Front, side and curtain airbags are standard, along with passenger airbag deactivation. There are fixing points for child seats, while the ABS comes with emergency braking assistance. An alarm is standard, as is electronic stability control.

The four wheel drive system has costs the Mazda6 MPS about 50 litres of boot space because of the need to raise the floor, and strengthening braces concealed behind the rear seats prevent them from being folded. Mazda says the boot can still hold four golf bags, but it might be frustrating if you occasionally need to transport an awkward-shaped item that a Mondeo ST220 or Vectra VXR would swallow without complaint after folding down one side of the rear seatback.

There are generous door pockets in the cabin, a storage compartment between the front seats, and if satellite navigation isn’t chosen from the options list, a small storage compartment on top of the dashboard.