Mazda6 has the goods to compete in midsize segment

 Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.

Sacramento, California -- The Mazda6 midsize sedan has long received high marks for attractive styling, sporty handling and a nicely appointed interior cabin. All that stood up in the recently tested 2020 Mazda6 Signature model, which came with a ton of standard features and was priced at a fairly reasonable $36,620 on the sticker's bottom line.

But wait, there's more: A max five-star federal safety rating in crash tests and strong fuel mileage numbers at 23 miles per gallon in the city and 31 mpg on the highway.

All things considered, the Mazda6 is a wise choice in the mega-competitive midsize sedan segment, and most of my auto-reviewing colleagues seem to agree.

However, some have found the 2.5-liter turbo-4 lacking at 227 horsepower.  I would not be among that crowd.  In my test runs, which included busy surface streets and Sierra Nevada foothill ups and downs, the Mazda6 performed admirably, with just the right amount of the aforementioned sport-tuned handling.

Firm steering and monorail stickiness on sharp turns were a pleasure.  I also found that I could zip around freeway pokes with very little effort, even when squeezing the apex of a sharp downhill turn.

Sure, my ride was the priciest of all five Mazda6 trim levels, but the standard package was generous beyond the norm.  A full suite of state-of-the-art safety features was bolstered by heated/ventilated front seats (Nappa leather-trimmed), a kickin' 11-speaker Bose audio system, a power moonroof and much more.

The Mazda6 remains a sleek machine in 2020 trim.  The 19-inch alloy wheels and rear spoiler on the tester did not look like add-ons, but enhancements.

Simply said, the Mazda6 is a worthy midsize daily driver.  Alas, it resides in a killer-competitive segment, lining up against luminaries as the Volkswagen Passat, the Nissan Altima, the Toyota Camry, the Honda Accord, the Subaru Legacy and the recently reviewed Hyundai Sonata.

So, going in, you have to know what you want, and perhaps be willing to deal with a harder-than-usual edge at the Mazda lot.  Mazda fans won't need convincing.  The trick will be getting undecided shoppers' heads to turn away from some of those heavyweight midsize sedan brands and focus on the Mazda6.

Fortunately, the Mazda6 has enough going for it to lure sedan shoppers into its ballpark.