2019 Mazda6: Why I’d Buy It – Alisa Priddle

As for convertibles, most of the shopping is higher-end German luxury that exceeds my price ceiling. I can’t even justify them as a midlife crisis. A Mazda Miata is every journalist’s choice, but I need room for passengers and enough clothes, food, gear, and sundries for a week at the cottage so it’s just not practical enough. And even with winter tires, it would be challenged in deep snow in northern Michigan and Canada.

More about Alisa: Alisa Priddle is the Detroit editor for MotorTrend and does not like hot weather. Even Detroit is too warm a clime, which sends her scurrying to cottage country in northern Ontario as often as humanly possible, with an overstuffed SUV and a trailer hitch to get the boat in the water.

So I would likely wax nostalgic and head to the Mazda dealer for a 2019 Mazda6. I loved my 2004 Mazda6, which dealer staff begged to test-drive because it was the first to be delivered with the five-speed manual transmission.

I can’t get a stick shift in the Mazda6 anymore. But I’m still smitten with the sedan, especially the side profile where the A-pillar flows into the hood. It’s sexy, like the curve of a lower back.

I would spec up a Grand Touring trim, which starts at $30,420, in Soul Red Crystal Metallic (extra $595 for the paint) with a Sand leatherette interior. The Grand Touring includes the 250-hp 2.5-liter turbocharged engine, six-speed automatic transmission with sport mode, and all-wheel drive. It also includes must-haves such as heated seats, power-adjustable driver’s seat, and Apple CarPlay, along with other features also included on lower trims such as blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, and lane departure warning and assist. My trim choice means I get a sunroof I don’t need, and there are a few extras I’d like but don’t get such as cooled seats, a wiper deicer, and heated steering wheel. But I have to be prudent and can’t jump to the highest trim levels.

View 27 Photos