Mazda 6 2.0D TS2

It's a newcomer to our long-term fleet, but the Mazda 6 has already been on holiday... twice!

Thanks to its impressively tall gearing, torquey diesel engine and immense practicality, the Japanese model has become the long-distance cruiser of choice for anyone with a trip to tackle.

After heading over to South Wales with deputy motoring and digital editor Sam Hardy, the Mazda was the obvious car for my four-hour trek to the Somerset coast, where this picture (opposite) was taken overlooking Porlock Bay.

But having racked up more than 3,000 miles, I’m beginning to wonder whether the bright blue 6’s reputation for being the king of the outside lane is unfounded. Although the engine is ideally suited to motorway trips, the ride quality is far from perfect.

Surprisingly, the Mazda was much more at home on the steep gradients and sweeping curves of Exmoor than it was on the long slog along the M4 and M5. That’s because the firm set-up takes the edge off its cruising abilities. Head into the countryside, and the quality of the 6’s chassis really begins to shine through.

On a recent back-to-back drive with a Renault Laguna, Ford Mondeo, Citroen C5 and our very own OE57 TFV on a bumpy B-road, the 6 was the clear winner. The suspension smooths broken surfaces and is never ruffled by potholes. This is perfectly complemented by the well weighted, accurate steering.

Add to the driving experience the sort of snappy gearchange that wouldn’t be out of place in an MX-5, plus a genuine enthusiasm for cornering, and the Mazda 6 drives like a hot hatch… providing you are on the right road.

The biggest problem faced by this family car is that it can’t display its talents around town. Those who have only driven our hatchback on urban trips or dual carriageways come back wondering what the fuss is about.

In fact, many have accused the Mazda of being boring. There’s no doubt the looks are striking from the front, but they are less resolved from the rear, and the designers seem to have run out of imagination inside. The dashboard is attractive enough, yet the rest is dark and bland.

In an effort to keep the dash free from cluttered switchgear, the Mazda has multifunction steering wheel controls. However, these are far too complicated to bother with – as is the voice-activated Bluetooth system. With no option to control the phone manually, we have been left shouting frustrated commands as it fails to recognise some words.

Still, once you take a look at the list price, you will soon forgive a few cheap plastics. The only addition to that £18,420 figure is our car’s £350 metallic paint.

For that you are getting a family model with a huge boot, superb one-motion folding rear seats and fuel-sipping economy.

So far, we’ve managed 40.5mpg, which is a long way short of Mazda’s claimed 50.4mpg combined figure. We expect the gap to narrow as the diesel engine covers more miles. Similarly, performance is getting stronger by the mile as the 138bhp unit loosens up.

It’s clear that the 6 is a car of hidden talents, but has Mazda concentrated on handling at the expense basic refinement and ride quality? We look forward to finding out over many more mile-munching trips...