2026 Mazda 6e review

Our Verdict

The 6e is for anyone who wants an electric sedan that looks expensive, travels a long way between charges and costs less than a Tesla, and who values comfort over corner carving. On price, range and design, nothing near this money touches it. The catch is that Changan's software runs the show, so the controls, the driving position and the constant beeping all feel a step removed from what Mazda usually delivers.

What does the Mazda 6e cost in Australia?

Two grades, one powertrain, one equipment list. The GT opens at $49,990 before on-road costs and the Atenza is $52,990, with the $3,000 gap buying tan leather and synthetic suede, a two-tone steering wheel and, we are not making this up, a glovebox light.

View Mazda 6e driveaway pricing and specifications →

That undercuts the cheapest Tesla Model 3 ($54,900) and matches the entry BYD Seal ($52,990) with the GT sitting $3,000 below it, and Mazda hasn't hollowed out the spec sheet to get there.

The GT brings 19-inch alloys, a panoramic roof with an electric blind, heated and ventilated front seats, tri-zone climate, a 14-speaker Sony sound system, an augmented reality head-up display and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

If the tan cabin appeals but the Atenza doesn't, a $1,000 Warm Beige option on the GT delivers most of the look. Either way the GT is the smarter buy. You're paying for upholstery, not capability.

What does the Mazda 6e look like?

Mazda designed the outside and it shows. The 6e is long and low, stretching 4921mm on a near 2.9-metre wheelbase and the bodywork is almost free of hard creases. It won 2026 World Car Design of the Year and for once the judges and the car park agree.

The details are worth a second look. The tail lights borrow from the RX-7, the active rear spoiler that rises above 90km/h is a nod to the old 626, and the flush door handles keep the flanks clean at the cost of some cold-morning fumbling. It's also the first rear-driven Mazda sedan since the 929 bowed out more than 25 years ago.

Against its rivals, the 6e looks premium. A Model 3 looks plain beside it and a Seal looks busy. Soul Red Crystal remains the colour to have and you'll want it on 19s, which is convenient because that's the only wheel offered.

What is the Mazda 6e like inside?

It looks and feels expensive inside.

The dash and door cards are wrapped in stitched synthetic leather with soft padding wherever your elbows land, the flat-bottomed wheel feels good in the hands and the one-piece front seats look like they belong in something costing $20,000 more. The Atenza's tan suede takes it further still.

Then you go to adjust the wipers and find them in the screen. The 14.6-inch touchscreen is the cabin, running Changan's software with a layout, fonts and menu depth that will feel familiar to anyone who has driven a Deepal or a BYD. Climate, drive modes, regen strength, the sunroof blind and the wipers all live in there.

Mazda has fitted programmable steering wheel shortcuts and you can map the wipers to one, which helps. None of it is as easy as it should be though.

The 10.25-inch driver display uses proper Mazda graphics and looks sharp, which only makes the mismatch with the centre screen more obvious.

Then there are the familiar Chinese EV quirks. There's no start button, the gear selector is a column stalk and the indicator sits on the left. None of it is difficult. All of it is un-Mazda.

Behind the wheel, you sit high, perched on top of the battery, and the wheel doesn't pull out far enough to compensate. The front passenger gets no height adjustment at all. If you're over 180cm, test drive before you sign.

How practical is the Mazda 6e?

The back seat is seriously roomy with loads of legroom, a bench that tilts slightly rearward and headroom that copes with the sloping roof far better than the profile suggests. Rear passengers get their own climate zone, vents and a USB-C port.

Front storage is generous too: big door bins, a deep armrest cubby, two cupholders, a wireless charging pad and, rare these days, an actual glovebox. Nothing is lined, so loose items will let you know they're there.

The boot is a 337-litre liftback, which sounds small until you see the size of the opening. Fold the seats and you have 1074 litres, and the 72-litre frunk is the right home for charging cables. There's no spare wheel, just a repair kit, and the 6e is rated to tow 1500kg braked.

What is the Mazda 6e like to drive?

Quiet, smooth… and a little detached.

Pull away and the 6e glides in near silence with a faint synthetic hum piped in only when you push the accelerator hard. There's 190kW driving the rear wheels but also 2090kg to move, and the sprint to 100km/h lands in the high sevens. It's brisk enough to merge without thinking and it never encourages you to think about much more.

The ride is the highlight. Australian cars get the European suspension tune and it leans firmly towards comfort, soaking up broken tarmac and potholes with real composure. Hit an undulating country road and it can float for a beat before settling, but it never gets crashy.

Through corners the 6e stays flat and balanced for something this heavy, the Michelin tyres grip hard and the rear-drive layout gives it a natural sense of rotation.

What's missing is feel. The steering is quick and light with little coming back through the rim and you can adjust its weight in the screen, which is not quite the same as adding feedback.

So it drives like a very well-sorted Chinese EV. Competent, comfortable, disengaging. If you're coming out of a petrol Mazda6 you'll notice the difference within the first kilometre.

Regen offers four levels, none of them strong enough for one-pedal driving, and there are no paddles to switch between them. Drive modes are in the screen as well. The brake pedal is soft and lacks the crisp bite Mazda usually dials in.

Then there's the noise. Not from the road, which is well suppressed, but from the car. The driver monitor beeps if it thinks you glanced away, the overspeed warning fires at every camera and sign, the navigation announces sharp curves that aren't sharp, and lane keep nudges the wheel when it doesn't need to. Most of it can be switched off, some of it permanently, but you shouldn't have to.

Rear visibility is poor and worse once the spoiler is up. The surround camera with see-through view takes the stress out of parking.

The frustrating bit is that Mazda could fix most of this with software. The shortcut logic, the menu structure, the assist calibration and even the regen mapping are all fixable with an update. If Mazda ships one, this becomes a much easier car to recommend.

How efficient is the Mazda 6e?

The 78kWh lithium iron phosphate battery delivers a 560km WLTP range and Mazda claims 15.9kWh/100km. We saw figures in the 17 to 18kWh/100km bracket on mixed open roads, which points to a real-world 440 to 460km. For a $50,000 EV, that’s genuinely impressive.

Charging peaks at 194kW DC, good for a 10 to 80% top-up in around 24 minutes, and 11kW AC at home. LFP chemistry means you can charge to 100% without guilt.

Warranty is five years unlimited kilometres with five years of roadside assistance, and the battery is covered for eight years or 160,000km. Servicing is every 12 months, with capped pricing for the life of the car.

That third-year visit stings for an EV and over seven years you'll spend $2,846. Home charging still makes this far cheaper to run than the petrol Mazda6 it replaces.

Is the Mazda 6e safe?

The 6e holds a five-star ANCAP rating, awarded in August 2026 off the back of its 2025 Euro NCAP test. Scores were 93% for adult occupant protection, 93% for child occupants, 74% for vulnerable road users and 77% for safety assist.

Standard kit runs to nine airbags, autonomous emergency braking with junction and reverse functions, blind-spot monitoring, front and rear cross-traffic alert, lane keep assist, safe exit warning, traffic sign recognition, a driver monitoring camera and adaptive cruise with lane centring. The adaptive cruise is one of the better bits, handling freeway runs with minimal intervention. The rest of the suite works, it just needs recalibrating to stop shouting.

What are the main competitors to the Mazda 6e?

The Tesla Model 3 is the benchmark. From around $54,900 plus on-roads, it drives with a precision the 6e can't match, its software is a generation ahead and its charging network remains the best in the country. The Mazda counters with a more comfortable ride, a more luxurious cabin and a price that leaves nearly $5,000 in your pocket.

The BYD Seal is the closest rival in spirit. From around $52,990 plus on-roads, it shares the same Chinese EV DNA and higher grades are dramatically quicker. Where the 6e wins is design, both inside and out, and a badge that carries far more weight with buyers who are new to EVs.

The Kia EV4 is the value alternative. The Air Standard Range sedan lands at similar money, and it's the better-balanced car to drive with fewer electronic interruptions. But it gives up battery capacity, range, power, charging speed and equipment to get there.

Cross-shop the Model 3 if driving pleasure matters more than comfort. Cross-shop the EV4 if you want to spend the same money on a car that will nag you less.

Should I buy the Mazda 6e?

Yes, if you understand what you're getting.

For $49,990, you’re getting a great-looking EV with a genuinely premium cabin, heaps of rear-seat room and 560km of range. It's comfortable, quiet and easy to live with once you've learnt where everything is hidden.

There’s still plenty here that doesn’t feel like a Mazda. The high seat, the screen-for-everything interface and the relentless driver aids all point to a car that was engineered in Nanjing and finished in Hiroshima, and buyers who loved old Mazdas will feel that immediately.

Buy the GT, skip the Atenza and spend a full weekend with it before committing. And keep an eye on the software. Mazda can fix most of what's wrong with this car from a laptop, and if it does, the 6e goes from worth a serious look to very hard to argue against.