Road Test: Mazda 6 2.5 Sport 5dr

Comparing a Ferrari 599 Fiorano with a Mazda 6 is always going to be tough on the Mazda. Even the 2.5-litre top-of-the-range Sport model you see here. That last sentence was a joke, clearly, and a bit of a weak one.

You could fit the Japanese car with a 6.0-litre V12, and it still wouldn't compare. But circumstance dictated that the very next car I drove after the Ferrari 599 happened to be the new Mazda 6.

And do you know what? I liked it after about 20 seconds. Sit in, the seats are firm and comfortable and body-hugging. Start up, the engine sounds sporty and revs crisply. Move off, and the gearshift is short and tight, the steering direct and meaty, the brake pedal perfectly weighted, the throttle responsive.

After another five days of driving I didn't feel any differently. It's a proper sporting car, this. The ride's a bit firm but not too firm, and it's a lot quieter than the last 6, especially in the area of road noise, which made the old car sound like a rubbish bin inside.

What I do wish is that Mazda would eliminate what I'll call the Akihabara Effect. There's a purple ring around the instrument lights at night, which isn't cool; the silver plastic centre console is too glitzy and not functional enough and reminds me of a cheap clock radio; and some of the control functions are too complicated for their own good. It's all a bit try-hard and, well, weird.

What I'd really like to see is a return to basic functionality for this Mazda's interior, simplicity and purity of design. How about straight-forward green for the instruments?

How about paring the number of buttons down to the bare minimum, and making sure functionality isn't impaired? Then the quality of the interior would match the superb work the engineers have done in making this car go, stop and steer far better than you'd expect.

Make no mistake - this is an exceptionally well-built and solid car. But somewhere along the line, bad decisions have been made about the feel and texture of the plastics, and the way things are designed and presented.

I'm only coming down hard on these things because the rest of the new Mazda 6 - the important stuff - shares a fundamentally brilliant quality with the Ferrari 599 and every other great supercar: real sporting spirit. It's a good car.