Road test – Mazda CX-60 PHEV

Julie Marshall drives Mazda’s largest SUV to date and its only plug-in hybrid
Mazda's CX-60 is the Japanese manufacturer's largest SUV to date - and its most powerful road car.Mazda's CX-60 is the Japanese manufacturer's largest SUV to date - and its most powerful road car.
Mazda's CX-60 is the Japanese manufacturer's largest SUV to date - and its most powerful road car.

Mazda’s latest SUV is big, very big. In fact the CX-60 the biggest Mazda currently on the fleet - until the CX-80 makes an appearance next year.

It’s also the Japanese manufacturer’s first plug-in hybrid and its most powerful road car.

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From all angles, it is a lovely thing. It has a long, elegant front end with an imposing grille, air scoops and slanted headlights. The back end is nicely balanced with two sets of double exhaust pipes. The Platinum Quartz paint on our test car caught the light and really accentuated the bold swoops of the sculptured side panels to great effect.

The CX-60 looks good from any angleThe CX-60 looks good from any angle
The CX-60 looks good from any angle

At the model’s launch earlier this year there were three trims, Exclusive-Line, Homura and Takumi.

We drove the entry-level Exclusive-Line at £45,420 with the addition of three packs, comfort, convenience and driver assistance to bring the price up to £49,570.

There was only one engine available at launch, a powerful 2.5-litre petrol affair. This is coupled to an electric motor, which together produce 322bhp. Although the CX-60 is a large, heavy car, this powerplant is more than a match for it. Acceleration from 0-62mph is 5.8 seconds and combined CO2 emissions are a meagre 33g/km.

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The eight-speed automatic transmission is faultless and skips through the gears without missing a beat. The lever is set high and is easy to operate.

The interior is smart, stylish and functionalThe interior is smart, stylish and functional
The interior is smart, stylish and functional

The range has now been joined by a diesel engine with either 198bhp rear-wheel drive or 252bhp all-wheel drive and there are more on the way.

The Mi-Drive fitted to the CX-60 switches driving modes depending on the road conditions. There’s also a sport mode which makes the accelerator more responsive, towing mode and our all-wheel drive model had an off road mode for tricky conditions

The optional convenience pack includes a 360 degree monitor, and wireless phone charging, driver pack adds a slew of safety features and the comfort pack bumps up the wheels from 18in to 20in, has electric front seats with ventilation and rear seat heaters.

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All trim levels have a head-up display. A feature which is becoming more widespread and can only be a good thing as the driver’s attention is focused on the road ahead.

Then infotainment and navigation comes by way of a large 12.3in screen which sits high above the dashboard, right in the driver’s eyeline.. There are plenty of physical switches for ease of control both underneath the screen and on the steering wheel

Until the infrastructure for electric vehicle charging is rolled out more widely. Plug-in hybrids like the CX-60 are the way to go.

With a fully charged battery, the CX-60 can, potentially manage up 188.3mpg. This is only good for the first 39 miles and once the battery is drained it moves to a still impressive 45-50mpg or so. To get the most economic use from a self-charging hybrid a fast charging port at home is necessary. I only have a domestic connection so the battery was soon depleted and I spent most of the week on petrol power.

Mazda CX-60 PHEV

Price: £45,420 (£49,570 as tested)

Engine: 2.5 e-Skyactiv PHEV AWD

Power: 322bhp

Torque: 369lb/ft

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic.

Top speed: 124mph

0-62mph: 5.8 seconds

Economy: 188.3mpg

CO 2 emissions:33g/km

EV range: 39 miles

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