If you don't have time to read all of this, just read these words:

This is a fantastic car.

And if you're in the market for a sport sedan that won't set you back more than $25K yet has everything you need, including a back seat where the kids can sit in comfort and even grownups can fit, then go right down to your Mazda dealer, post haste.

The Mazda6 is a vehicle that is all-but invisible (although the yellow one we had certainly snapped some heads).  The market niche it inhabits is one where the going is tough.  It goes up against the likes of the Accord.  Certainly the Accord is a benchmark.  But in May 2003 Honda moved 37,210 Accords and Mazda had just 4,930 Mazda6's sold, which is a remarkable disparity, even taking into account that the 6 is a new vehicle, so people may not be familiar with it.  Still, people have to get to the dealers to see it, sit in it, slam its doors, and, ideally take it for a drive.  And if that doesn't convince them of what a good car it is, then maybe we're missing something.

The version that we drove was fitted with a 3-liter, 220-hp, 24-valve V6 that is like a Ford Duratec (upon which it is based), but which includes dual cams.  The transmission is a five-speed manual.  And it moves.  Certainly and well.

Inside, the seats are leather.  And the front seats are heated.  One complaint about the driver's seat was that one of us found it a bit difficult to adjust just right, and that it lacked sufficient side bolster, which is important given the way that the car can be thrown into curves.  The instrument panel with analog gages is complete and discrete—well, the aluminum trim around the speedometer and the tach is a nice touch, but we're not completely taken with the orange color.  The aluminum center stack, which includes the 6-disc CD changer and the Bose audio head unit, looks technical, but is actually functional for those who don't want to undergo the sort of NASA training that other vehicle manufactures seem to expect from their users.

Outside, the vehicle has a low profile for a four door, but it intimates the kind of performance that can be expected.  The front lights, each of which contains four cylindrical shapes, represent fine machine art.  OK.  So it has a spoiler.  Try to overlook it.  And then look into the trunk, which is actually sized to contain things.

Without question, the Mazda6 s is a car that is—and ought to become—a contender in the midsize car market.  It's not surprising that Ford is planning on using this vehicle's platform for a multitude of new products, because it is a winner.