The stylish new Mazda 6 is worth another look

I’m not really sure why the Mazda 6 has never really established itself fully in the consciousness of Irish motoring public — be they private or fleet customers. I’ve never really understood it particularly as the car is, without doubt, one of the best contenders in the cut-throat D-Segment.

The family saloon/repmobile niche here in Ireland has always been swayed by the respective contenders from Ford, Toyota, VW, and Opel and their respective Mondeo, Avensis, Passat, and Insignia models have long dominated the marketplace. But the contender from Mazda has never really got the look-in it deserved.

From the time Mazda ditched the leaden and ugly old 626 and began the Mazda 6 era, versions of that car have been right up there with the best in class — indeed it has been better than most, in my view. But, given that Mazda’s diesel offering comes only in a 2.2-litre size and the fact that diesel is the preferred option for the majority, many people appear to have rejected it as an option because of feared tax penalties.