  We find an explicit renormalizable supersymmetric $E_6$ model with all the
ingredients for being realistic. It consists of the Higgs sector
$351'+\overline{351'}+27+\overline{27}$, which breaks $E_6$ directly to the
Standard Model gauge group. Three copies of $27$ dimensional representations
then describe the matter sector, while an extra $27+\overline{27}$ pair is
needed to successfully split the Standard Model Higgs doublet from the heavy
Higgs triplet. We perform the analysis of the vacuum structure and the Yukawa
sector of this model, as well as compute contributions to proton decay. Also,
we show why some other simpler $E_6$ models fail to be realistic at the
renormalizable level.
