For whatever reason, the Mazda6 is not getting the attention it deserves. The Japanese midsize sedan has a sleek exterior design and a refined cabin wrapped up in a reliable package the Zoom-Zoom company is known for, but sales have been on a downward trend for a while. In 2019, demand in the United States dropped by a worrying 30.4 percent to 21,524 units, but Mazda is hoping to bounce back with the next-generation model.
Forget what you know about the current car because its replacement will be totally different. Gone will be the front-wheel-drive architecture as the next Mazda6 is rumored to switch to a newly developed rear-wheel-drive layout. Car and Driver appear to be in the know about the direction Mazda’s flagship sedan will take, and their yet-to-be-confirmed details closely follow a similar report published last year by Japanese magazine Best Car.