Launching as a five seater, it will expand next year with two more seats and take on the CX 80 identifier.
For now we have the CX 60 at the flagship and it’s brimming with technology, both in the powertrain and also the driving and comfort areas.
We briefly tesed all three trim levels from Exclusive to Homura and Takima and saw between 30 and 42 mpg over various main roads and some dual carriageway roads in North Wales.
The petrol engine was fairly quiet idling but noise level became more noticeable at higher revolutions while the electric motor hummed in the background adding some urge when the on-board computer considered necessary.
l liked the steering and braking action, smooth and precise, and the ability to move between modes reflected in the way the 8 gears worked. Sport, Normal EV and towing completely changed the character of the CX60 as you’d expect.
Using the column paddles also changed the modes and a driver can select what seems best but if necessary can almost instantly change to another mode or the system can do that for you.
Occasionally we thought the powertrain was hunting for the better mode and worked with a jerkiness but other times it was completely smooth.
The CX60 with 20-inch wheels and tyres was a bit bumpy on poor secondary roads, smooth enough on main roads, but it could struggle over a series of bad ridges or holes. The smaller standard wheels might be a comfier proposition.
Room is very good, both for luggage and occupants and it seemed to have abundant oddments space for a family.
It’s worth looking at the option packs to refine what you want on top of the individual trim levels, which are high in any case, but you need to carefully choose the features.
It’s a good flagship for the brand and hopefully it will become a rival to the best from Germany.
Read our full review of the Mazda CX-60 PHEV here.
