As bizarre as a budget Porsche or Ferrari SUV, this beefy Mazda confused us with its hefty brawn…
You should know: It’s well documented that Mazda ruthlessly abandoned its Zoom-Zoom thriftiness in favour of swimming upstream with the other hundredweight of premium manufacturers. After upping the screen sizes, leather applications and – uhh – prices, they’ve now gone crazy with this electrified 3.3L straight six turbo-diesel CX-60!
More info: That’s right, a hybrid diesel six and hundreds of Newton-meters can only be found in Merc or BM’s finest, yet here is a medium-sized Mazda SUV with just such an engine, eight fairly smooth gears and up to 187kW going to all four claws. Its manufacturer claims 0-100km/h in 7.3 seconds and our best attempt was… 7.2.
Why you shouldn’t: They also allege that it will only sip an average of 4.9L/100km from the 58L tank but exactly how they figure that a 1,935kg SUV will achieve that, is beyond us. Our real-world average was 6.7 which, to be honest, was mighty impressive considering all the readily-available torque and tech toys.
What else? Someone bemoaned the firm ride (especially at the rear) but most of us found it on par with today’s look-at-me crossovers and their wafer-thin tyres. Our metallic grey press vehicle wore Toyo Proxes Sport rubber of the dimension 235/50R20, which also aided the sporty SUV’s quick steering response.
Other noteworthy dimensions include a 477L cargo area (extendable to 11,50 or 1,725L), 178mm of ground clearance and an 11.7m turning radius. It can tow 750 or 1,500kg (a slightly disappointing unbraked or braked claim for such a stout power plant), emits a ridiculously low average of just 123g of CO2 per km, and comes in your choice of eight exterior colours. The only interior colour is – ting, correct – jet black.
Why you should: Because you don’t want the same GL-insert-letter-here as the rest of the marketing department, plus you quite fancy overtaking traffic with 550Nm underfoot. Some (standard) highlights include a glass roof, auto and keyless everything, plenty of park-, cruise-, safety- and driver-aids, plus front bum ventilation and a BOSE audio system.
In summary: It may be an oddball Mazda but it’s jolly roomy and comfy, packed with most modern consumer demands, and goes like a 3L BMW but at 2/3 of the price. Each new CX-60 3.3 DE is sold with a highly competitive 5-year/unlimited-mileage warranty and service plan.
SPEC LIST
| Engine: | 3,283cc i-6 Turbo-diesel hybrid |
| Transmission: | 8-speed Automatic, AWD |
| Max. Power: | 187kW @ 3,750rpm |
| Max. Torque: | 550Nm @ 1,500rpm |
| Avg. cons.: | 4.9L/100km (claimed) |
| 0-100km/h: | 7.3 seconds (claimed) |
| Top Speed: | 219km/h |
| List Price: | From R1,075,000 |