Derry Journal Motoring with Jim McCauley: MAZDA CX-60 Road Test

The combination makes it the company’s largest and most powerful vehicle, its 327ps taking it from rest to 62mph in 5.8 seconds with a limited top speed of 124mph. The in-line 2.5 litre 4-cylinder engine drives through an 8-speed automatic gearbox with drive distributed to all four wheels.

Fully charged, and keeping speed below the 62mph mark, the CX-60 has a battery range of 39 miles before the engine unobtrusively cuts in. In-gear response is rapid and smooth responding to its combined torque figure of 500Nm.

Working hand in hand with the power delivery is the attitude of the car through corners, maintaining a composed stance despite its height and weighty 2.6 tonnes. Aiding cornering performance is what Mazda refer to as Kinematic Posture Control (KPC) where there is slight brake pressure applied to the inside rear wheel to reduce roll and draw the car body downwards. For more personal driver input, the transmission can be overridden with the steering wheel paddles. It is extremely agile for its size with excellent noise suppression from all quarters to maintain a quiet and settled cabin.

As is the practice with most automatic transmissions, there is a choice of drive modes – in this case Normal, Sport, Off-road and Towing with the option to hold electric-only drive subject to battery charge.

A change of background colour on the TFT Driver’s display confirms the choice.

Although there is an auto-hold brake choice, it has to be set at the beginning of each journey.

In terms of active and passive safety provision, standard across the range are Advanced Smart City Brake Support, Drowsiness Detection, Mazda’s Lane-keep Assist System, and Blind Spot Monitoring with Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

Also standard across all models is Vehicle Exit Warning helping to avoid opening a front door into rear approaching traffic when parallel parking on the road.

Several new technologies for Mazda also debut in the CX-60 as part of the two available options packs. See-Through View with extended field of view at low speeds is part of the Convenience Pack, while Hill Descent Control (HDC), is standard across all models, as is i-Adaptive Cruise Control (i-ACC), which can now incorporate speed limits from Traffic Sign Recognition, and is part of the Driver Assistance Pack.

For the occupants, the interior is quality throughout, stepping up through the three specification levels of the UK cars – Exclusive Line, Homura and Takumi. The model driven featured soft touch surfaces with a black leather interior, detailed in orange stitching.

The 12.3-inch colour display screen is controlled by the rotary dial on the central console. All models also feature a colour head up display, duplicating speed and sat nav readouts from the driver’s full colour TFT-LCD instrument display. Also featured across the range are heated front seats, heated steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry, four USB-C inputs, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus connected services via the My Mazda App.

The vehicle offers generous five seater room with excellent leg and shoulder room for three adult occupants in the rear. The load area provides 570 litres, extending to 1,726 litres with the rear seats folded.

With regards to running costs, I recorded 40.4 mpg on open roads, but in a week’s driving in more congested conditions on local roads in the North West, I recorded 31.5 mpg. The 39 miles all-electric range can be quickly topped up on normal home AC charging, taking just 2 hours and 20 minutes to fully charge from zero.

This CX-60 addition to the Mazda fleet is designed to offer a challenge to the premium brands and does not disappoint in any way. It also marks the beginning of a drive for the company to increase its all-battery and hybrid drive trains with confirmation of new models to follow.

The vehicle driven has a CO2 emission of 33g/km, which results in first year road tax of £55, and for business users a BIK rating of 12%. The model is priced at £46,700 and is in Group 44A for insurance. Metallic paint finishes start at £650 while a short list of additional equipment includes the Convenience Pack at £1,000, the Driver Assistance Pack at £1,100 and panoramic sunroof at £1,000. The car is covered by Mazda’s comprehensive three-year / 60,000 mile warranty with eight-year cover on the hybrid battery.