This is the new Mazda CX-60. It is slightly bigger than the CX-5 and smaller than the CX-8. In the US, it will be sold as the CX-70 which is just a wider CX-60.
Mazda CX-60 Specs and Pricing
2.5L inline 4 Hybrid | 3.0L Inline 6 + Mild Hybrid (Petrol) | 3.3L Inline 6 + Mild Hybrid (Diesel) | |
---|---|---|---|
Gearbox | 8 Speed Multi-Plate Clutch Automatic | 8 Speed Multi-Plate Clutch Automatic | 8 Speed Multi-Plate Clutch Automatic |
Horsepower | 328hp | 300hp~ | 300hp~ |
Torque | 500nm | 340nm+ | 600nm+ |
0-100km/h | 5.8s | TBC | TBC |
Top Speed | 182km/h | 182km/h | 182km/h |
Price in UK | £43,950 | N/A | N/A |
Price in Germany | €47,390 | N/A | N/A |
Price in USA (CX-70) | $35,000 est. | TBC | TBC |
Mazda’s infamous Kodo design continues here. I like that they have differentiated it from the CX-5, CX-50 and the CX-8/9. The rear design is particularly striking. Compared to other Japanese car makers, Mazda’s design is in its own top league. If you are like me, you take time to admire current gen Mazdas in traffic and probably end up falling in love.
The interior gets the biggest plus. It’s not trying to be German like; Mazda loathes following the market blindly, they are trying to be better and for the price range no one can dispute they have achieved that goal. It is meticulously refined and almost too good to be true for a Mazda. You find maple wood and nappa leather inside mixed with traditional Japanese decor style.
They have incorporated Kaichou, a Japanese decor style that involves disruption of different materials and textures. The interior materials are binded using a style known as Musubu, everything from chrome to woven fabric has been used here. The panoramic roof lets in all the light from the land of rising sun, smashing on the nicely curated interior materials to create a beautiful and relaxed ambience.
You have full time all wheel drive, rear wheel based. Mazda’s motto is to “celebrate driving”, they ditched a torque converter gearbox for the multi-plate clutch 8 speed in order to improve cornering performance. They also have an anti body roll system fitted at the rear, you can enjoy those twisties properly on a long trip. A double wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension completes the ‘celebrate driving’ experience.
Mazda is unique, and while it’s common for car makers to follow each other in today’s car industry, Mazda has always been more of a lone wolf. Since their beginning of time, this Jap car maker has taken bold moves and extraordinary measures to be different.
They are one of the few car makers that follow their tagline to the core, “if it’s not worth driving, it’s not worth building.”. If being different was a car, it would be a Mazda.
This type of attitude has allowed them to make some legendary achievements in the car in the car industry including:
1. Mass producing the first rotary engine in the late 60s.
2. First Asian car maker to win Le Mans (1991, Mazda 787B).
3. Mazda MX5/Miata: no other car maker is brave enough to venture into this category, open top – affordable sports car, those that do it price their cars high and in most scenarios these cars get discontinued like the Mercedes SLC/SLK.
4. Skyactiv technology is not just one of those badges you see on engines…it is revolutionary, theya are doing the opposite of what the car industry is doing – upsizing.
To fully understand why the CX-60 is a big deal we have to understand Skyactiv, even a little bit is enough
Skyactiv technology revolves around engine compression ratio. Engine compression ratio (see figure below) is basically the ratio between the cylinder volume with the piston at the bottom [creating big space] and the cylinder volume with piston at the top [creating smallest space]. In this case if big space is 10 cubic inches and small space is 1 cubic inch then the ratio is 10:1.
If the big space is 5 cubic inches and the small space is 1 cubic inch the engine compression ratio is 5:1 like pre war cars of the early 1900s, this engine can be considered to have a low compression ratio. If it’s say 13:1 then this engine can be considered to have a high engine compression ratio.
So instead of downsizing their engines, Mazda has introduced a series of 3 liter inline 6 engines, one diesel (3.3L) and one petrol (3.0L). Regular crossover SUVs don’t upsize especially not in 2022, neither do they introduce new petrol and diesel engines in the middle of EV revolution. But Mazda is confident that their high compression engine ratios have what it takes to survive in this climate.
Mazda has mastered the art of high compression ratios, despite the high risks involved. Theoretically, if the thermal energy [heat] is too high then the wear is high too, which means you need to keep changing parts as heat leads to quicker deterioration, in worst cases more heat means the air+fuel mix can detonate prematurely leading to a knock.
This is where Skyactiv saves the day. In the new Mazda CX-60, Mazda reached new heights with the Skyactiv engine. Here it’s called Skyactiv-X and it comes with a small roots supercharger to blow more air than fuel into the combustion chamber and mild hybrid (48v system to supply power to basic amenities like A/C). More importantly the compression ratio has increased from 14:1 to 16:1. That’s like a diesel car. Skyactiv engines from 2011 have a compression ratio of 14:1, this was unheard of in a regular mass production car.
Indeed, Mazda wanted a gasoline engine that has the advantages of a diesel car (more torque and near instant acceleration) and those of a gasoline car, revving like a naturally aspirated car. Sort of like a hybrid petrol-diesel car that runs on petrol.
These are the spoils you get from the new CX-60:
1. Good fuel economy due to a high compression engine ratio that uses more air + less fuel during combustion. The tiny roots supercharger makes sure there is more air than fuel and helps to reduce chances of a knock. So you have a 3.0L petrol car with fuel economy of a 1.5L diesel car.
2. Diesel cars don’t have spark plugs, the high engine compression like our Mazda here helps create lots of heat and pressure to ignite the air+fuel mix. Mazda is doing both in the CX-60. Part of the air+fuel mix is ignited by a tiny tiny spark, only a tiny tiny fuel spray is used here and lots of air to fill up the remaining part of the cylinder. The rest of the mixture is ignited by the heat + pressure generated by the insanely high compression just like in a diesel car. What this means is that the mixture burns completely and generates the maximum energy possible, and hence the near instant torque and acceleration like in a high powered diesel car. Overall you have petrol cars with high torque numbers.