Our Fleet Test Drive: Mazda 6 2.2D – 17th Report

I have written before about how good-looking the Mazda 6 is, in particular the overall form of the car, but what I’ve not mentioned previously is how the daytime LED running lights add to this appearance.

Like all the best company cars, the 6 has its own distinctive style at the front thanks to these running lights, which mean you can spot one coming (and know what it is) at night.

However, after more than 14,000 miles I’ve just noticed something about the lights that makes the car even more, er, distinctive. And that distinction is that the daytime running lights are extinguished when you apply the handbrake.

‘So what?’ you’re all asking, which is a fair question. The thing is, I use the handbrake quite a bit. Despite the 6 having hill-start assist, I’m still an old-school handbrake hill-start person, and I also – and this is the biggest issue – use this technique at junctions. So, you can imagine the situation – you’re at a junction waiting to pull out, and as you release the handbrake the lights come on. 

Now, I know that according to The Highway Code flashing your headlights is a warning and not a signal to go, but that’s not what happens in everyday driving.

As yet, it doesn’t seem to have caught anyone out and I’m aware of the situation, but fingers crossed it doesn’t become a bigger problem.