Goodbye
But also its worst, because it’s the only one.
The CX-60 is a car of firsts for Mazda. Its first premium SUV, the first to use an all-new north-south platform and the first Mazda offered with a plugin hybrid engine, joined recently by the range-extender MX- 30. But is it really the first Mazda family car you might consider choosing over a BMW?
We put over 20,000 miles on our PHEV in a year so we had plenty of time to get under the skin of the thing and work out what it does well and where it needs to improve. And while there isn’t a car on the planet that doesn’t end up with notes in each column, the CX simply has too many in the wrong one.
But before we get to them let’s give credit to the things the CX-60 gets right, because there were plenty of miles we did enjoy. It has great interior full of quality materials, plenty of standard equipment, a user-friendly infotainment system (even if it has limited touch functionality), an excellent optional surround-view camera system, comfortable front seats and competitive space in the back and boot.
The 322bhp hybrid powertrain’s unusual combination of a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated four and in-gearbox motor means it’s quicker (5.8sec to 62mph) than the six-cylinder petrol and diesel CX-60s, and the battery will last around 30 miles – not bad, even if the latest PHEVs like the Mk3 VW Tiguan go almost twice as far.
So why, when a neighbour told me he was thinking about getting one and asked if it was a good idea, did I talk him out of it? Much like the faults on an old shed’s MoT failure sheet, the CX-60’s problems fall into different levels of seriousness ranging from ‘fix now or scrap it’ to those niggles you can live with until next year.
The major fails are the crude interplay between electric and petrol power in town, and the poor ride quality. Minor faults include over-sensitive assistance systems, a chassis that has good weight distribution but manages to feel both brittle on small imperfections and too bouncy on twisty roads, a fuel gauge you could never believe and gearshifts that aren’t smooth enough in either petrol or EV mode.
Advisories? Some rivals have longer service intervals, the steering could be lighter and quicker, the petrol engine is a bit coarse, there’s no rear-zone climate option, the suspension squeaks and groans like an old boat rubbing against its mooring… you get the idea. At £48k a mid-spec Homura PHEV like ours is the pick of the range and comes in at a tempt
