Mkll Mazda 6

THE Mkll Mazda 6 Estate has the same handsome front end and sharp handling as the hatch, and the tidy roofline is the only way to tell the two apart. Sadly, the focus on styling and dynamics means practicality suffers - whi le the wide load bay and automatic cover are useful, the tapered bootlid eats into luggage space and there's only 519 litres of room with the seats up.


What the Mazda has got going for it is a solid if narrow engine range, including a 2.2-litre diesel that arrived in 2009. This will return over 50mpg. Thanks to fairty low C02 emissions, it's also the cheapest to tax, so running costs should be the lowest here.

Mazda 6

Standard equipment across the range is good, although the logical  and robust interior is let down by some cheap-looking materials. For what you're looking to pay, there are a few second-generation diesel-powered Mazda 6 estates about, generally
with at least 100,000 miles on the clock.