Mazda CX-60 review: Is it enough to pull sales from its premium rivals?

The race to electrify our national fleet – by which I mean all the cars in the nation – has brought with it a lot of downsides such as terrible second-hand values, vanishing residuals, controversial manufacturer prices cuts and a still awful nationwide charging infrastructure.

That has meant the initial surge of goodwill towards EVs has all but vanished – for now. Undoubtedly as manufacturers refine their products, the Government reinstates EV subsidies and the infrastructure issues are slowly but surely dealt with, demand will surge once more.

But for some car companies, there has been a way forward in all of this by looking backwards. Those who have not dived headlong into the manufacturing of EVs have suddenly found new life being breathed into old product, by which I mean the continued production of cars with internal combustion engines.

This week we test a car which should, by all known parameters, have been dead in the water before ever hitting our streets. In the face of the EV onslaught, most observers would have laughed themselves sick at the thought of a major manufacturer deciding to launch a flagship car with a 3.3 litre in-line six-cylinder turbodiesel engine.

Yet, despite mass thigh-slapping hysterics in the motoring press, that’s exactly what Mazda has decided to do. And I think they’ve come up with a cunning ruse and one which will appeal to buyers for whom Mazda was never anything other than the maker of quirky, low-appeal automobiles.

In fact, with the electric market having died something of a painful death in sales terms in recent months, the introduction of the Mazda CX-60 will appeal to a bunch of potential Irish customers like few other cars the company has ever made.

Furthermore, I think this model will personify the term ‘conquest sales’ whereby Mazda will start attracting buyers from other manufacturers – and particularly premium marques. That’s because they have laid on the quality on offer in this car in spades. This is a slice of bread with a particularly thick layer of butter and a generous helping of home-made marmalade on top.

We tested the ‘Homura’ version, which is one of five diesel options in the line-up and the second most expensive; it is also one of the three four-wheel drivers available and, in the flesh, it is a truly impressive thing.

The CX-60 is the largest SUV that Mazda makes and while from a side view it might look slightly slab-sided, from the front and rear it looks determinedly aggressive and pleasing to the eye.

It is huge inside and beautifully put together, in line with the company’s ‘Kodo’ design philosophy and the Japanese concept of ‘Ma’ which, believe it or not, is ‘the calm and dignified beauty of empty space.’ This is far from empty, however, and curated materials such as Japanese maple, high quality maple, locally sourced textiles and dashes of chrome make the interior a really nice place to be.

Some people can see quality, while others merely feel it; in this case it is possible to do both and from the moment you step aboard you know that this is far from the norm, such is the level of the design input and the thought put into the materials utilised. There is a genuine ‘wow’ factor at hand here.

One slight bugbear is that the boot is not quite as big as you might have expected from simply looking at the exterior dimensions. That’s a rare black mark here, as is the absence of any form of a spare tyre.

What will intrigue many people – Irish especially – is what is under the hood. It does feel somewhat alien in 2024 to be writing about a new diesel engine, especially at a time when the genre has been demonised to the point of near extinction.

Whatever about the politics of the situation, this 3.3 litre turbodiesel (it does have a little mild hybrid help from Mazda’s MHEV48 technology) is a cracker and an able demonstration of the company’s thoughtful and innovative approach to the design of internal combustion engines.

The technology employed not only boosts performance and consumption rates but also offers environmental friendliness by using the electric motor to support the engine in the idle to low speed range – an area in which these internal combustion engines are not noted for their excellence. That sort of thing boosts the appeal of a car and especially for those who might be feeling guilty about their contribution to the environment.

The net result is a 254 bhp output and a hefty 550 Nm of torque which translates into a 219 km/h top speed and a 0-100 km/h of 7.4 seconds, which is quite something for a vehicle this size. It also allows for just 137 g/km of emissions and will potentially produce a consumption return of 5.1 l/100 (or 54.9 mpg), which again is nearly startling for a car this big.

Even spirited driving, which is something that’s quite difficult not to do with the CX-60, you will see the consumption figure drop to just under 50 mpg and that’s impressive.

On the road, it is hard not to – again – marvel at the way Mazda engineers things. The narrow shape of the in-line six-cylinder has allowed them a dual front wishbone suspension layout and this greatly adds to the crisp handling on offer and the behind-the-wheel experience on offer here is quite different from most wallowy SUVs.

The steering is direct and offers excellent feel, while body roll is well contained and with the AWD system, grip levels are up there with anything the premium 4x4s have to offer. The ride too offers great comfort to both driver and passengers.

There’s an eight-speed gearbox which, in normal use, is perfectly fine, but when you put the car into ‘Sport’ mode, it really comes to life and brings all the other mechanicals with it. There are paddle shifters for the sporty brigade, but I found them to be not really necessary.

As we’ve already alluded, the interior is spectacular and the kit levels are truly impressive. So too the infotainment system which initially seems to be light-years behind some of the fancy-dan stuff some manufacturers are doing these days, but in truth is one of the most intuitive and easy-to-use infotainment and connectivity designs out there.

This may be a very left-field machine from Mazda, but it is one, I feel, that is going to strike a chord with many people who might never have considered the brand to be a reasonable opponent for their preferred German marques.

But have no doubt, the CX-60 has all the right characteristics – in terms of comfort, specification, design, build and overall quality – to stand tall alongside the best out there. I think that Mazda is set fair to sell a lot more of these cars than it expected – and to a lot of customers new to the brand as well.

It liked this so much, it gets a five-star recommendation.