Mazda 6

The Mazda6 is a brilliant mid-size saloon that tends to beoverlooked for no good reason apart from slight fear of the badge. Well made, solid handling, good looks. Not much to dislike.

• Comfort

  Rear headroom isn't in the galactic leagues for tall people, but there's plenty of space in the front, and the suspension is very well worked out. Every engine apart from the base 118bhp petrol makes fine progress. Perfectly capable of big mileages and a long-term relationship.

  

• Performance

   A four-engine range that stretches from the 1.8-litre, 118bhp petrol that creates a lard-arse where there was none before (it makes the 6 feel fat when it isn't), to a 168bhp 2.5-litre petrol (0-62mph in 8.0 and 137mph). Until the MPS arrives (256bhp), that'll be the most ballistic 6. There's also a 2.0-litre petrol and a 2.0-litre diesel. Most will end up with the company-car tax friendly diesel - no bad thing- it works perfectly well.

  

• Cool

  Underrated and solid, yes. Cool, no.

  

• Quality

  Big jump in interior quality. Really very solid build, great materials usage and a sensible ‘clunk' from the non-specific door-slam test. Could pass for something from the class above if you covered up the badges and did a bit of leather wrapping, fetish style. Good work Mazda.

  

• Handling

  Bizarrely, the 6 is actually great fun to drive. There's a generous amount of grip from the front-wheel drive set-up, a talkative chassis and - if you switch off the electronic nannies - driving enjoyment to be had. Mazda actually looked at its own marketing and added a bit of ‘Zoom-bloody-Zoom'. Excellent.

  

• Practicality

  As we've said the curvy roofline makes for cricked necks for tall rear-seat passengers, but otherwise the 6 works as well as any medium saloon. The boot's big at 519litres and you can fold the seats to get 1096 if you really need to.

  

• Running costs

  The diesel emits 149g/km C02 and hops into the 19-percent tax bracket, so it's fairly cheap to run. All engines are comparatively clean and the mpg isn't really an issue - unless you go for the big petrols.