SINGAPORE – The third-gen Mazda 6 , first launched in 2013, marked a real turning point for Mazda. The large sedan was one of the machines to really epitomise the ‘new Mazda’, which in the past five years, has seen what is likely the most marked improvement amongst all the Japanese brands.

With the 6, it was as if Mazda addressed all of its shortcomings in one fell swoop while keeping its strength – the dash of sweet-handling sportiness that sets Mazdas apart from the rest of the East Asian competition.

In this case, the 6 received a svelte design (the debut of Mazda’s new design language, Kodo), efficient drivetrain thanks to its bunch of Skyactiv technologies and a much nicer interior.

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Now that the car’s about three years old, it receives a mid-life facelift. Standard procedure on this kind of thing is for the car to receive a new, erm, face, and some other minor improvements. Mechanically, the 6 sedan range still comes with a 165hp 2.0-litre or 192hp 2.5-litre inline four-cylinder engine. The rather fetching 6 Wagon is still available too, although solely in 2.5-litre guise.

Most obvious is the the modification to the car’s front end – the sedan you see here has a more distinct grille with a chrome outline strip. It doesn’t look like much in photos, but in person it does make the slippery-fish-esque 6 looks a bit more aeronautical. In any case, the 6 wasn’t ugly to begin with and the facelift doesn’t gild the lily unnecessarily: the head and tail lights are new, for example, but both LED units now, with the fronts being adaptive cornering lights too.

Minor updates extend to the inside with new design upholstery in a choice of two colours (black/white and black/sand), but the biggest change is the presence of Mazda’s infotainment system, MZD Connect (or Mazda Connect as it’s known elsewhere). It’s still one of the best systems to come from East Asia and offers much of the connectivity luxury brands do, plus the usual niceties like navigation and Bluetooth connectivity.

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Other two significant additions are to safety: There’s now a blind spot warning system, which is always useful, and rear cross traffic alert, which helps you when you’re backing out of a lot or driveway.

From behind the wheel, the 6 is very much the same: Dynamically it’s very good, with enjoyable, supportive steering, direct handling and a smooth drivetrain that’s very economical for one with a big, naturally-aspirated  engine.

The rather gentle throttle engagement has something to do with that, but so do the capacitor-based start-stop system and the direct-injection engine itself.

As befitting its semi-sporty status, the 6 rides almost firmly, although it’s comfortable most of the time, when the bumps proliferate the body does become a little unsettled. In terms of refinement, it can’t compare to the Accord or Camry which may as well be rolling refrigerators, but then again, that won’t bother Mazda buyers one iota.

Which is to say, if you were in the market for a Mazda 6 before, after the facelift, you needn’t worry as the 6 merely got 6-ier.

Mazda 6 2.5 Luxury

Engine                          2,488cc, 16V, inline 4

Power                         192bhp at 5,700rpm

Torque                         256Nm at 3250rpm

Gearbox                         6-speed automatic

Top Speed                 221km/h

0-100km/h                 8.2 seconds

Fuel efficiency                 6.5L/100km

CO2                         153g/km

Price                         $TBA

Availability                 Now