From the emails I receive, quite a few people have decided that their next car will be either a Ford Fusion or a Mazda6. Might price play much of a role in their decision? I’ve added pricing and features data for the 2014 Mazda6 to TrueDelta’s pricing database to enable a thorough comparison.
I test drove (and will soon be reviewing) a Mazda6 Grand Touring, so I decided to configure a Fusion as similarly as possible to this model. Specifically, I requested the turbocharged 1.6-liter engine, six-speed automatic transmission, 18-inch wheels (vs. 19s on the Mazda), sunroof, nav, leather, and blind spot warning system. The consequent MSRPs: $30,290 for the Mazda and $30,980 for the Ford, a $690 difference in the Mazda’s favor. But a funny thing happens when feature differences are adjusted for. Using TrueDelta’s default feature values, the Fusion has $690 in additional bells and whistles, for a net difference of…zero. Coincidence?
Of course, unless a car is in short supply, few people pay MSRP. Invoice prices are often better indicators of what people actually pay. Compare invoices, and it becomes clear that Mazda dealers have much smaller margins to play with. The Ford is then $196 less before adjusting for feature differences, and $830 less afterwards.
This comparison was between loaded cars. I’d like to compare the two with manual transmissions, but no close comparison is yet possible. Initially, you can get a stick only in a stripped Mazda6, but you cannot get one in a stripped Fusion.
What about cars without options? The Fusion S is only offered with a non-turbo 2.5. It’s only a little less powerful than the Mazda’s 2.5-liter engine (175 vs. 184 horsepower), but the car it must accelerate also happens to be…how do we put this delicately?…more inertia-challenged. If Ford’s specs are correct, the Fusion’s base engine is considerably more massive than the 1.6T, and when equipped with it the car is nearly 400 pounds heavier than the Mazda. Going with the S also means no alloy wheels. No need for them? Then a Fusion S lists for $795 less than a Mazda6 Sport automatic ($22,495 vs. $23,290), and $200 less after adjusting for feature differences. Compare invoices, and the figures become $1,120 less and $554 less, respectively.
The first comparison was between loaded cars, the second between stripped ones. Most buyers will probably go for the middle option, specifically the $25,745 Ford Fusion SE with Appearance Package vs. the $25,290 Mazda6 Touring. In this case, the Mazda is $455 less before adjusting for feature differences, and $225 less afterwards. Pretty close. Invoice-to-invoice it’s even closer, but in the other direction: the Ford becomes $154 less before the adjustment, $366 less afterwards.
People are already grumbling about how inflexibly features are packaged with the Mazda. I’ve minimized mismatches here by configuring the Ford to match the Mazda. But (as Brady Holt noted on our Facebook entry) if you want heated seats or a sunroof, but few other items, you’re forced into the top trim Mazda6 but not the top trim Ford. Only require heated seats? A Fusion SE with Luxury Package lists for $3,495 less than a Mazda6 Grand Touring. (You get $3,600 in additional stuff on the Mazda, but this assumes these features are worth $3,600 to you.)
None of these comparisons include incentives, as these vary from month to month and region to region. As I write this, though, Ford offers a $1,500 rebate with the Fusion. Mazda offers nothing on its just-launched car. This turns what had been a close match into, in most cases, a clear Ford price advantage.
Want to look at different options, or compare a different model with the new Mazda6? Here’s the place to go: