Mazda CX-60 diesel review

Make and model: Mazda CX-60 Homura diesel
Description: Large SUV, diesel engine with automatic transmission
Price range: £50,720 (plus options)

Mazda says: “The Mazda CX-60 represents everything that we have built into our DNA over the past 100 years.”

We say: Lovely car, shame about the engine.

• Mazda CX-60 (2022 onwards) – Expert Rating
• More Mazda new car reviews, Expert Ratings, news and features

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Introduction

Mazda is something of a niche brand in the UK, which is rather surprising given its popularity in places like the USA and Australia – and, of course, its home market of Japan.

At a time when car companies are launching new EVs almost every week, Mazda has just the one electric model in its range – the short-range MX-30 small SUV. And to give us the impression that Mazda’s calendars are actually going backwards in time rather than forwards, the company’s newest model is a large SUV powered by an all-new… diesel engine.

Here in the UK, diesel sales have been in decline ever since Volkswagen’s Dieselgate scandal back in 2015. Most car manufacturers have been eliminating diesel engines from their range altogether, and diesel sales have slipped to almost irrelevant levels. Yet here’s Mazda launching a brand new one.

So, is there any point in buying a new diesel SUV in 2024, especially since the CX-60 is also available with a plug-in hybrid alternative? We spent a week with a mid-spec Mazda CX-60 diesel to find out.

What is it?

As of right now, the CX-60 is the largest model in the Mazda range. That will change shortly, as the even bigger CX-80 is due to arrive before the end of this year. Although it’s bigger than the Mazda CX-5, it’s still a five-seat vehicle. The CX-80 will offer a third row for those who need the two extra seats.

As well as being a larger SUV than the CX-5, this is also Mazda’s first model available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, which we’ve driven previously. That’s the version that Mazda expects to be the biggest-selling model, which is no surprise.

Who is this car aimed at?

Mazda wants the CX-60 to push the brand up a league in terms of pricing and reputation. So rather than competing with the likes of the Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V, the company wants the CX-60 to be compared with premium SUVs like the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC.

But that’s a daunting task. Given how impenetrable the big three premium German brands are, it’s more likely that the CX-60 will end up fighting for sales with vehicles like the Lexus NX, Genesis GV70 and Jaguar F-Pace.

With its new diesel engine option, Mazda will also be targeting customers who want to tow caravans or trailers on a regular basis. For everyone else, the plug-in hybrid is likely to be a better bet.

Who won’t like it?

Many bigger names than Mazda have tried to take on the troika of Audi, BMW and Mercedes. Most of those bigger names have come off second-best. There are simply plenty of customers who will not consider a Mazda to be a worthy alternative to the big three.

And the model we’re looking at here is the diesel-powered CX-60. That’s going to rule out the vast majority of new car buyers, whether private or business customers.

First impressions

My first day with the Mazda CX-60 was disappointing, to be honest. The day it arrived was also the day I gave back a Hyundai Ioniq 5, so for a brief while I had both cars on my driveway. Two minutes of jiggling the two cars around so that the Hyundai man could take his car away was revealing. Stepping out of the Ioniq 5 and into the CX-60 felt like I’d gone back in time by about a decade – and sounded like it.

The (electric) Hyundai was silent and smooth as it moved away from rest, while the diesel engine in the Mazda rattled into life with more noise and vibration than I expected from a brand-new motor. The transmission clunked as it engaged and there was old-school diesel lag as you put your foot on the accelerator and waited for the CX-60 to respond.

The cabin, too, looked a generation behind the space-age and spacious Hyundai. For a bigger, taller car, the Mazda has less room all round and the interior design is far more conservative. The second of those points is obviously a design choice that some customers may well prefer, while the first is simply a difference between a conventional fossil-fuel car and an EV, which has natural packaging advantages.

If you’re familiar with other models in the Mazda range, then the CX-60 looks pretty much exactly how you’d expect a larger Mazda SUV to look. If you’re not, it looks and feels like a really well-finished Audi SUV from about ten years ago.

What do you get for your money?

Once we’ve got the first impressions out of the way, it’s time to look a bit harder at exactly what you’re getting for your money with the Mazda CX-60.

There are three trim levels available; base-spec ‘Exclusive-Line’, mid-spec ‘Homura’ and top-spec ‘Takumi’. You can have any of those three with the plug-in hybrid powertrain, which combines a 2.5-litre petrol engine with an electric motor to produce 327hp, or a 3.3-litre diesel engine with a power output of 254hp. Both of these drive all four wheels and your only gearbox is an eight-speed automatic.

On the entry-level Exclusive-Line version, you can also choose an entry-level engine, which is a detuned version of the 3.3-litre diesel that produces 200hp and only drives through the rear wheels. This is the cheapest model in the CX-60 range, starting at just over £45K. Surprisingly, the plug-in hybrid is only £50 dearer, while the more powerful 254hp diesel is an extra £2.6K.

All three models get a good level of standard equipment, so base-spec buyers won’t feel like they’re missing out on key features or technology. Leather seats (heated in front), a head-up display, 12-inch central display screen, dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control, auto headlights and wipers, and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.

Stepping up from Exclusive-Line to mid-spec Homura costs just under £3K more money. For that, you get upgraded from 18-inch satin grey alloys to 20-inch gloss black wheels, heating for rear-seat passengers and ventilation for the front seats, electric adjustment for the front seats, some colour variations for exterior trim pieces, and an upgraded Bose stereo system.

If you go all the way up to Takumu specification, it’s more than £4K over the Homura. That buys you white nappa leather rather than black regular leather, machine-polished alloys (still 20 inches), white maple wood interior trim and higher-quality dashboard materials, and some slightly different exterior trim colours. You also get a suite of more advanced accident-avoidance safety technology, which is a £2K option on lower-spec models.

If you’re looking for Mazda new car warranty information, good luck finding it on the Mazda UK website. All you get is flowery talk about how Mazda cares about you with ‘extensive’ warranty cover. In reality, Mazda’s UK warranty is one of the stingiest in the business, at three years or 60,000 miles. In the Republic of Ireland, by comparison, Mazda will give you six years – double the warranty cover for the same car…

We like: Mostly good equipment levels on all models
We don’t like: Only top-spec model gets all the safety kit as standard, stingy warranty

What’s the Mazda CX-60 like inside?

The Mazda CX-60’s cabin is a familiar environment, partly because it seems to have cherry picked all the best car interiors from the mid-2010s. If you’re currently driving a five-to-ten-year-old BMW or Audi, the CX-60 is going to feel very comfortable. But it lacks the wow factor of a brand-new BMW, or the latest generation of Hyundai, Kia or Nissan electric cars.

The fit and finish all seem impressive, but the layout looks at least a generation behind the latest models from other brands. It’s certainly functional, and having proper switches and buttons for key controls is a big win, but the cabin design feels dated.

Space in the front is not as generous as you might expect, not helped by a large transmission tunnel between deiver and passenger. At least this provides plenty of elbow space and room for a proper rotary controller – like the sort other brands used a decade ago.

The front seats are comfy, even on longer journeys. Visibility is decent and the only quibble in terms of driving position is that I would have preferred the steering wheel to extend just a bit further out. The wheel itself is excellent, something that can’t be said for a lot of new cars (including the Hyundai I mentioned earlier). The thickness and shape are perfect, and the buttons are logically laid out.

The central screen is 12 inches in letterbox format, mounted atop the dashboard. Unlike most car manufacturers, Mazda has resisted the urge to rely on a giant touchscreen to controls everything – in fact, this screen is not actually a touchscreen at all. It’s controlled by the central knob, which is both good and bad.

When working through Mazda’s own menu system, it works well and the movements are all logical. But trying to use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto with the rotary controller, rather than tapping a touchscreen, is more frustrating. These are systems that are designed for touch input, and trying to twirl your way around an Apple satnav display and menu system in order to change your radio station on the Mazda operating system was far more convoluted than simply tapping directly on the screen. The perfect solution would be to keep the rotary controller but also have touchscreen control for the best of both worlds. Some cars still do this, although not many.

Rear cabin space is certainly decent for a pair of adults, although there are no bonus recline or sliding functions to enhance the rear-seat experience. Boot space is also decent at 570 litres, which is better than some rivals.

We like: Fit and finish are first class; steering wheel is pretty much perfect
We don’t like: Rotary controller works very well for Mazda menus, not so much for phone-based systems

What’s the Mazda CX-60 like to drive?

We drove the 254hp diesel with all-wheel drive, although the 200hp rear-wheel drive model is likely to feel similar in most everyday situations.

I haven’t personally driven this car with the plug-in hybrid engine (our colleague Andrew has), but I’m fairly sure it’s the one I would choose. For most customers, the diesel is likely to be a backwards choice. It’s surprisingly noisy and harsh around town – especially given that this is a brand-new engine design – and has the laggy throttle response that we won’t miss once diesels are finally made extinct. The gearbox is also a bit clunky at times, rather than being smooth and seamless in its operation.

Once you get onto an A-road or motorway, however, things improve significantly. At speed, the engine settles down although it’s still never truly quiet. It also responds better to acceleration, which means overtaking is comfortable rather than concerning – although this is probably one situation where the extra performance of the 254hp diesel would be noticeable over the 200hp version.

Apart from the engine, the CX-60 is a very nice to car to drive in most situations. The steering feels sharp and responsive, and has a bit more weight to it than most family cars – certainly not enough to feel heavy, but enough to make you feel connected to the front wheels. It’s very well judged. The ride is firm but controlled, so it will bounce a bit on undulating roads but settles again quickly.

The higher-spec Homura and Takumi models get larger 20-inch wheels, which are not particularly forgiving on speed bumps and potholes. The entry-level Exclusive-Line versions get smaller 18-inch wheels, which are likely to be a bit better at cushioning sharp bumps. Overall, however, if you’re used to popular Audi S-line or BMW M Sport wheels and suspension specifications, this is no certainly worse.

Even by family SUV standards, the turning circle on the CX-60 is fairly poor, which means u-turns and shopping centre car parking tend to be multi-point manoeuvres.

We like: Comfortable and fuel-efficient on the open road
We don’t like: Turning circle is poor, diesel engine not suited to town driving

How safe is the Mazda CX-60?

The Mazda CX-60 was tested by Euro NCAP in late 2022 and awarded a top five-star rating. It has good scores in every category (adult protection, child protection, pedestrian/cyclist protection and accident avoidance).

While this is very good news, only the top-spec Takumi models gets the complete suite of accident avoidance technology as standard, like rear cross-traffic detection which is excellent for helping detect vehicles or pedestrians when reversing out of a parking space.

Takumi also gets adaptive cruise control, which speeds up and slows down in accordance with traffic around you, while the rest of the range only has standard cruise control.

For lower-level models, you have to pay £1,900 for an optional ‘convenience and driver assistance pack’ to get these features.

Verdict

There are many things to like about the Mazda CX-60. It’s well-built, logically laid out and decently roomy in most directions. For many growing families, it will be a better size than the smaller CX-5. Boot size is particularly good.

Equipment levels are decent across all models and it’s more enjoyable to drive than most family SUVs. It does exactly what you need and expect from a family car, and it does it in comfort if not in great style.

Developing an all-new diesel engine for this car (and the larger CX-80 coming soon) seems a curious decision, however, given how completely the diesel new car market has collapsed in the UK and most parts of the world. Unless you’re towing, or just really hate plug-in hybrids, there’s no good reason to buy the diesel. For an all-new engine design, it’s also surprisingly noisy and harsh, which rather detracts from the otherwise lovely cabin ambience.

That diesel engine rather sums up the CX-60. While every other car company is launching new EVs, Mazda has launched a new diesel SUV that looks and feels a generation behind the times. For a model that claims to be taking the fight to premium brands, it falls short.

At the end of the week, my final impression was very similar to my first impression – that Mazda has given us an excellent interpretation of a ten-year-old Audi, but hasn’t really come up with anything new or different.

• Mazda CX-60 (2023 onwards) – Expert Rating
• Mazda CX-60 plug-in hybrid review
• More Mazda Expert Ratings, new car reviews, news and features

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If you’re looking at the Mazda CX-60, you might also be interested in these alternatives.

Alfa Romeo Stelvio | Audi Q5 | BMW X4 | DS 7 Crossback | Genesis GV70 | Jaguar F-Pace | Kia Sorento | Land Rover Discovery Sport | Lexus NX | Mercedes-Benz GLC | Range Rover Velar | Toyota RAV4 | Volkswagen Tiguan | Volvo XC60

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