin, with the other notable interior highlights including a 14-speaker Sony audio system, and a 64-colour ambient lighting system that even shines through the headrest hole on its supposedly ‘zero-gravity’ front bucket-style seats.
The EZ-6 is set to be launched in China by the end of 2024, as Mazda attempts to further expand its lineup of electrified products in the world’s largest auto market. There is unfortunately no official plans for this e-sedan to be sold elsewhere outside of China however, with recent rumours suggesting that the straight-six rear-drive Mazda6 successor is unfortunately all but dead in the water too.
