Mazda CX-60 D50e Evolve 2024 Review

At $62,500 before on-road costs, the Mazda CX-60 D50e Evolve is the entry-level model, but it’s priced consistently with Mazda’s upward march into the fringes of the $60,000-plus mid-level prestige SUV market, where Lexus NX, BMW X3 and Audi Q5 fight it out under the shadow cast by Telsa’s all-powerful, seemingly unassailable Model Y EV.

The CX-60 range comprises nine variants in all, broken down into three basic trim levels – Evolve, GT and Azami – all AWD and all available in six-cylinder petrol or diesel form, or as a 2.5-litre four-cylinder plug-in hybrid which, in $86,800 pre-ORCs top-spec Azami form, is priced below premium-spec Tesla Model Y, Lexus NX, BMW X3 and Audi Q5. In that context the CX-60 is affordable, but it is still staking out a patch in a market sector unfamiliar to Mazda.

The base Evolve-spec Mazda CX-60 is equipped well enough to get it across the line as a sub-luxury SUV. Standard gear includes satellite navigation, dual-zone climate control, a high-resolution 10.25-inch centre screen, 360°-view parking monitor, eight-speaker audio, a power tailgate, and auto-dimming for both the electrochromatic internal rear-view mirror and the powered and heated external rear-view mirrors.

It is however necessary to tick the CX-60 Evolve’s $4000 luxury pack option to get such features as leather upholstery and powered/heated front seats (with memory adjustment for the driver), digital instruments, higher-tech three-camera bird’s eye viewing, and external rearview mirrors that adjust in tandem with the driver’s-seat memory settings. And the optional Vision pack needs to be factored in to gain additional safety tech which we’ll talk about in a minute.

The Mazda CX-60 is covered by the standard five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and requires servicing every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. There is a seven-year capped-price servicing programme that sees annual costs fixed respectively at $490, $660, $999, $660, $490, $1169 and, in the seventh year, $490.

Although the CX-60 P50E Evolve Vision Luxury’s safety-tech rollout is reassuringly solid, it’s something of a disappointment for this model that technology such as front cross-traffic alert, driver attention detection and adaptive cruise control are only available with the $2000 Vision technology pack (which also includes a 12.3-inch multi-information TFT LCD display).

What you do get at Evolve level is (low-speed) autonomous emergency braking, pedestrian avoidance, lane-departure warning and lane-keep capabilities, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors, road sign recognition, vehicle exit warning and an array of 10 airbags that includes a driver’s knee bag and a front-centre bag to help protect front-seat passengers from colliding with each other – and from hitting internal hard points – in a side impact.

Despite lacking some safety tech, the Evolve-spec D50e nevertheless shares a five-star ANCAP rating with the rest of the CX-60  range.

Apart from the need to top-up the safety box to complete the list of safety provisions, there’s no suggestion otherwise of the Mazda CX-60 D50e Evolve short-changing passengers who are expecting an experience commensurate with the elevated pricing levels.

As well as the standard sat-nav, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and Bluetooth connectivity, there are USB-C ports in the front and rear of the cabin, a 150W AC outlet and one-touch power windows throughout.

Mazda’s avoidance of touch-screen controls is also evident in the rotary master-control located in the centre console, while the multi-function steering wheel covers things such as audio, phone, information display, cruise control and lane-keeping activation. There are also paddle shifters, and a conventional partly-gated shift lever that moves in an inverted L pattern with the “park” position on the upper right.

Mazda’s decision to fund the development of new inline six-cylinder engines – albeit both mild-hybrid – in the face of an electric revolution is puzzling. Off-road specialist Land Rover relies heavily on similar engine technology, but will it work for Mazda’s range of soft-roaders?

Certainly, the mild-hybrid Mazda CX-60 D50e turbo-diesel delivers.

Up on torque and down on kilowatts compared with the petrol version, the turbocharged 3.3-litre diesel combines a new torque-converter-free eight speed auto gearbox with a regenerative-braking-fed 0.33 kW/h lithium-ion battery and an integrated electric motor to deliver 187kW/550Nm (the identical-capacity turbo-petrol six-cylinder produces 209kW/450Nm) to a rear-biased, on-demand i-Activ AWD system.

Mazda makes various claims about the efficiency of the new 3.3-litre diesel: It might sound counter-intuitive, but the company says the relatively large capacity brings more complete combustion and a wider lean-burn range because of its higher airflow volumes. This improves fuel economy and lowers NOx emissions. Mazda also says the inline six-cylinder’s weight – without any clarification as to relative capacities – is comparable with that of a regular four-cylinder diesel.

The company doesn’t seem to be talking hot air: The outcome, for the diesel version at least, is impressive performance delivery, with fuel economy and C02-emission claims of 4.9L/100km and 128g/km that are more than reasonable for a relatively-lusty two-tonne SUV. Official figures say the Mazda CX-60 D50e will reach 100km/h from a standstill in a handy 7.3 seconds.

The less-thrifty petrol variant, according to Mazda, completes the zero to 100km/h sprint in 6.9 seconds while returning 7.4L/100km fuel economy and 171g/km of C02 emissions.

Trail-blazers or incendiary profit-burners? Time will tell.

In the real world, our review Mazda CX-60 D50e Evolve, over a week of testing in varied circumstances tending more towards highway than urban, didn’t budge once after settling down to a steady and entirely acceptable 5.9L/100km.

The CX-60 P50E Evolve Vision Luxury drives quite differently to any other Mazda in recent history. It’s almost as though the company has forgotten how to balance a front-engine, rear-drive platform (which can hardly be the case, seeing it has been making the MX-5 sports car since 1989).

In the way it steers, rides, and finds its way around corners, the Mazda CX-60 clearly shouts front-engine, rear-drive. It feels, and is, a lot bigger and more substantial than the CX-5.

The CX-60 does everything well. But nothing – except for the 3.3-litre inline six-cylinder diesel engine – outstandingly well.

The first thing a driver will notice is that the steering is quite weighty and, at 3.3 turns from lock to lock, also quite slow. In a way this is what you might expect when a relatively-lengthy six-cylinder engine sits on top of a front axle that needed to be pushed forward to make sufficient under-bonnet space.

In terms of agility and ride quality, the Mazda CX-60 D50e is far removed from the CX-5. In neither of these attributes is it actually bad, and cannot be described as ponderous, although the double-wishbone/multi-link suspension doesn’t feel particularly well-damped in its reactions to small bumps. Although the 18-inch wheel-tyre combination isn’t as aggressive as the 20-inch-equipped GT or Azami variants, the CX-60 P50E Evolve Vision Luxury ’s road grip is okay, but it always feels like the bigger and heavier car it actually is.

The eight-speed auto gearbox with its multi-plate wet clutch, although undoubtedly efficient and precise on the run, can’t match a conventional transmission with a torque converter at slow speeds, particularly when backing up an incline.

And this isn’t really a beef, but it’s a bit of a surprise to see Mazda avoiding the increasingly-common push-button “park” activation in favour of a spot in the more or less conventional gated shift pattern.

But the overriding, positive side to all this is that, although there are plenty of super-refined diesels out there these days, the six-cylinder Mazda is certainly among the most impressive.

The diesel CX-60 weighs in at almost two tonnes and its on-road zest is attributable mainly to the engine’s 550Nm torque peak, and the wide band where it’s available – between 1500 and 2400rpm. Zero to 100km/h in 7.3 seconds isn’t fast, but it’s fast enough, and the meaty accelerator response is on tap through a good part of the diesel’s leisurely rpm spread.

And, unless you’re contained within tight, echoing garage walls, the startup process is quiet, smooth, and only diesel-like if you listen attentively.

The on-demand, rear-biased AWD CX-60’s selectable Mi-Drive brings sport, off-road and towing modes, the latter with a braked capacity of two tonnes which, although less than the petrol CX-60’s 2.5-tonne capacity, is par for the course among other mid-size SUVs.

As an addendum, the Mazda CX-60 comes with a nice surprise in that despite its longer wheelbase, it has a 10.8-metre turning circle which is actually slightly tighter than the CX-5’s.

The new CX-60’s role in a general, brand-wide upmarket shift is evident even at base Evolve level, where there’s a subtle but definite sense of what the company calls Mazda premium.

With very little evidence of hard-touch surfacing, and durable-looking, leatherette covering on thickly-cushioned seats – plus a surfeit of finely-crafted buttons, switches and other details – the CX-60 Evolve is warmly inviting.

There’s a big, double-lidded centre console up front, plenty of space for storage of cups and drink bottles and ergonomically-sound controls on the dash and a multi-functional steering wheel in an array that clearly favours tactile push-buttons and toggle switches over touch-screens.

And the boot, which is generally clean of intrusions and includes a handy netted cubby on the left, measures up competitively against anything short of a Tesla Model Y with an all-seats-up capacity of 477 litres expanding to 1576 litres with the rear seat down – all of which is accessed by a power tailgate and an expansive rear cargo blind that rises with the opening tailgate. A space-saver spare wheel is located beneath the boot floor.

But a packaging deficiency comes with the inline sixes. Although the CX-60 is way longer overall than the CX-5 (4740mm against 4575mm), pretty much all of that goes towards accommodating the new north-pointing engines. The result is that back-seat legroom – according to available data – is actually a smidge less than the CX-5’s.

This turns out to be more of a disappointment than a deal-breaker. Recognising that the CX-5’s cabin dimensions are already competitive among rivals, the CX-60’s minor loss of some legroom is neither here nor there. Headroom and shoulder room (the CX-60 is wider and taller than the CX-5) are no problem.

And it actually won’t be long before Mazda makes all that slightly irrelevant by introducing two new models into the Australian market. This will include a five-seat CX-70  version of the flagship seven-seat CX-90 in late 2024 and, at an as-yet unspecified date, a CX-80 seven-seater based on the CX-60.

Mazda is obviously pinning a lot of faith on the success of not only the CX-60, but also the larger CX-90 which shares the same technology.

It’s all predicated on the belief that SUV buyers coming on board with the company’s upmarket aspirations will be prepared to accept the higher pricing structures that go with those aspirations.

Although the CX-60 is clearly targeted in this direction and is up to speed in many ways – including its technical adventurousness – question marks relating to its viability in the premium market remain.

Full marks to Mazda for its aspirational zeal, but will the Mazda CX-60 D50e Evolve pass the final exam?

Specs panel (hybrid)

2024 Mazda CX-60 D50e Evolve at a glance:
Price: $62,550 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 3.3-litre six-cylinder turbodiesel mild hybrid petrol-electric
Output: 187kW/550Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic with multi-plate wet clutch
Fuel: 4.9L/100km
CO2: 128g/km
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP Year 2023)

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