It had a short sales period of just over three years after its introduction
The ɛ̃fini MS-6, which went on sale in November 1991, was, as the car’s name suggests, released exclusively through Mazda’s ɛ̃fini dealerships. It was a derivative model based on the company’s Cronos and featured a five-door hatchback style. Once again, we look back at the catalog of the time.
The model adopted a style that seems to be a forerunner of the ‘coupe look’ of today
The ɛ̃fini MS-6 is a five-door version of the Mazda Cronos, so to speak, and is the car that has the closest relationship with the Ford Telstar TX5, which also has five doors, like a sibling car. The MS-6, along with the Cronos, was positioned as the successor to the Mazda Capella (Ford Telstar), and although it was not offered as a wagon (or coupe), the sales channels were divided between sedan and 5-door models, which must have been difficult for the sales staff.
The MS-6 catalog, with the copy on the top page reading “V6 & wide round proportions, ɛ̃fini MS-6. This copy suggests that the MS-6 was a high-quality, high-end-oriented car, and in a sense, it was an ambitious concept in the Japanese market, where the reputation of 5-door cars has been difficult to establish for a long time.
In terms of proportions, the Cronos, a 4-door sedan version, had a relatively simple and clean 4-door sedan style, whereas the Cronos was originally designed to be rounded.
The refined style, which was far removed from that of Japanese cars, was one of its charms
The difference between the Cronos and the MS-6 in size can be seen in the catalog drawings: the body size is the same at 4695 mm (overall length) x 1770 mm (overall width), and the overall height is 10 mm (1390 mm) lower than the Cronos at 1400 mm. The Ford Telstar’s four-panel view shows that the height from the seat to the ceiling was 10 mm (935 mm) lower for the front seats and 30 mm (865 mm) lower for the rear seats of the 5-door compared to the sedan, and the interior length was 30 mm shorter (1860 mm) for the 5-door. The interior length was also 30 mm shorter (1860 mm) for the 5-door.
The interior width (1450 mm) and seat size (500 mm long and 1295 mm wide for the rear seats) were the same for both the 5-door and sedan, so the difference in style (roof shape) was directly translated into a difference in packaging and living space.
However, the MS-6’s refined styling, which was uniquely Japanese at the time, was one of its attractions, and although it did not use a method of supporting the door glass with guide pins like the fifth-generation Capella (I remember hearing that a patent had been purchased from Audi at the time), it did have a small gap between the glass and the body, and the smooth surface of the six-light window pane was smooth. The 6-light window with smooth surface treatment and the clean and rich body surface with no unnecessary character lines were quite elegant.
Another highlight of the 5-door was the rear spoiler, which was completely integrated with the body style. It looks like a body (rear gate), but if you look closely, you can see that it is wing-shaped, and the bottom of the wing has been removed, cleverly designed to channel air coming from the rear window. The Telstar TX5 also had a different design for the rear combination lights and garnish, but the spoiler was finished in the same shape as the MS-6.
Another selling point of the MS-6 was its V6 engine, a compact and lightweight design.
Moreover, in retrospect, it was extremely extravagant to have two models of the same V6 engine with different displacements (2L (1995cc) and 1.8L (1844cc)), each with a different bore but the same stroke. The 2.5L (2496cc) V6 engine was also available for the MX-6 and other models at the same time. Mazda was also installing a 2L V6 in the Familia series Lantis and a longitudinally mounted V6 (2.5L and 3L) in the high-end Sentia, but with the adoption of the V6 engine, noise and vibration were reduced, and a higher quality power feel was achieved. The MS-6 engine was designed to provide a higher quality power feel with less noise and vibration.
As for the MS-6, a 4WD version with a 2L inline 4-cylinder engine was made available in March 1992, and a 2L diesel engine was added the following March 1993. Unfortunately, sales of the MS-6 did not take off, and the model was discontinued in Japan in December 1994. The short sales period of just over three years after its introduction is truly regrettable.
translated by DeepL