Mazda 6e 2026 review Australia: Is this striking new electric car a surprise Tesla Model 3 rival?
You’re looking at the future of Mazda, at least for now. This is Mazda’s 6E. It’s an electric sedan built in China that’s coming to take on the likes of the Tesla Model 3 and the BYD seal. There’s a lot to like about it, its styling, the way it drives, as I’ve just had a little sample of here at the Lang Lang Proving Ground in Victoria and also its pricing from what we know so far. Like its rivals, it’s built in China, but it does have a bit of Mazda familiarity about it. So, let’s get into it and see quite far ahead of its launch here in Australia just how the 6E stacks up. Before we get into the technical bits, the indicated pricing we’ve been given for the 6E is that variants should all land around 55,000 before onroads. That’s not just the entry price, but a guide for the lineup generally. That puts it in pretty competitive company, mostly sitting in the lower price range of rivals, the Tesla Model 3 and BYD Seal. The other thing is though, we’re not sure exactly what specifications and models we’ll get just yet. Some of that stuff will come later on towards its launch in the second quarter of 2026. But for now, what we do know is that as usually is the case with Australia, the 6E will be pretty stacked with features when it arrives. We’ll get more into it when we’re inside the car having a look at them. But for now, let’s take a look at what it looks like, its design, how it sort of sits within Mazda’s design language, and what’s new. Something to note is that Mazda’s engineers and designers had some limitations when it came to building the 6E, mainly because this car is built on the DAL L07. Design-wise, it’s a little bit of a departure from what you probably remember from Mazdas of late, but it still looks familiar, mostly, I suspect, thanks to this design here below the grill. It’s an electric car, no grill, but that grill still has these little diamond shapes in there as well. Obviously, big Mazda logo. Everything looks fairly familiar. these slimline headlights as well. You’ve also got other lights down here. A little bit of sort of fake chrome even though it’s plastic. And generally, it does look a lot like the car it sort of is replacing in a sense the Mazda 6. The 19s that this test car is sitting on might not necessarily be the exact wheel designs we get here in Australia, but the tires, these Michelin e- primacies that is sitting on have proven relatively grippy here on this rather wet day at Lang Lang today. And apparently that’s roughly the spec we’re going to get here in Australia. the design itself, a nice aerodynamic design to help get that electric range just a little bit higher. Finally, from the back here, probably the most futuristic looking part of the car, you got these sort of Mazda semicircle sort of slightly familiar lines, while that light bar goes all the way across. The Mazda logo is now spelt out with all the individual letters, and you’ve got this little 6E badge over there, just so you know what you’re following on the road. Inside, the vibes feel pretty familiar for a Mazda. The steering wheel, although the buttons and some of the way it’s shaped has changed a little bit, it looks sort of familiar, feels familiar. Um, obviously there’s not much in the way of physical buttons anymore. There’s this big central screen, nice little driver display there, and a head-up display. The screen itself, the software from my initial sort of play around with it appears to be pretty decent. It’s got a nice basic sort of double screen sort of a double menu I should say layout where you got the apps sort of on one side and the vehicle settings on the other. Everything seems like there’s a reasonable way to uh you know sort of edit the layout so that you’ve got all the things you will use more easily accessible. But got a couple cup holders here uh a phone charger and another spot there. A little bit of storage down below it. And this storage compartment under here is actually quite deep as well. From the back seat, it feels equally comfortable. I’m sitting behind my own seating position. There’s a little bit of space for my toes in the seat in front of me. But aside from that, the knee room, the foot room, even my head room. I’m 5’11, so I’m probably getting towards the point where my head would start touching the back of the car if I lent back a lot. If you were like say 6’2, you’d probably find yourself trying to sit a little bit lower in here. But with this sunroof, the fact that there’s the sort of privacy tinted windows, you can have as much or as little light back here as you want. Speaking of the lift back, electric lift. Whole window goes up with it. All of the water from earlier today drips down the sides. And there’s actually a fair bit of space in there. 330 L. Obviously, no spare tire because it’s an electric car. There’s a repair kit under there. But a pretty decent space. And also, if you need to, you can fold those rear seats down for a bit of longer loading. All right, we’re off. And I’ll just give you a quick rundown of the specs that we know so far when it comes to the 6E. So, like I said, this car, I mean, obviously you can see it as well, is left-hand drive. It’s not the exact specification we’re going to get in Australia, but what we will get in Australia is a 190 kW rearwheel drive electric car with a slightly different battery to the one that’s in here. The batteries we’re going to get here in Australia are 78 kW LFP batteries. The range on those should be a little bit over 500 ks. There’s going to be a slightly different charging speed for those as well. 30 to 80% should take about 15 minutes for the ones we’ll get here in Australia. After we were allowed this preview drive, the background information we were given by one of Mazda Europe’s most senior engineers outlined how much work went into making the 6E feel more like a European car than one set up for Chinese market preferences. Now, like I said, it’s still a fair while away until this car actually launches here in Australia, so there will be more specifics to come. But we’ve had a quick drive here around Langlang this morning. And if you know anything about the Lang Lang proving ground, it is essentially an amalgamation of as many types of roads and situations as you would hope to find around different areas in Australia. There’s even a little section just up ahead that I’m going to drive over that has tram tracks. What I found is that I’m pretty impressed by the way the 6E handles itself, drives, everything like that. It feels pretty solid. It feels quite nicely refined. There’s those tram tracks. It doesn’t float. It doesn’t waft. It settles itself nicely, but it suspension isn’t so stiff that everything kind of feels really crashy through the cabin. The steering as well, there’s two different settings. I’ve currently got it in sport, but even in comfort, it lightens it up a little bit, but it’s not too light. It doesn’t quite make it feel like you’re completely disconnected from the front wheels. One of the biggest gripes I’ve had with some electric cars lately is that the accelerator feels a little bit too jumpy as well. But in the 6E, even though it’s quite a quick thing, uh, for what it is, it’s, you know, a pretty nice refined acceleration, it doesn’t have that sort of immediate rush that has made people that, you know, make that transition from combustion cars to electric cars feel a little bit unwell. Given Mazda needed to start with a product that wasn’t its own design and it hasn’t been specifically tuned for Australian roads just yet, the 6E holds up better than expected, even if there’s room for improvement. So, given it’s built in China, able to keep the price low, and that kind of has struck that balance of, you know, making it affordable while still using Mazda’s brand name and its experience to make a what seems like a pretty good product. My first impression is that this thing, you know, even though it’s going into a relatively niche category, could do pretty well for Mazda. We’ll just have to wait and find out to see if that is the case over the next 6 months when this thing launches in Australia.
Chris Thompson takes a close look at the 2026 Mazda 6e, Mazda’s new-generation large sedan that blends electric power with familiar design cues. This preview review covers the key specs, cabin technology and equipment highlights.
Inside, Chris examines practicality, interior space and comfort, along with how the 6e’s new EV platform affects packaging and usability for Australian buyers. He also details the latest safety features, infotainment upgrades and build quality improvements over the outgoing Mazda6.
On the road, the review explores the 6e’s performance, ride and handling balance, plus early impressions of efficiency and refinement. The video also considers how the 2026 Mazda 6e stacks up against rivals such as the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Tesla Model 3 in value, design and everyday appeal.
#Mazda #Mazda6e #Review
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Timecodes:
00:00 Intro
00:33 Pricing and features
01:18 Design
02:39 Practicality
04:21 Under the bonnet
05:16 Driving
06:41 Verdict
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Read Chris’s full review: https://bit.ly/3LPH2g3
Check out our Mazda 6e hub: https://bit.ly/49YvwsK
Find more Sedans: https://bit.ly/3I4Igz4
Visit our EV Guide: https://bit.ly/3DjhPTX
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