Blaring your car’s horn at distracted pedestrians crossing the road is a universal experience. Mazda, though, wants to make it a lot more direct. The new Mazda CX-6e comes with an External Announcement feature that uses a speaker mounted outside the vehicle to communicate with pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users.
Drivers can select prewritten safety messages, type their own announcements on the enormous infotainment display, or broadcast their voice directly outside the car. If you don’t already see the potential, let’s just say you’re better than most drivers out there. Still, electric cars, by nature, are pretty quiet at low speeds, and Mazda’s system gives drivers a more descriptive alternative to simply leaning on the horn.
Mazda forgot one small thing
Mazda has already pre-installed a few polite messages. The CX-6e can alert distracted pedestrians to look up or let someone know it’s safe to proceed. Custom messages are where things become a little funny and entertaining. Users can basically say whatever they want through the CX-6e’s 26.45-inch touchscreen, including profanity, and the car will dutifully read it outside. The system can also record and amplify the driver’s own speech, effectively turning the Mazda into a mobile PA system.
A video circulating from Australian testing demonstrates this beautifully. The experimentation was obvious once journalists realized there wasn’t an obvious profanity blocker. I’d imagine a software update could close that particular loophole fairly quickly. Mazda’s Australian CX-6e supports over-the-air updates, so the capability is already there if the company decides drivers have enjoyed their newfound public-address privileges enough.
There’s a proper EV aside from the comedy
The CX-6e is Mazda’s new electric midsize SUV (joins the brand’s existing EV lineup and other CX models), developed with Chinese automaker Changan and based on the same underlying technology as the Deepal S07. Mazda is launching it across markets including Europe and Australia. Australian models use a 78kWh LFP battery, rear-wheel drive, and a 190kW electric motor producing 290Nm of torque.
Mazda claims up to 484km, or about 301 miles, of WLTP range, with DC charging at up to 194kW. It also happens to have a 26.45-inch 5K display, which supports gesture controls, and a 23-speaker audio system.
