The front seats are extremely accommodating and supportive. Their multiple adjustment capability and tilt and telescoping steering column combine for the perfect driving position. All the right arrangements really make the 6's interior feel almost cockpit-like. The trunk volume is impressive; it is possible to fit up to 4 average-sized golf bags and it is well-finished.

The 3.0L V6's performance is nominal at best.

Sporty under the hood?
The 3.0L V6 is, in part, sourced from the Ford parts bin. Its 212 hp are nominal at best when compared with other import V6s of same or larger displacement. Although the V6 is grunty, it labours and toils to get the car up to speed. My GT-V6 called upon the services of a 5-speed manual transmission to send the power to the front wheels. Here as well, the shift-lever precision and responsiveness is lacklustre; it feels rubbery and disconnected. My average fuel consumption hovered around 13.5L per 100 km; not an impressive grade for mild performance.

Sporty on the road
Other than its interior and exterior styling, the Mazda's biggest asset is its versatile highly-advanced chassis. I say versatile because it serves as a base for a large number of products in Ford's global operations.

This platform is both pliable and ultra-rigid at the same time. What hurts it is the added weight of the V6 over the front axle. Through curves, weight transfers are well-controlled but slow. The GT-V6 has a tendency to safely understeer when pushed and steering input response is quick but muffled. It has been a while since I have tested a 6 with the 2.3L, although I clearly remember the car's behaviour being snappier with quicker reflexes. It seems to me as though the suspension is unchanged with the 4- or 6-cylinder. The V6 adds a not inconsiderable 80 kg (176 lbs) up front.

The 6 rides extremely well but is not quite as sporty as it could be.