Mazda just unveiled its new, 2009 Mazda6 sedan, which arrives in dealerships late this summer, and although the car is quite sharp, and likely just as engaging as the outgoing model (despite its notably larger dimensions), we can't help but wonder: Where's the hybrid?
With the Toyota Camry Hybrid and the limited-availability Nissan Altima Hybrid already well-established in the marketplace, gasoline-electric versions of the Mazda6 and its corporate kin, the Ford Fusion, the Mercury Milan, and the Lincoln MKZ, are conspicuous in their absence.
When they do arrive (later this year, starting with the Fusion, according to Ford), expect the cars to utilize the gasoline-electric powertrain of the Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner, and Mazda Tribute hybrids: a 133-horsepower 2.3-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine with a 40-kilowatt electric motor and a continuously variable transmission.
The front-wheel-drive Escape Hybrid returns a pretty fine 34 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway. So-equipped, the Mazda6 Hybrid would doubtless post numbers closer to those of the mechanically similar Altima Hybrid, which is rated at 35/33 mpg city/highway.
In the meantime, the Flat Rock, Michigan-built '09 Mazda6 reaches showrooms with a 2.5-liter in-line four-cylinder engine and a 3.7-liter V-6, matched to a six-speed manual transmission or a five- or six-speed manumatic.
Photos courtesy of Mazda. More after the break.
