Mazda CX-60 – Hello

Mazda has always marched to the beat of a different drummer. It launched, for instance, the evergreen MX-5 at a time when roadsters were considered dead in the water, perfected the rotary engine to the point of creating the glorious sounding 1991 Le Mans winning 787B, and today remains pretty much alone in its belief that CO₂ emissions should be measured on a well-to-wheel basis rather than simply from the exhaust.

And that’s why -whilst everyone else is frantically trying to squeeze enough power from a diminutive three-pot turbocharged petrol engine to shift an 1800kg lump-on-wheels at something even vaguely approaching a respectable pace– when Mazda instead shoehorns a deeply unfashionable, large capacity, 3.3 litre straight-six diesel unit into its new CX-60 SUV, we should probably pay attention…

Mazda says this diesel unit has been developed using the ‘right sizing’ concept, which optimises displacement to improve both fuel and power efficiency. In other words, whilst a small capacity engine must both yell its head off and guzzle fuel at an alarming rate to produce barely adequate power and undoubtedly insufficient torque (leaving you pedalling the nuts off it just to make anything approaching proper progress), a large straight-six will produce ample power and stacks of torque whilst barely breaking into a sweat.

The new diesel is available with a choice of 197 or 251bhp power outputs; the former mated to rear-wheel drive, the latter all-wheel drive, via an eight-speed automatic transmission. Both feature a 48V mild hybrid boost system (doesn’t everything these days?).

Something new called Distribution-Controlled Partially Premixed Compression Ignition (DCPCI) technology, which Mazda steadfastly refused to shed further light on, is said to make the unit one of the cleanest diesel engines in the world, with a thermal efficiency of over 40%. Moreover, the in-line six configuration is inherently smooth and quiet, whilst still boasting a healthy 2500kg towing capacity.

ff-C Towers will be playing host to the lesser-powered variant for the next six months, which arrives decked out as the Exclusive-Line grade. Interestingly, CX-60 grade variations equate to more than just differences in alloy wheel design and on-board knob and knocker excess; this gently lesser grade sporting a different -and to my eye slightly more appealing- frontal treatment under the headlamps.

Be that as it may, I’m not sure that the CX-60 constitutes an especially admirable development of Mazda’s often sublime Kodo design philosophy. Odd that, despite only being a tad smaller, the CX-5 remains just about the best looking SUV out there. Yet the dimensional increases of this car, though modest, imbue it with a more slab-sided aura, whilst the frontal treatment lacks the sharp elegance of that visited on the smaller car.

On board, there’s enough of a premium look and feel to justify the car’s £43,000 price tag, yet an overriding air of intuitive simplicity which has always been a Mazda hallmark. So whilst top-spec interiors boast such delicacies as Japanese craft-inspired dashboard stitching just itching for the fatal ministrations of a toddler armed with a furtive biro, all variants sport a 12.3-inch centre console infotainment screen which, though a trifle chthonic in presentation, is controlled by a good old-fashioned turn ‘n’ push knob -so much easier to use on the move than a touch screen.

There’s no shortage of toys: with keyless entry and start, wireless phone charging, dual zone climate control, a head-up display, automatic wipers and headlights, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and electric everything fitted as standard. And the Driver Personalisation System’s quite clever too, using an internal camera to automatically adjust the seat position for the driver’s build (sit up straight, boy…), and facial recognition to return to your chosen settings once the missus has been on board and thoroughly mucked up the driving position.

Unfortunately, one of the chosen settings the system won’t memorise is Lane Keeping Assistance F*** OFF because, presumably at Euro NCAP’s petty five star insistence, you can no longer disable this with one touch of a button, and tedious on-screen rummaging is now required at the start of every journey…

So, that’s the gist of it. Over the next six months we’ll keep you regularly updated on life with the CX-60 from the perspective of every member of the family, including the replacement for the late, lamented Evil-Smelling Dog, but not -unless it opts to play inadvertent stowaway- the cat.