2014 Mazda6 Skyactiv-D Clean Diesel takes aim at Passat TDI during Toronto Auto Show debut

Posted Feb 22nd 2013 11:30AM

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If you're a Canadian in the market for an affordable diesel, your options are pretty thin. You can buy a diesel Volkswagen Jetta or Passat. Or, you could buy a diesel Volkswagen Jetta or Passat. Then, there's always the option of buying a diesel Volkswagen Jetta or Passat. Get the picture? Such has been the barren diesel landscape of the Canadian market for many years. Of course, there's the diesel Mercedes-Benz E-Class - but this is an exercise in frugality, not luxury.

In a breath of fresh diesel air (actually... we like the smell but don't inhale too much) Mazda announced they're bringing an all-new diesel engine to Canada, and it will be fitted in the Mazda 6. Thus, Canadians will no longer be dismayed at their lack of choice in the diesel market, as the 2014 Mazda6 Skyactiv-D Clean Diesel is about to make a splash in the fuel-sipper's pool.

A bright red oil-burning Mazda 6 specimen is on display at the 2013 Toronto Auto Show - be sure to click though our photo gallery to check out photos of the car and its engine.

To check out further details of the 2014 Mazda6 Skyactiv-D Clean Diesel and to read our quick math estimate of its possible Canadian pricing, click past the jump.

Related Gallery2013 Toronto Auto Show Highlights - North & South Hall

Related Gallery2014 Mazda 6 Skyactiv diesel

The new Mazda diesel engine is a 2.2L four-cylinder engine recently designed in Japan. It will meet all emissions standards without the expensive addition of urea injection to reduce pollution. Like all diesels, this 2.2L is sure to have a torquey character that makes for relaxing low-rev highway driving and lends great fuel efficiency.

No word yet on Canadian pricing of the 2014 Mazda6 Skyactiv-D Clean Diesel but we've got our ear to the ground and you'll be the first to know as soon as it's released. If we had to venture a guess, we would take the Mazda 6 base price of $24,495 and add $2,000 for the diesel engine, bringing the base price to $26,695. We sincerely hope it will be available with a manual - but for those opposed to rowing their own gears, an automatic transmission is currently a $1,200 option on the Mazda 6 - bringing the estimated grand total to $27,695 for an automatic-equipped diesel.

Again, this is just a rough guesstimate, but a sticker price close to $27,000 would competitively place the Mazda6 diesel in Volkswagen Passat TDI territory - the Passat TDI is currently priced at $26,575.

Can the new sparkplugless Mazda 6 bring the fight to BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the luxury diesel market when fully optioned with all the bells, whistles and leather? No, namely because the Mazda retains its front-wheel drive powertrain layout - rendering it less dynamic than its German oil-burning counterparts. The German diesels are also substantially more luxurious when it comes to interior materials - but that comes at a price.

Is it worth the price premium to buy the diesel Mazda 6 over the 2.5L gasoline powered model? We'll have to wait until EPA fuel economy numbers for the Mazda 6 diesel are released, but expect the diesel Mazda to better the 2.5L gasoline powered Mazda 6 numbers of 7.6 L/100 km city and 5.1 L/100 km highway by a good margin.

Canadian availability hasn't been announced yet, but Mazda did tell us that we can expect to see the new 2014 Mazda6 Skyactiv-D Clean Diesel arriving in showrooms in the second half of 2013.