2024 Mazda CX-70 SUV revealed and confirmed for Australia

The covers have been whipped off the all-new 2024 Mazda CX-70 large SUV today and it has immediately been confirmed for Australian launch – possibly by the end of this year.

The third model from the new Mazda Large Product Group (MLP), the Mazda CX-70 will join the CX-60 and the CX-90 in local showrooms.

A five-seater, two-row version of the wide-body CX-90 with little styling differentiation, the Mazda CX-70 is the MLP model that took Mazda Australia the longest to formulate a business case for.

A fourth new SUV model, the Mazda CX-80, is also on its way but has yet to be unveiled. It’s a seven-seat version of the narrow-body CX-60.

The four new SUVs form the core of a ‘Mazda Premium’ strategy designed to push the brand upmarket, retain customers stepping out of more mainstream models such as CX-5 and generate more profit per vehicle sold.

The new CX ‘0’ models replace the old CX-8 and flagship CX-9 seven-seat SUVs that have been killed off by Mazda.

As per the other CX ‘0’ models, the CX-70 only comes to Australia in all-wheel drive form when other markets also take rear-wheel drive versions of its new platform.

It will be offered here with the new 3.3-litre turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel e-Skyactiv inline six-cylinder engines (with eight-speed automatic and 48V mild-hybrid system) already on offer with the CX-60 and CX-90 in Australia.

However, the plug-in hybrid four-cylinder powertrain is not part of the CX-70 launch line-up. The PHEV has been offered with the CX-60 since it debuted in July 2023 and is expected to be added to the CX-90 range late in 2024.

There’s been no pricing discussed for the CX-70 as yet, but presumably it will come in a range of models and sit between the CX-60 – which is priced from $60,400 to $86,100 – and the CX-90, which starts at $74,400 and tops out at $100,935 (all plus on-road costs).

No key technical details or measurements have been as yet revealed for the CX-70, but it has been confirmed occupant seat space dimensions for both the first and second row of seats are the same as CX-90. Wheelbase and tracks are also expected to be identical.

It releases additional luggage space in the boot under the floor where the third row of seats are located in the CX-90. It also debuts in a Mazda an electric remote fold-flat function for the rear seats.

Apart from detail changes such as dark rather than chrome trimmings, a revised front bumper and a different grille, the cab-back exterior also looks to be identical to the CX-90.

Suggestions the CX-70 would adopt a swoopier coupe-style roofline than the CX-90 have not been borne out.

Inside, the CX-70 comes with exclusive Burgundy interior trim highlights, but otherwise appears similar to the basic themes of the CX-60 and CX-90.

Mazda has confirmed the CX-70 debuts in a Mazda a new monitoring system that pulls the car up to a stop if the driver is judged not to be engaged in the driving process.

It has also announced a 2500kg braked towing capacity for the CX-70, but has yet to clarify if that applies to both petrol and diesel. In both the CX-60 and CX-90 the diesel is limited to 2000kg (braked) while the petrol claims 2500kg.

The CX-60 has had only a muted reaction from the motoring press since it launched in Australia, with concerns expressed about its ride quality and the calibration of the PHEV drivetrains.

It has still gone close to matching Mazda’s forecasts of 500 sales per month. On sale from July to December last year, it averaged 463 sales.

On sale from last August, the CX-90 averaged 120 sales per month, bang in the heart of Mazda’s 100-150 sales estimate.

The CX-8 averaged 450 sales per month in its last full year on sale in 2023, while the CX-9 averaged 391 sales per month.

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