The new CX-60 will land in South African showrooms before the end of the first half of 2023, the first plug-in hybrid (PHEV) as well as most powerful road-going SUV Mazda has ever built.
Unfortunately, however, while we are receiving the CX-60 it will not be offered as a PHEV in our market, Mazda South Africa confirmed to TopAuto.
“Mazda is developing several other hybrid/electric vehicles in the future, however, there needs to be a growing interest in demand for these vehicles in SA before we can introduce these innovations to the SA market,” said the manufacturer.
What to expect
Given that the flagship CX-60 will skip South Africa, there’s a high likelihood it will be offered in turbo-diesel guise locally, as this is what is currently being sold in the United Kingdom alongside the sportier PHEV.
Interestingly, despite petrol motors generally being used for hybrid powertrains, the CX-60 mates a 48V mild-hybrid boost system with a 3.3-litre diesel block with the aim of achieving a higher output while maintaining good fuel economy.
Two applications are on offer, a rear-wheel-drive model producing 147kW and an all-wheel-drive specification with 187kW. The lesser-powerful drivetrain boasts a fuel economy of 4.2l/100km whereas the more-powerful one scores 4.4l/100km, and both offer a maximum towing capacity of 2,500kg.
As a result of its lightweight construction, the engine also “weighs similar to the 2.2-litre Mazda Skyactiv D four-cylinder diesel engine used in the Mazda CX-5, which helps handling balance,” said Mazda.
It’s worth mentioning that the UK is still getting a 3.0-litre, turbo-petrol engine, with the details of this option yet to be announced. Considering only one out of the 16 SUV variants Mazda sells in South Africa is driven by diesel, there is a good chance the petrol CX-60 will be making its way here, too.
In international markets, the new Mazda SUV is offered in three trim lines offering varying levels of nice-to-haves.
Across the range, this includes automatic LED lights with high-beam assist, heated leather seats, a multifunction steering wheel with heating and paddle shifters, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, a reverse camera, a heads-up display, keyless entry and start, and between 18- and 20-inch alloy wheels.
A 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster is also standard, as is a 12.3-inch infotainment centre that connects to an eight-speaker sound system in the entry-level spec and a 12-speaker Bose stereo in the higher-class models.
Furthermore, drivers are well looked after with blind-spot monitoring, driver attention alert, hill launch and descent assist, intelligent speed assist, lane-keep assist with departure warnings, front pre-collision warnings, and traffic-sign recognition in each CX-60.
The new Mazda is also quite a bit larger than the current CX-5, measuring 170mm longer and 45mm taller while coming in at the same width.
It must be noted that the above-mentioned specifications are not specific to the South African models and the pricing and features for our market must still be announced.
Once it goes on sale the CX-60 will fit in right at the top of Mazda’s product roster, so we are anticipating a higher starting price than the R515,600 that its current headlining vehicle is selling for.
Mazda CX-60
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