Mazda CX60 (2002) Review

PRODUCT launches are interesting beyond the new car you are driving.

That’s because you can get to the senior management who are more than happy to set out their stalls about the state of the automotive nation and future plans.

What they say acts as a barometer and offers an invaluable insight into what we might be driving in years to come.

If Mazda has it right – and I certainly have no reason to doubt it – we are not all going to be driving electrics. The mighty combustion engine will still reign supreme albeit supported by electric and much lower emissions.

That’s why the latest SUV to come out of the Mazda stable is a first – a petrol-powered plug in hybrid – and it’s designed to take on the likes of Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

Mazda champions the plight of internal combustion and flies in the face of modern convention.

So CX-60 unashamedly comes with a 2.5 litre four cylinder petrol engine to which is added a 129kW electric motor and a big fat battery.

It’s an impressive combination both on recycled paper and in reality. Check out the vital statistics: 327PS of power, 500Nm of torque, a 0-62mph sprint time of just 5.8 seconds and a governed top speed of 125mph. But also a welcome 188mpg and a polar icecap protecting 33g/km of CO2. The battery takes just over two hours to charge using an 11kW contraption and the Mazda will travel 39 miles on pure electricity alone.

On the road that translates to seamless performance, rapid acceleration, sublimely serene cruising and stunning economy. Well, that’s got my interest piqued.

Weight is carried way down low and top flight suspension, a host of electron wizardry and intelligent all-wheel-drive offers stupendous handling. On mountain roads this thing will turn and grip like a sports car without compromising comfort. It’s a big car yet feels small in your hands and the ride is so relaxing it’s a difficult car to put down.

As well as getting the low down on the vehicle’s capabilities the presentation also takes us on a tour of Japanese craftsmanship that has inspired the build, both inside and out.

Metal, stitched leather, wood and high-grade plastics are melded in supreme fashion to create a car that is catapulted into the luxury sector. Instantly the driver feels at one with the surroundings, the controls and the way CX-60 drives – and this is all by design, not accident.

CX couldn’t be a CX without looking similar to the rest of its family. But its meaty proportions and considerable might make it stand out as the eldest sibling. Strangely big brother looks so much better in the flesh than it does in photographs and being in a convoy of around a dozen certainly has heads turning.

CX-60 marks a noticeable leap forward for Mazda which was already at the top of its game for quality.

It’s the shape of things to come as the Japanese manufacturer prepares for a future influenced increasingly by environmentalists and the need to protect the planet for generations to come.

By 2025 we can expect more including five hybrids, five PHEVs and three BEVs to join the range. Internal combustion will continue in some form – albeit cleaner and more efficient – in fact CX-60 will get a 3.0 six cylinder petrol and a 3.3 litre diesel not too far down the road, because big engines are less stressed and therefore more efficient that teeny ones. They can also run on bio-fuels and will be hybrid. By 2030 all Mazdas will be BEV or PHEV.

There’s a larger, seven-seater, CX-80 coming in the next two years and there are plans for a hybrid where the petrol motor is a rotary generator whose job it is to merely power the electrics.

CX-60 has painted a bright future for the world of motoring and after looking long and hard at humans and their infrastructure Mazda has sensibly decided that it’s unlikely to be purely electric. Thank goodness for that.

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