Top Safety Pick + Top Safety Pick criteria

2014 Mazda 6

midsize car / 4-door sedan

Award applies only to vehicles with optional front crash prevention

2014 Mazda 6 4-door sedan

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Optional system
Advanced

Other available safety features

  • Standard daytime running lights
  • Optional blind spot detection
  • Optional lane departure warning

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2014-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Mazda 6i Touring 4-door

The Mazda 6 was redesigned for the 2014 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
The dummy’s head remained in contact with the frontal airbag, but its head still moved toward the left side of the steering wheel and A-pillar because the seat belt allowed excessive forward excursion of the head and torso. The side curtain airbag deployed and had sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structure and outside objects. The side torso airbag also deployed.

Action shot taken during the driver-side small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained reasonably well.

The seat belt allowed far too much forward movement of the dummy to the extent that its head hit the steering wheel hard through the airbag.

Forces on the right lower leg were just high enough to indicate a moderate risk of injury.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1305
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 13
Footrest (cm) 8
Left toepan (cm) 3
Brake pedal (cm) 8
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 3
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 0
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 6
Upper dash (cm) 9
Lower instrument panel (cm) 10

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1305
Head
HIC-15 331
Peak gs at hard contact 108
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm) 4
Maximum Nij 0.30
Chest maximum compression (mm) 22
Femur (kN)
Left 0.1
Right 0.2
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 1
Right 0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.55
Right 0.82
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 1.7
Right 1.5
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 35
Right 46

How the driver-side small overlap front test is conducted

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2014-21 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Mazda 6i Touring 4-door

The Mazda 6 was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Two moderate overlap frontal tests of the Mazda 6 were conducted, one by the Institute and the other by Mazda as part of frontal crash test verification. Ratings are based on both tests.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the Institute's moderate overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained very well (Institute test car shown).

Dummy movement was well controlled in both tests. During rebound in the Institute's test, the dummy's head hit the sunvisor, roof, and grab handle, as indicated by smeared pink greasepaint.

Intrusion into the driver's space was minimal in both tests. In Mazda's test, all leg and foot injury measures were low. In the Institute's test, forces on the right lower leg were just high enough to indicate the possibility of injuries.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTF1220 CEF1301
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 2 4
Left (cm) 7 8
Center (cm) 8 8
Right (cm) 3 5
Brake pedal (cm) 4 2
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 0 1
Right (cm) -1 0
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) -6 -3
Rearward (cm) -5 -6
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 1 0

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF1220 CEF1301
Head
HIC-15 178 116
Peak gs at hard contact no contact negligible
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.0 1.2
Extension bending moment (Nm) 12 12
Maximum Nij 0.19 0.21
Chest maximum compression (mm) 26 27
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.6 0.4
Femur force - right (kN) 0.4 0.3
Knee displacement - left (mm) 0 1
Knee displacement - right (mm) 1 0
Maximum tibia index - left 0.54 0.45
Maximum tibia index - right 0.66 0.86
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.6 1.7
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 3.1 1.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 44 50
Right 88 57

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2014-21 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Mazda 6i Touring 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Mazda 6 was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Mazda as part of side crash test verification.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTS1219
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -16.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTS1219
Head HIC-15 182
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.9
Compression (kN) 0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 30
Lateral force (kN) 1.4
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 31
Average deflection (mm) 28
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.39
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.45
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 2.2
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.9
Combined force (kN) 4.0
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.3
L-M moment (Nm) 172
A-P moment (Nm) 9

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTS1219
Head HIC-15 183
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.3
Compression (kN) 0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 31
Lateral force (kN) 1.2
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 34
Average deflection (mm) 29
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.04
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.51
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.2
Acetabulum force (kN) 0.9
Combined force (kN) 0.9
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.4
L-M moment (Nm) 208
A-P moment (Nm) 78

How the side crash test is conducted

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2014-21 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Mazda 6i Touring 4-door

Overall evaluation
Curb weight 3,217 lbs
Peak force 16,776 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio 5.21

How the roof strength test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Leather power seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Leather power seat
Geometry
Backset (mm) 5
Distance below top of head (mm) 10
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 13.0
Head contact time (ms) 57
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 0
Max neck tension (N) 422

How the head restraint & seat test is conducted
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

Ratings are given for 2 different trim variations available on this vehicle.

System details

  • Optional Smart City Brake Support

Package name

  • Optional Touring Technology Package

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2014-16 models

Advanced
Advanced
with optional equipment
  • Not available.
  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle failed to slow.

System details

  • Optional Smart City Brake Support
  • Optional Forward Obstruction Warning

Package name

  • Optional Touring Technology Package
  • Optional Mazda Radar Cruise Control and Forward Obstruction Warning Package, Advanced Package

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2014-15 models

Advanced
Advanced
with optional equipment
  • This system does not meet the requirements for forward collision warning.
  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle failed to slow.

How front crash prevention is evaluated

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