We recently took delivery of a new Mazda6 – a car we have driven a couple of times at Fleet News and one that stacks up very well on paper against rivals.

The CO2 emissions, which are 108g/km on the 150bhp diesel saloon, are lower than less powerful economy-focused rivals but in the Mazda6 you don’t have to sacrifice performance. Its 0-62mph time of nine seconds is the same as for the BMW 318d.

Our test car uses the standard power diesel (there is also a 175bhp version of the engine) with the high-specification Sport equipment grade – sitting above SE and SE-L. It has a TomTom touch-screen navigation system fitted too, which although is effectively an option is counted as a Sport Nav variant for valuation purposes on the used market.

The Mazda6 has also been praised for retaining much of the sleek appearance of the Takeri concept car that inspired it, and in this Sport model perhaps more so with 19-inch alloy wheels and ‘soul red’ metallic paint (the latter a £660 option – more expensive than the rest of the metallic palette at £520).

Safety is also high on the agenda and this car has an autonomous emergency braking system to protect against low-speed accidents.

Other standard features include leather seats, electrically adjustable and heated in the front, bi-xenon headlamps with a cornering function, reversing camera and Bose premium audio system.

All these factors combined to edge out the formidable Volkswagen Passat and take victory in the Best Upper Medium Car in the 2013 Fleet News Awards, and over the next 12 months we will be finding out if the new Mazda6 proves as impressive to live with as expected given its success so far.