Flagship Mazda SUV shows off vast talents, huge value
There’s no better way to learn a car’s finest points than spending a week with it on vacation. Even better if you’re in the car for a good few hours every day. That’s also the main reason we asked for another bite of the Mazda CX-60 3.3D AWD Takumi for our visit to the Kruger National Park.
See, we’re convinced that this is the most underrated mid-exec sport ute out there. And all our extra time with the gentle giant of the Mazda range did, was to reiterate that. And then some. Once again, the Mazda CX-60 3.3D AWD Takumi did not disappoint. A luxury Mazda bigger than any you’ve ever seen, it shapes up shockingly well to its established market rivals.
At 4.7 m long, 1.9 m wide and 1.7 m tall, it runs on a 2.9 m wheelbase, it’s a big car. It compares handsomely with the 4.9 m long 2 m wide 1.7 m tall BMW X5 that rides on a similar 2.9 m wheelbase. One of which just happened to be lurking alongside like fellow locks lining up for a rugby scrum, where we picked the CX-60 up at the airport valet parking. Yes. That big.
A splendidly creamy straight six turbodiesel
The really big news in this flagship CX-60 sits under the bonnet. Like upmarket X5s and GLEs, it’s a straight six turbodiesel. The 187 kW 550 Nm 3.3-litre lump fires up to a friendly burble when you prod the button. Takumi also has a 48V mild hybrid starter-generator collar sitting in the bell housing between the six and its 8-speed automatic. Which goes on to drive all four wheels.
Looking at the vital statistics, this 187 kW CX-60 3.3 accelerates to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds, sips 7.9 litres of diesel per hundred kilometres. We’d see it drop to below 6.3 in the Park and left it showing just 6.5 per hundred for the round trip. Impressive. Takumi costs R1.085-million. Gulp! For a Mazda? But hang on a second…
Its closest price rival in this neck of the woods is the Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI Elegance. It produces 190 kW runs to 100 in 6.5 seconds, sips 7.8 litres per hundred and costs R1.4 million. Yip, thee hundred grand more. Another couple of hundred grand up the market, you’ll find the four-cylinder Volvo XC90 B5 AWD. It makes 183 kW, stops the clock at 7.7 seconds to 100 km/h and sips 8 l/100 km.
CX-60 shapes up to the best shockingly well
If those dots have not yet aligned for you, consider that BMW we told you about back at the airport. The R1.8M entry X5 xDrive30d makes 219 kW, runs to 100 in 6.1 seconds and uses 7.8 l/100 km. And your starter pack GLE 300 d costs R1.9 million to roll out of a Mercedes-Benz dealership, produces 213 kW to match the Mazda’s 6.9 second hundred run. And uses 6.8 l/100km.
Looked at like that, your million-buck Mazda is quite the bargain, isn’t it? In fact its closest price rivals are actually top of the line bakkies, or Fortuner-like bakkie-based SUVs, rather than the pukka SUVs it competes with in reality. Point is, this Mazda lacks for very little. If anything. Except price. Which is why we wanted it back for this far more comprehensive week’s drive.
It balances tech and simplicity with class, performance and functionality. There’s more than enough room for all passengers and 570 litres of easily accessible cavernous luggage to boot. It gulps in four large bags at a canter and still has a little space in front and behind, and on top or them. And opens up to 1,726 litres with the rear bench down.
CX-60 cabin is a splendid, serene space
Once you’ve entered your profile, your CX-60 will recognise you and automatically adjust your seat and the rest of the car to car to your preference. The seats
cosset you in special orthopaedic ways. They proved utterly comfortable despite four eight hour stints in as many days. And we had no complaints from our adult read seat passengers, either.
The top-end Bose 12-speaker sound with Mazda noise reduction all but eliminates unwanted noise. And its splendid ride on most good surfaces matches the silence in style too . Speaking of noise, the straight-six has is pretty interesting orchestra of subtle effects to go with it. We thought that may have been limited to the first car we drove but this one did it too. Which we eventually decided was pretty cool.
CX-60’s subtle black-based 12.3-inch USB car-to-human interface features large display fonts and works beautifully with the bezel in the middle, or the logical, real steering wheel buttons. One issue we had with the Mazda Connect CarPlay and Auto infotainment was the wireless pad argued with our iPhones, overheated and stopped charging. So we had to use the cables anyway.
The dials have three modes, but you can’t have the best sports one when cruise on. The heads-up is excellent. A vast menu of onboard systems include see-through 360 camera to excellent DRL LED headlamps. We prefer the lane-keeping off, but i-Activsense radar cruise starts at 31 km/h and will drop to 15, so Park ready too.
straight-six turbodiesel a CX-60 highlight
On the road, that creamy straight six engine sounds and delivers brilliantly to match or better its toughest rivals. Ride while silky, is perhaps a tad taut on rougher surfaces. That and a woody steering feel could do with a tune-up around facelift time. None of it is bad but that’s about the only area where it may lose out against those far more expensive traditional rivals.
The penny really drops when you go back and consider those figures up top, again. Especially price. It’s a brilliant bargain. Million bucks and all. But the CX-60 represents a quantum shift for Mazda. This big diesel-electric straight-six may lack a little in some dynamic places over its traditional rivals. But then it costs a fraction of those cars to own and drive. So there really is nocomparison
Yip, ten days and 3,000 km later, this splendid bargain SUV certainly proved that it is without doubt the best-kept secret on the SUV block. As good as anything else at between a third and beyond half off, it even has one of the best badges on the road, on its nose. Bravo, Mazda! – Michele Lupini.
Testing: Giordano Lupini
ROAD TESTED: Mazda CX-60 3.3D AWD Takumi
Engine: 187kW 550 Nm 3.3-litre turbodiesel I6
Hybrid: Mild Electric
Drive: 8-speed automatic AWD
TESTED:
0-60 km/h: 3.46 sec
0-100 km/h: 6.96 sec
0-120 km/h 12.27 sec
0-160 km/h 22.45 sec
400m: 14.9 sec 155 km/h
80-120 km/h: 4.81 sec
120-160 km/h: 6.77 sec
CLAIMED:
VMax: 220 km/h
Fuel: 4.9 l/100 km
CO2: 123 g/km
Range: 1175 km
Warranty/Service: 5y unl/5y unl.
LIST PRICE: R1.085M
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