Mazda CX-60 – Month 4

For such a large, slab-sided machine that weighs just a whisker short of two tonnes, the CX-60 handles far more tidily than it has a right to, to the extent that there’s a surprising amount of pleasure to be found in flinging it down a twisting A road. It must be said, however, that a degree of circumspection enters the equation when the tarmac narrows to country lane status. This really isn’t one of those cars that shrinks around you as speeds build; it’s big, and it stays big.

Thing is, though, in order to extract such agility from the Mazda’s double wishbone front and multilink rear suspension, everything has been wound up pretty tight in the undercarriage department to minimise body roll and ensure the car corners pleasingly flat and hard. Everything, that is, except for the damping…

And the upshot of combining tough springing with blancmange damping is that you never quite know what’s going to happen next. In the cruise, information on conditions underfoot is lobbed into the cabin with some gusto, even on ostensibly smooth surfaces. This you get used to; not unpleasant at motorway speeds, and actually preferable to the sort of ride quality that’ll make a nipper car sick within the first 15 miles of the road to granny.

The trouble surfaces not so much with the firm thump of potholes and ill-fitting manhole covers, but with any kind of road surface deformity, particularly rapid undulations. Suddenly, the CX-60 can’t control itself, and its composure falls apart like the man who’s just been dumped by Eiza Gonzales.

Indeed, on occasion, and utterly unexpectedly, the Mazda becomes so hell-bent on dislodging the driver from his seat that it feels more like trying to remain on a horse with a wasp under its tail. Nor can we blame the every-popular combo of over-sized wheels shod in but a smear of rubber; the CX-60 may ride on 20-rims, but the tyres have notably generous sidewalls.

Such a pity, because the front seats are incredibly comfortable, the driving position’s first class, and, at high speed, the dignified thrum of that big diesel becomes almost inaudible, sharing honours with wind and tyre noise, neither of which is excessive.

Surely ride quality in a big, family SUV should take precedence over handling prowess? I’d be very surprised indeed if a swift recalibration of the suspension wasn’t at the top of the jobs-for-the-facelift list. After all, there’s precious little else to gripe about.