Paris preview: Mazda6

What's the news?
Mazda has announced that it will give the new 6 saloon its world debut at the Moscow Motor Show, ahead of the Paris event. Few technical details have been released, but there are at least some teaser images of the new car.

Exterior
Much has been made of the Mazda Takeri concept car and how close the new Mazda6 saloon would be to it. There are no full pictures of the production model as yet, but the teaser photographs do indicate that it's a handsome car - if not quite as sharp suited as the concept. The front of the Mazda6 is clearly from the same school of car design as the recently launched Mazda CX-5 SUV, a school the Japanese company likes to call KODO - 'Soul of Motion'. The rear of the Mazda6 looks more elegant.

Interior
Sorry, we haven't any interior images or details as yet. Hopefully it lives up to the exterior design though.

Mechanicals
Don't expect anything radical from Mazda under the bonnet. Diesel engines will continue to dominate proceedings in this part of the world so you can ignore the fact the car on show in Russia will be powered by a 2.0-litre petrol engine mated with a six-speed automatic gearbox. Expect a 2.2-litre turbodiesel to headline sales here, though we wonder if Mazda will offer a 1.6-litre diesel option too. For what it's worth, the Mazda6 is the first car from the company to feature a brake energy regeneration system. It's called i-ELOOP.

Anything else?
Following the Mazda6's world debut in Moscow we expect to see it at the Paris Motor Show in formats more suited to this part of Europe. No doubt an estate is on the cards as well.

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