The Mazda6 features a wide range of advanced safety technologies yet seen on a Mazda. Designed to help drivers identify potential risks and reduce the likelihood of damage or injury, all models feature a huge range of advanced i-Activsense technology including Blind Spot Monitoring with Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Mazda Radar Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist and Advanced Smart City Break Support.

A huge specification of standard safety equipment is standard across all models and from Sport trim onwards a reversing camera is standard, while GT Sport cars get an additional Safety Pack, which adds a 360 degree camera, Adaptive LED headlights, Rear Smart City Brake Support and Driver Attention Alert. These technologies allow drivers to enjoy superior safety and worry-free driving under an even wider variety of conditions.  The wide range of additional i-ACTIVSENSE active safety features includes Smart Brake Support (SBS), Advanced Blind Spot Monitoring (ABSM) with Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA), Lane-keep Assist (LAS), Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR), Driver Attention Alert (DAA), Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) and Traction Control and Hill Hold Assist (HHA).

Standard across the range, Mazda Radar Cruise Control (MRCC) measures the relative speed and distance to the vehicle ahead and automatically controls the engine and brakes to maintain the appropriate vehicle speed and optimal following distance. The updated MRCC uses both the millimetre-wave radar of the previous system as well as a forward-facing camera. This reduces its minimum operating speed from 19mph down to 0mph. And on vehicles with automatic transmission, the system now works at all speed ranges and can follow the car in front even from a standstill.  Working alongside MRCC, Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA) is a speed-limiting system that works in conjunction with Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR) to help keep drivers from exceeding the speed limit unintentionally or because they failed to notice a speed limit sign.

Advanced Smart City Brake Support (SCBS) uses a forward-facing camera to detect vehicles and pedestrians ahead and help avoid collisions or mitigate damage in the event one does occur. The system can detect vehicles at speeds of 3 to 50mph and pedestrians at 6 to 50mph.

Included as part of the Safety Pack, Adaptive LED Headlights incorporate the following features: Auto-controlled Glare-free High Beams, Wide-range Low Beams that illuminate a wider area, and Highway Mode, which automatically raises the headlamp beams when driving at high speeds. Each headlamp’s array of LEDs has been now been divided more finely into 20 blocks that can be independently illuminated. The high beams have also been enhanced to illuminate 80 metres further ahead than the outgoing model. The system also makes use of controls that expand the steering angle-based illumination pattern from two stages to six, and allow the light from the high beams to be distributed in three different patterns depending on the car’s speed.

Also included in the GT Sport’s Safety Pack is 360° View Monitor, it uses four cameras on the front, sides and rear of the vehicle, this system shows the area around the car on the central display. Eight parking sensors at the front and rear detect proximity to obstacles.When displaying the view in front of or behind the vehicle, the surroundings can also be seen at a glance with the separate overhead view. At 177 degrees, the front and rear wide–angle views display an extensive area.

As you’d expect, the Mazda6 was also developed with a strong focus on passive safety. The bonnet, cowl panel, front bumper and upper grille have been designed to soften the impact to the head and legs if the car strikes a pedestrian. In addition, the active bonnet immediately pops up in front of the windscreen when a collision with a pedestrian is detected, creating a space between itself and the engine.

In addition to enhanced pedestrian protection, the Mazda6 benefits from all the passive safety you’d expect, which include a High-strength Skyactiv body, Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) air bags, seat belts with pretensioners and load limiters, front seats which mitigate shock to the neck, rear seats that prevent luggage from entering the cabin, an impact-absorbing steering column, and ISOFIX child seat fastening points.