The Mazda 6 has been named car of the year from a field of over 50 in the closest-ever vote by members of the New Zealand Motoring Writers’ Guild.

The new Mazda headed off the Honda Jazz, Ford’s BA Falcon, the Holden Monaro, Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class, BMW’s Mini, and the Saab 9-3 to win the overall vote by about 30 journalists.