2020 Mazda 6 vs Toyota Camry

What's the difference?

"Here comes my Mum. Oh, sorry, Richard." Hilarious. I was waiting in a line of cars to pay my entrance fee to a hot-rod festival and a mate working on the gate was having a go at the Mazda6 wagon I was driving.

He was wrong on a few levels. First, his Mum drives an SUV like all the other Mums, and second, his insinuation that the mighty Mazda6 wagon in the Atenza grade was perhaps a bit dull was entirely inaccurate.

Also, he didn't realise I was sneaking into the campground with a mattress in the back and was going to sleep in it that night after the show. Who's laughing now, eh?

Apart from doubling as a caravan, the Mazda6 wagon spent the week as our family car, with preschool drop offs, trips to the grandparents and daily commutes. So, could this be the ultimate Mum or Dad car? Why would you SUV when you can wagon instead?

The Toyota Camry is singlehandedly keeping the sub-$60,000 mid-size-car segment alive, accounting for about two-thirds of its sales in the year-to-date.

While that fact is certainly staggering, it’s also unsurprising as brands continue to withdraw their mid-size cars from the segment, which, of course, is good news for Toyota and its Camry.

So, with little competition, is the Camry the obvious option for buyers looking to stick to traditional sedans over increasingly popular SUVs? We tested it in SL hybrid form to find out.