Overview

WHILE mid-size cars are becoming increasingly less popular, Mazda’s vigour for the segment is as strong as ever. Its Mazda6 has been a perennial contender since it launched, after all. However, the third-generation model has been around since December 2012, making it old against the backdrop of the Japanese brand’s five-year life cycles.

Nonetheless, Mazda isn’t ready to roll out the next Mazda6 just yet, so its current iteration is in line for its third major update – yes, this is number three. Knowing that it has to get a couple more years out of this model, Mazda has put its designers and engineers hard to work – and it shows inside.

This is a serious facelift that sees the Mazda6 set its sights on the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW 3 Series. Yes, you read that right. It shoots for the stars and puts in a surprising performance. Does it fall short, or do the impossible and give buyers fewer reasons to go European? Read on to find out.