@@Danis8Pastry weirdly enough they didn't fund the use of used veg oil in diesel cars.... instead they made you pay duty for using used veg oil.... anything to tax the consumer I guess. Maybe because it was much cheaper than diesel and you get it from restaurants by asking for it lol. Do need a good filter for the engine however.
For me the late Mazda6 was the best Mazda family car, a joy to drive, roomy, high spec, gorgeous interior much like this and a button to turn off the lane keep assist. I loved mine. Plus 53 mpg from the 2.5 petrol on a motorway run. Superb car, criminally ignored.
Always liked them. But trunks suck. Wish we got a wagon version in the states. Also maybe a Allroad version or something. Then it would have been perfect. They have also aged very well.
@@davidy80 I have to disagree, don't get me wrong it's far from perfect, but more than acceptable. It takes some moon like surface to really upset it.
Dear Mazda, well done with the engine, their are indeed lots of us out here for whom diesel is the right choice. Now, the actual car..... There are lot's of us out here for whom a traditional estate is the right choice. You know the Mazda 6 estate that you used to make? Something like that please.
There was a bit of an issue over the last 2-3 years where people who wanted estates simply couldn’t buy them new due to component shortages, which in turn affected their sales stats, which has in turn convinced manufacturers to stop selling them - at least in the UK
@@chrisrelentless902it’s definitely getting a bit better again, but there’s way less choice than there was 5 years ago, and the trouble was when you tried to get one of them from a dealer and were given an absurdly long wait time. A lot of people just bought some sort of crossover or suv because they didn’t want to deal with waiting lists and delays, as that’s all a lot of dealerships would have in stock.
@@KM-nr3br true, hopefully it will improve there are signs that it will. New Peugeot 308 and Vauxhall Astra estates, the Dacia Logan is basically a large 7 seat estate. MG5 and hopefully more of manufacturers continue to understand that people still want them. I think the Mazda 6 Tourer is still available new too despite being a bit long in the tooth now hopefully it is replaced soon.
Still liking my diesel as it’s a good engine for long distance motorway driving which is what I use it for. The Mazda looks quite good (like their red) and I hope they sell a lot to thank them for building it
It is madness! It is as aerodynamic as two bricks, and people really do not need 4wd. It is not made to go off road just look intimidating. I have a Mercedes E class estate , it is quick, gets round a corner much better that the brick, is far smoother and more comfortable, has more room all round with a much bigger boot. As it is 2wd and aerodynamic it only needs a 2 litre diesel engine (which you cannot hear either inside or outside the car). Around town it gets 55mpg and on a run I have got 72mpg.
@@grolfe3210 Just because you don't need 4x4 does not mean others don't. Some people live in rural areas and are definitely in need of a 4wd. Some tow things other than caravans. Also, when it snows, you ain't going nowhere in your E-Class Estate Sir, except sideways. Some people still need to go out to work all weathers. So please don't make assumptions for others.
@@joelamosun9341 The review is UK made for a UK spec car and conditions in the UK. I do not know where you are. They have roads in rural areas in the UK and I see no need for 4wd to drive along them. Yes 1% of buyers may have something to tow. When it snows in Sweden they all get in rwd volvo estate cars rather like my E class, and fit winter tyres, they do not go sideways as they have learned to drive in the snow and happily go to work in snow. You may not be aware that in the south of the UK where most people live we get about two days snow per year, and the Mazda had smooth road tyres the same as my merc. The assumption I make is that these will be driven by people who have no need for 4wd, do not tow, drive in town mostly and have no need for a two ton box. I make that assumption because every day I see cars like this doing this.
@@grolfe3210 You have just mentioned you are making an assumption. I live in Kent. Unless you have been to every rural area in the UK, you cannot assume what the needs of people are. Scandinavian countries and some countries in Europe make it a legal requirement to fit winter tyres during the cold months. That's cool but it's not so over here. The beauty of the market is choice. If you don't like 4wd cars then that's your decision. I like them, as well as rear wheel drive cars on a good day. I had a BMW 5 series before and they drive lovely. But I prefer to have a 4wd car especially with the bigger and more powerful petrol or diesel engines we have available these days.
@@joelamosun9341 You are showing yourself to be a bit dim- "Unless you have been to every rural area in the UK, you cannot assume what the needs of people are. " Actually you can. You go to a sample few and then can work out that the others are similar. The fact winter tyres are not required in the uk shows we do not generally have severe winter conditions and so you choice to pick a car that is ideal for two days of the year and rubbish for the other 363 days is certainly your choice but forgive me for pointing out that it is a rubbish choice. As far as engine size, using the E class as an example, they sell 10 cars with the diesel 2 litre for every one with the 3 litre. The uk/europe market is moving away from big unnecessary engines.
I'm not in the market for one of these but I want to buy one simply to support Mazda making a straight 6 with RWD. Well bloody done, I hope more car manufactures follow suit! Go Internal combustion and go RWD!!
Diesel-electric hybrid? Sure, why not! So what that nobody else does: their loss. Not their finest work aesthetically but Mazda just don't do ugly, mercifully. Always well equipped as well
It’s mild hybrid like pretty every modern car. Don’t confuse mild hybrid system with hybrids. It’s not the same. Just advanced start/stop without all the lag.
no no no. It's not diesel electric in any meaningful or awesome sense, whatsoever! Merely for minor efficiciency gains that will mean nothing to the owner.
Not only it is a diesel, but it is an inline-6 diesel! I am still waiting for revival of an inline-8 engine configuration (highly unlikely) but maybe, maybe Mazda will be the one to do that. P.S. I think they choose inline-6 because they can share tooling with inline-4 but Mazda used to make V6, and that makes much more sense, because it's a smaller, more compact engine. Inline-6 is more refined but who cares these days?
I do - which is why i ordered one as a replacement from my Mercedes E300de with everything ticked. And i'm eagerly waiting for mine. Had the pleasure of driving a loaner for nearly 350 km and while there are some things i'm going to miss from the Mercedes...that engine absolutely makes up for it.
The straight-6 has had something of a renaissance of late and I'm told it's to do with all the MHEV gubbins, which are easier to fit to the side of a longer, narrower engine than they are a squarer V6.
lol. Many of us who aren' t even fussy strongly prefer an inline six!! Furthermore, in theory, an inline six is far more easily servicable than v6 and has fewer parts and less labor for major work. By a huge factor, which these days is biiiig deal in the developed world.
@@18_rabbit Yeah, I will give you better access (I own inline-6 engined car myself, Morris Isis) and if you work on your car yourself, could make a difference. When comes to complexity, I am an automotive engineer and frankly, it is more about how much of a rip-off service network is in your area than anything. Renault for example is very expensive for sort of lower-cost brand, Ford on the other hand is reasonable. Jaguar in my experience is the cheapest of all premium brands, regardless of model. Japanese brands tend to be more expensive to service. Opel is surprisingly expensive, reason why my father sold his previous car way earlier than he wanted because service costs were pissing him off. As somebody into older cars/veterans, having a choice, depends on brand but I wouldn't care if the engine is V6 or I6. I would care if the choice was V8 or I8 because these two are very different animal (and I much prefer inline-8, they are sleeve-valve silent) but here, I like both configurations equally.
So a few thoughts. The fidgety ride is (obviously) worse on the 20" wheels - but you can only have the 18" wheels on the base spec 'Exclusive'. There has been some chat on forums that there was a tweak from Mazda for some changes to suspension to improve that... also some aftermarket shocks (can't remember the brand) that make a big difference but hard to get in the UK right now but Mazda will endorse. I've driven a Homura spec PHEV demo quite a lot (20" wheels) and own an Exclusive spec PHEV (18" wheels) - my own choice as it's the only way to get the smaller wheels. Ride quality is definitely better on the 18" wheels. Handling and turn in on the 20" is (maybe) marginally better but at the end of the day it's a 2 ton high riding vehicle.. so what!. I decided to go Exclusive and add technology packs (but not the stupid pano roof that only opens a tiny amount). It's not been a seamless 'delivery' - as my first Mazda - I like the car but it's been some trouble from new (mostly not mechanical). The one mechanical thing is that the prop shaft needs replacing... weird vibe above 35 or so MPH to 45 - 50 MPH. Known issue apparently... Batch of bad prop shafts I guess.
I've got a Mazda CX-5 2.2 Diesel. That manages a consistent 48.5 MPG. I'd have thought the hybrid would have been better. Anyway, well done to Mazda 👏🏻
What I loved about my previous focus is you could essentially turn off lane assist while still having it active. Could stop it moving the wheel and only have the alerts. If the light on the dash annoyed you It also had a very convenient button on the end of the indicator stalk to turn it off. But like you mentioned about this car, the collision assist was incredibly panicky. Thankfully only had the audible warning and not emergency braking kick in
Auto-braking saved my ass twice. Once I was a bit too close to the car in front at an intersection and they slammed on the brakes despite being yellow. I also slammed on the brake but I felt it soft meaning the auto-brake had kicked in. And once I was reversing in a lateral parking spot and didn't notice the front of the car heading towards a small fence. The car started beeping then braked itself, preventing a bumper scrape.
I've got a CX5 Sportnav 2.2 Diesel for the last 8 years and I love it. I am thinking about an upgrade, But your points about annoying safety features and the harsh ride helped me to cross this one off my list as it doesn't sound much fun to drive. Thanks.
I bought a Mazda CX-5 a few months ago and it’s a brilliant car. It’s nice to see Mazda get some recognition at last for doing things a little bit differently.
I agree with you on safety systems. Not heard one good thing about lane keep assist. Luckily my golf 7.5 only has collision assist and that doesn't pipe up that often but odd weather conditions can fool it and make it beep. Mostly just beeps though rather than forcefully doing anything. The stop start is linked to the radar too so if going slowly in traffic and the car in front is stationary it will kill the engine. But if that traffic then moves off straight away its not quick to restart again. Very quick if you've already stopped and need to set off from some lights, even restarts when car in front moves but there's a delay between immediately switching the engine off and engine back on again. Also kills the engine on busy roundabouts if you have to stop. So great I have an easily accessible button to turn that off. The replacement mark 8 on the other hand goes a few steps further and also gets rid of my lovely well laid out controls. Nice to see that mazda is still using them unlike VW. Mild hybrid should make stop start restarts a lot more seamless.
That's precisely why I went for a proper hybrid. The Toyota CHR may not be a fast car but it's amazing in town. Everything is so seamless. Once it's warmed up (and it does that really fast due to some clever tricks) you never feel when the petrol engine kicks in and when you're going purely electric. And the e-CVT means no stutters, no judders, no vibrations. The lane assist is also pretty awesome. I don't use it in town as it gets quite annoying but on motorway I set the strength to maximum, sensitivity to maximum, radar-based cruise control on and all I have to do is keep a finger on the steering wheel and it turns into a full-on autopilot (with the odd beep as it pulls the car back in lane on sharper motorway turns)
It's not pretty like the old 6 was, it looks as aggressive as that car felt to drive though. Rear wheel drive as well? They're tilting at BMW hard, but I think it's a fight they can steal a win in easily on appearances alone, let alone the quality. Nice mix of modern accoutrements with some old school features. No eating inside though
Thank you for your evaluation, especially the ride characteristics. That fidgety ride is a complete deal breaker for me. It still amazes me how vehicle manufacturers manage to get it so incredibly wrong.
I have a mk1 Mazda 3 and a Jaguar Sovereign XJ40. When I switch back to the Mazda, it's not even fun how potholes seems to be everywhere, whereas in the Jag, they disappear completely. But, the Mazda is fuel efficient and very reliable.
i remember reading a press release from Mazda a few years back and they announced they will focus more on SUV's and maximum profitability, canceling any sporty models. While they are appreciated, not many are sold and the company struggled financially. Considering the circumstances, I think they made the right decision for now.
Driven both the PHEV and RWD diesel, I would go for a diesel 100% Overall more refined experience and fuel economy are consistently low. On the PHEV you must plug it in to get advertised economy figures.
I have a diesel Jaguar XJ and Sadiq Khan will have to prise the keys out of my cold dead hands. I regularly drive it from London to the south of Spain doing the whole of France in one day and the whole of Spain the second day. A big fast comfy diesel is the only way to do it.
One reason for this approach may be that Mazda is very big in many emerging countries. I live in Colombia and have a CX-9 which unless you really love big Toyotas or are willing to stomach Audi’s insane parts costs is really about the best luxury choice you can make. Infrastructure for electric cars has started but is well behind the developed countries. So petrol and diesel cars will still be the majority of the market here for a long time. Not that I am anti electric cars, and Colombia produces most of its electricity from hydro so when it does come online here it will be a good choice. But in the interim Mazda and some other companies will take even more of the market share here as other manufacturers drop petrol and diesel cars. And of course if they can sell the product elsewhere as well, all the merrier for their shareholders.
Just FYI since i had the same gripe on the auto brake system, all Mazda cars 2016+ i think have it, they learn your drive style what the dealer said anyway(does take a few days of driving), and there are options that you can set, as in regard to sensitivity of the system, its under settings then safety... etc...
Mazda started low compression in 2012 when they developed their first post Ford, Skyactiv-D. It was based on decades of British and Indian university papers which showed low compression to have significantly lower emissions, but Mazda has been the only car maker to adopt the research due to low compression being harder to start in cold conditions. Mazda fixed that by performing cylinder warming by exhaust recirculating on startup. But the main benefit aside from emissions is a higher rpm that happens to also divorce it from the agricultural noise present in 16:1 and more so 18:1 engines.
JayEm you are by far my favourite automotive journalist as you look at cars in a everyday way and enjoy the finer details of cars . Cheers mate from North Norfolk UK Joel
I don't think I would have a car that decides to brake when I don't need it to, it sounds like there is so much to go wrong, the style is similar to a brick but it is nice to see an interior that isn't dull black.
Seen one or two of these on the road and they look brilliant in the metal. Drivetrain options are definitely appealing too. *BTW you can spec these with lesser wheels and higher profile tyres.
likely they predict it won't sell well. Our american appetites and knowledge as consumers has been dismal as has been other social understandings etc with many ppl behaving in retrograde antiprogress manners. Hopefully we are starting to regain stability and basic social controls in society in the not distant future!
It's a brand new platform and what I am hearing is this is very much a version one car. If you have an interest in the CX-60 it might well be worth waiting until Mazda have revised and refined the driveline (which they will) or even wait until the second generation of this platform before buying.
I've owned a F15 X5 40d for the past 8 years! To be entirely honest I'm yet to drive a car with that much breadth of ability. 45mpg schlep across Europe - check. 30+mpg round town - check. Hot hatch performance, comfort and practicality all rolled into one package. Comparing the mMazda to its nearest competitor, the Toyota Highlander, I think that the Mazda would (in Europe where the highlander is only available as a 4 pot hybrid) make for a more complete ownership experience barring the need for a 7 seater.
Mazda has been working on low compression diesel tech for years. I wonder if it has anything in common with the new high mileage gas engine tech with the pre-chamber, that us Yanks don't get. Wasn't Honda doing pre-chamber combustion in the 70's, with a carburetor? Given the disaster electric charging will become in the near term, high mileage engines and green fuels will continue to be interesting for some time to come.
wow, how pathetic as usual that we muricans dn't get the full-on right-stuff. Nothing like continuing to be the piss-poor cousins and getting the least options, fewest models, fewest brands by far! Literally this trend started long ago and was a sign to me that the american traditional flexiblity in economy and relatively smart-thinking was deterioiating in ways that are very expensive to the little ppl. Disgusting to me as a very left leaning liberal.
I have owned a number of diesel vehicles. I have zero complaints. I especially enjoy diesels on the freeways.... they usually settle down and just run. They get quieter I think. No tuneups really. Glow plug replacement rarely. Oil changes.
Good job mazda. After watching cx60 reviews and hearing the inline 6 diesel 250+hp this is going to be my first choice compared to ford everest 4x4 and fortuner grs. My only concern is the ground clearance?
I think it's a really interesting car value for money quality car and they've actually thought but not everyone's going to be able to have an electric vehicle. There's not the infrastructure. We have a CX-5 on the firmer ride on the big tires means you actually handles lovely compared to all the Hyundai's and Kia's that I chose to test drive. The masda was by far much better quality all round I didn't have frustration of the touch buttons and you know it will last
After watching video after video lauding Mazda's prowess, I showed up at an American dealership to purchase a CX-90. The reviews were so glowing, and the interior photos so beautiful, that I had thought the test drive perfunctory. Instead, I found the ride flinty and disagreeable, as was found the in this CX-60 review. Others may embrace the sporty handling, but I did not. I had expected Mazda's ride to have the excellent marriage of sporty feel with compliant suspension that is found almost routinely in German vehicles. That ride was not found here, and I continue my search for the sophisticated suspension in something other than a German car. I do feel that the Lexus GS 350 has come the closest.
I really hope this engine remains reliable. I work at a Mazda dealer and the 2.2 Skyactiv D 4 pot diesels can, and do, suffer from serious problems. Some of which can mean the end of the car. I am not a fan of SUVs. HOWEVER, the second I saw the first CX-60 we serviced, a 2.5 PHEV in Soul Red Crystal, I fell in love with it.
I love my older 2.2 Diesel CX5 auto and won’t be trading up anytime soon - 42-44 mpg average , roomy ,comfortable and mainly reliable - yes the ride is a little hard standard - I changed to gas shocks and struts - night and day and the tyres are a little noisy but still a great car for the money and cheap to service…. Hybrids ( battery issues) and EV,s - shove them where sun don’t shine - I,ll be running my dirty diesel till the doors drop off👍
in moderate climates, ie not too cold or hot, the newer hybrids by toyota at least are truly nice to operate and own. Even fifteen years ago they were and the efficiency is the larger such toyotas is incredible, e.g. Rav4. But im with you ,i prefer the diesel power, though NOT what it may cost to own overall!!! watch out for that!
i had to rent a car recently and got a CHR - the thing had lane assist that tried to send me into a ditch at least three times in the one day that i drove it..
I’m a simple man who grew up in the 80/90’s very much enjoying my regular diet of Gerry Anderson, so a video that references Thunderbird 6, which is an excellent film, I immediately give a ‘Like’.
Inline sixes are smoother ( perfect balance) and cheaper to make than vee sixes.The latter have two heads,camshafts,exhausts etc. Yes they are longer but that is the only minus against all the plusses.
I had a fully loaded CX60 as a rental. I have to say I was impressed, very premium. But, the gearbox is a bit of letdown. Very often searches for gears.
Great review, most enjoyable. Agree about the safety features - manufacturers and legislation have gone too far in the wrong direction. Too much tech that doesn’t function properly or is expensive to repair when it inevitably goes wrong. Whose fault is that? I applaud the efforts to make our trips safer but what gives? Love my Mazda 6 to bits but it has a TPS warning symbol that cannot be reset as it is incorrectly diagnosing a fault that doesn’t exist. Mazda have failed to fix it on 2 visits but I have got over the irritation long time ago. Fond of Mazdas, not so much of the dealers.
I just acquired an suv for my wife, it was between the Macan and BMW X3, I opted for the latter as two Porsche on our drive was not the impression I wanted. The X3 so far is excellent for the daily grind with a balance of economy, drivability and performance if I can used that word.
I hope this vehicle is supported solely for the diesel options. £52k for a Mazda though. A very big and nicely equipped Mazda but I think it's the wrong side of £50k by some margin
Not sure it's related, but I have a 2011 Mazda 6 & I would also call it fidgety. It doesn't want to sit completely still in a lane on a fast road/motorway without more steering adjustment than I'm accustomed to. It's way more fun to drive than any of my previous old bangers, but it's not as relaxing a motorway cruiser as some of them. It's the 1st car I've ever owned that I could say comes even close to having a sporty feel (1988 Fiat Uno, 1990 Nissan Sunny, 1994 Primera Saloon, Ford Escort, another Primera, Almera, & finally a P12 2006 Primera (the ugly one & I loved it)). All of which had small wheels & big old tyre side walls, & therefore slumphy rides. The Mazda has 18" wheels & 225/45 tyres, which aren't exactly rubber bands, but they do make speed bumps a little more obvious. Maybe it is just a Mazda thing & that's the way they feel. Also, as it's the NA 2.0 petrol, you have to rev it out to get any sort of acceleration, which just adds fun as you need to interact with the manual gears & floor it. Wish Mazda hadn't dropped the newer 6, as that'll be the next car I'll likely move up to, but I stopped buying Nissans beacuse I don't want an SUV. I'll do the same with Mazda down the road.
Fully agree with the point about turning off safety features, my car has been in for repair for the last week or so and i've had a nissan Quashqai hire car. It had a fit every 5 minutes for no good reason and the collision pre-warning drove me insane, it was honestly distracting because it made a loud beeping noise and flashed a warning on the screen in the instrument cluster which drew the eye away from the road which to me is downright stupid. I was very happy to have my 2016 Octavia VRS back. Turn off lane assist and so on, and they stay off, plus it doesn't flash distracting warning messages all over the place
7:03 when you say stuff like that in your reviews you need to make it clear that it's only on that SPECIFIC TRIM LEVEL, any regular person who sees this will immediately dismiss the whole model bc they don't understand that other trims do NOT have this issue.
The safety systems in my Mazda 3 don't bother me personally and are probably quite similar, although the car is quite a bit smaller than the cx-60. The ride quality isn't the softest in that car but I like it personally, however I get that you'd want more compliance from an SUV
My dad had one of these (Plug in hybrid) as a loaner for a week. The conclusion was that the build quality is quite superficial (don't look to closely), the Infotainment is a nightmare (slow, convoluted menus, even some abbrev. points in the settings, no proper trip computer) and the space to size ratio is horrible. It was also quite noisy. He ended up ordering the Seat Tarraco hybrid instead - significantly cheaper, more intuitive user interface, and significantly more space.
700 miles to a tank normal commutes 800+ on longer motorway journeys , reason I bought a diesel and wouldn't want anything else. There's still a massive fan base for real cars that deliver reliability , economy and longevity....just can't see EV's ever doing the same.
James, it would be good to know the towing capacity of these SUVs when you test them. Some of us have boats and other interesting stuff to tow and I sometimes wonder if the weight of these hybrid powertrains compromise their towing capability?
Mazda has been pretty obvious in its attempts to copy the BMW in many aspects - one of my babies is a 530d F11 - and there are SO MANY details on the Mazda that just remind instantly of anything made by BMW - design of the plastic engine cover, design of lane/change or brake assistant buttons and their placement (along with the freaking storage cubby underneath!), design of Mazda's iDrive controller (esp. in previous gen Mazdas which was IDENTICAL to BMW's), and of course - the I6 (is it true? Mazda and BMW are currently the only ones globally manufacturing I6 diesels?). Which overall isn't a bad thing. BMW has figured out very many of its features - which Mazda "gets inspired from" - besides, Mazda will probably be much more reliable than its German "inspiration" - and most importantly, Mazda is not mimicing - or even trying to - BMW in one very important aspect - exterior design. Where BMW has been horrendous in all its models during the last 5 years - up to the point where Zipse (BMW's current CEO) has gone on record saying "modern cars need to be UGLY" - by the way - NO - THEY DON"T - Mazda on the other hand - has been designing beautiful, cohesive, flowing cars imbued (what a word) with GOOD DESIGN (as opposed to BMW's BAD design). Especially the current Mazda6 are just.. marvellous to look at, both in sedan and Touring... sorry, wagon form. I almost can't help myself but stop and take a picture every time I see one (the same goes for E34 Touring BMWs and many other BMWs - except any from the last 5 years). Mazda's have never been particularly ugly - or at least no one will remember any period of Mazda car manufacturing as "being ugly" - unlike with current BMWs - but I guess it all started with the current Mazda3 - which is more beautiful than a Golf, a Corolla, an Elantra, probably on par/similar with current Civic - and they've been making just overall very visually pleasing machinery. Also introduction of a new, large diesel engine currently is applaudable and flies on the face of all those idiots who - without understanding or reason - claim they're saving pandas, polar bears and ... what else... whales, yeah, definitely whales. So Mazda being one of the smallest Japanese car manufacturers - keep doing what you're doing - and good luck - from Latvia.
Damnit Mazda, give us a 6/Atenza with these engine options and interior! If I could get a straight six hybrid sedan or wagon that wasn't as ugly as the current BMWs, I absolutely would. I get why it's not happening, but that won't stop me wishing it would and being sad that it's not.
This stupid ban on diesel and petrol needs to be cancelled. EV’s are far more polluting and if you have any sort of reasonable busy life a pain to fill up. EV’s do have a part along with diesel and petrol, hydrogen will also feature heavily when these stupid politicians are voted out. Common sense is needed
That “stuff” you refer to in the dashboard is the fabric used for kimono suits. It is very beautiful and nice to touch but I have no idea how it will age. I am waiting the delivery of our CX-60, and I was thinking of writing about it.
Not a pretty car, but looks stately. I feel your frustration with the safety systems. Several times my Qashai has slammed on the brakes for no reason. Fortunately, I wasn’t going very fast at the time and even more fortunately, there was nothing behind me. It is very disconcerting though.
Isn't it possible to program a few hot key presets in the computer for frequently chosen options? In my old e61 I can use the numbered preset buttons on the radio to make shortcuts to e.g. audio settings, night mode, screen off etc.
I saw the new Mazda EV at Le Mans with the rotary engine range extender, which I think was hydrogen fuelled. There were quite a few people (myself included) who went and had a look at it, although probably not for the EV part though. Few other interesting cars on display in the display areas including a Toyota GR tuned new Prius and quite a lot of hydrogen fuelled cars including a load of Toyota Mirai's, Toyota's hydrogen combustion Corolla they used at the 25 hr race event in Japan and other hydrogen powered vehicles including a bus.
Have had the PHEV Homura version of this for some 2 months now and it both impresses and disappoints in equal measure. Gripes include it having almost to much safety tech, it seems to be forever bleeping or flashing messages the most ironic one being "distracted driver detected" which seems to happen frequently on motorway driving causing you to be distracted. Another would be that, as it rides on 20 inch wheels, it has a tendency to wander and follow camber, again particularly noticeable on motorways and the suspension is firm to say the least, in a nutshell its not a relaxing car to drive. On the plus side best combined mpg is around 35.5 which, for something the size of a small bungalow, is respectable, fit and finish holds up against better perceived brands, very good basic spec and my favorite, put it in sport mode where you then harness all 330bhp, plant your right foot and hold on tight, a tad over 5 seconds 0 to 60 is fairly brisk but do this around 40mph and it becomes one seriously quick bungalow!!
You would have had to spec into all that safety stuff though. And the 20 inch wheels. Its way to expensive for my tastes even in out the box spec, but i would be curious if basic spec alleviates all the gripes. Seems likely to me.
@@jamesmaybrick2001 I suppose you do in a way as its standard spec on that model in the range (starting point for PHEV) but I'm pretty sure it has a lot of these as standard across the whole range? Definitely think the smaller tyers would help but, as I said before, it's not a car you can relax in whilst driving.
Would not touch a mazda diesel with a barge pole. The absolutely stuffed the cx5 diesel, the diesel drives well, runs well, dies really well. Mate has one and its just over 5 years old with oil problems and now has a drinking problem.
Pretty sure they a hybrid mixed with the 2.3 petrol and isn’t just brilliant it’s brutal! I love the car my mate has one as a company car on order i am very jealous! I would say one thing I noticed while driving it is was that considering it’s size! It felt like I had so much sensitivity in the steering it was almost frightening a little too twitchy! But boy o boy does it grip!! It shouldn’t be able to do the things it does while weighing that much!
I love my 530d F11 BMW. It’s luxurious, practical and goes like stink. Handles well too for a big heavy car due to its adaptive dynamic drive. Cost me £7.5k with 86k miles with £12k of optional extras. In comfort mode it’s like a Limo, but put it in sport or sport + mode and it becomes a Jekyll and Hyde car.😁
I have owned the Exclusive 254bhp version with 18" wheels for a year now and I must disagree with some of your comments. Firstly, the gearbox is fine, the gearchanges are smooth and slick(not F1 standards of course) with no delays or jerkiness. Secondly, as you say the ride is quite firm at times but not uncomfortably so - the price you pay for sporty handling maybe ? I guess 18" wheels make a difference. Lastly, your mpg(43/44) figures are, may I say, as a result of your driving style which I guess errs on the side of Lewis Hamilton . I comfortably get 50+ mpg whether in town or on a run. I am not a slow driver. Having said that I do enjoy your reviews.
I’m with Mazda. We’ve all been conned. Go diesel!
The new 5 series, no diesel, ridiculous. 3.0d one of the best engines they did!
Any ICE will do me. Wouldn't touch any BEV nonsense.
@@mikemagoomcgradyYuo. Tragic design language and banished engines.
Though diesel was a government funded con as well for many years, just like EV's today. And like diesel, EV's are gonna crash hard one day.
@@Danis8Pastry weirdly enough they didn't fund the use of used veg oil in diesel cars.... instead they made you pay duty for using used veg oil.... anything to tax the consumer I guess.
Maybe because it was much cheaper than diesel and you get it from restaurants by asking for it lol. Do need a good filter for the engine however.
Great to see a 6 cylinder anything these days
Inline 6, smoother than a V.
For me the late Mazda6 was the best Mazda family car, a joy to drive, roomy, high spec, gorgeous interior much like this and a button to turn off the lane keep assist. I loved mine. Plus 53 mpg from the 2.5 petrol on a motorway run. Superb car, criminally ignored.
Agree, but just like the review above, shocking on bad surfaces.
Always liked them. But trunks suck. Wish we got a wagon version in the states. Also maybe a Allroad version or something. Then it would have been perfect. They have also aged very well.
@@davidy80 I have to disagree, don't get me wrong it's far from perfect, but more than acceptable. It takes some moon like surface to really upset it.
Agreed, I'm on my second Mazda6 And it has been amazing.
@@baronvonjo1929 There's nothing wrong with the third gen Mazda 6 sedan's trunk, the trunk on that car is huge.
Dear Mazda, well done with the engine, their are indeed lots of us out here for whom diesel is the right choice.
Now, the actual car.....
There are lot's of us out here for whom a traditional estate is the right choice. You know the Mazda 6 estate that you used to make? Something like that please.
There are not lots of people for whom wagons are the way. At least not paying customers, which is why they are dying.
There was a bit of an issue over the last 2-3 years where people who wanted estates simply couldn’t buy them new due to component shortages, which in turn affected their sales stats, which has in turn convinced manufacturers to stop selling them - at least in the UK
Plenty of estates still available, Corolla Tourer, Skoda Octavia and superb are just 3 to mention
@@chrisrelentless902it’s definitely getting a bit better again, but there’s way less choice than there was 5 years ago, and the trouble was when you tried to get one of them from a dealer and were given an absurdly long wait time. A lot of people just bought some sort of crossover or suv because they didn’t want to deal with waiting lists and delays, as that’s all a lot of dealerships would have in stock.
@@KM-nr3br true, hopefully it will improve there are signs that it will. New Peugeot 308 and Vauxhall Astra estates, the Dacia Logan is basically a large 7 seat estate. MG5 and hopefully more of manufacturers continue to understand that people still want them. I think the Mazda 6 Tourer is still available new too despite being a bit long in the tooth now hopefully it is replaced soon.
Mazda has a really good looking steering wheel and personally I like the styling
Agree it looks like BMW from behind
Almost look like a porsche steering
Still liking my diesel as it’s a good engine for long distance motorway driving which is what I use it for.
The Mazda looks quite good (like their red) and I hope they sell a lot to thank them for building it
I'm really excited to see Mazda taking a bold step with the 2023 CX-60!
I like this car. It's nice and 44mpg from a 3.3 litre in line 6 diesel is music to my ears. Lovely interior as well. Great review as always Jay.
It is madness! It is as aerodynamic as two bricks, and people really do not need 4wd. It is not made to go off road just look intimidating.
I have a Mercedes E class estate , it is quick, gets round a corner much better that the brick, is far smoother and more comfortable, has more room all round with a much bigger boot.
As it is 2wd and aerodynamic it only needs a 2 litre diesel engine (which you cannot hear either inside or outside the car). Around town it gets 55mpg and on a run I have got 72mpg.
@@grolfe3210 Just because you don't need 4x4 does not mean others don't. Some people live in rural areas and are definitely in need of a 4wd. Some tow things other than caravans. Also, when it snows, you ain't going nowhere in your E-Class Estate Sir, except sideways. Some people still need to go out to work all weathers. So please don't make assumptions for others.
@@joelamosun9341 The review is UK made for a UK spec car and conditions in the UK. I do not know where you are.
They have roads in rural areas in the UK and I see no need for 4wd to drive along them. Yes 1% of buyers may have something to tow.
When it snows in Sweden they all get in rwd volvo estate cars rather like my E class, and fit winter tyres, they do not go sideways as they have learned to drive in the snow and happily go to work in snow.
You may not be aware that in the south of the UK where most people live we get about two days snow per year, and the Mazda had smooth road tyres the same as my merc.
The assumption I make is that these will be driven by people who have no need for 4wd, do not tow, drive in town mostly and have no need for a two ton box. I make that assumption because every day I see cars like this doing this.
@@grolfe3210 You have just mentioned you are making an assumption. I live in Kent. Unless you have been to every rural area in the UK, you cannot assume what the needs of people are. Scandinavian countries and some countries in Europe make it a legal requirement to fit winter tyres during the cold months. That's cool but it's not so over here. The beauty of the market is choice. If you don't like 4wd cars then that's your decision. I like them, as well as rear wheel drive cars on a good day. I had a BMW 5 series before and they drive lovely. But I prefer to have a 4wd car especially with the bigger and more powerful petrol or diesel engines we have available these days.
@@joelamosun9341 You are showing yourself to be a bit dim-
"Unless you have been to every rural area in the UK, you cannot assume what the needs of people are. " Actually you can. You go to a sample few and then can work out that the others are similar.
The fact winter tyres are not required in the uk shows we do not generally have severe winter conditions and so you choice to pick a car that is ideal for two days of the year and rubbish for the other 363 days is certainly your choice but forgive me for pointing out that it is a rubbish choice.
As far as engine size, using the E class as an example, they sell 10 cars with the diesel 2 litre for every one with the 3 litre. The uk/europe market is moving away from big unnecessary engines.
I'm not in the market for one of these but I want to buy one simply to support Mazda making a straight 6 with RWD. Well bloody done, I hope more car manufactures follow suit! Go Internal combustion and go RWD!!
True!
BMW fan here, and I'm thinking the same.
Diesel-electric hybrid? Sure, why not!
So what that nobody else does: their loss.
Not their finest work aesthetically but Mazda just don't do ugly, mercifully.
Always well equipped as well
Worked for British Rail for years!
Mercedes make diesel electric hybrids in the c and e class, and a diesel PHEV
It’s mild hybrid like pretty every modern car. Don’t confuse mild hybrid system with hybrids. It’s not the same. Just advanced start/stop without all the lag.
no no no. It's not diesel electric in any meaningful or awesome sense, whatsoever! Merely for minor efficiciency gains that will mean nothing to the owner.
It's a fantastic car, well done Mazda! 44mpg from a new engine is very impressive, once properly run in it'll probably do 50mpg
Looks sort of distinguished, I like it.
Quite like the exterior and absolutely love the interior - especially the physical controls. Detest the ‘Tesla’ approach
Not only it is a diesel, but it is an inline-6 diesel! I am still waiting for revival of an inline-8 engine configuration (highly unlikely) but maybe, maybe Mazda will be the one to do that.
P.S. I think they choose inline-6 because they can share tooling with inline-4 but Mazda used to make V6, and that makes much more sense, because it's a smaller, more compact engine. Inline-6 is more refined but who cares these days?
I do - which is why i ordered one as a replacement from my Mercedes E300de with everything ticked. And i'm eagerly waiting for mine. Had the pleasure of driving a loaner for nearly 350 km and while there are some things i'm going to miss from the Mercedes...that engine absolutely makes up for it.
The straight-6 has had something of a renaissance of late and I'm told it's to do with all the MHEV gubbins, which are easier to fit to the side of a longer, narrower engine than they are a squarer V6.
lol. Many of us who aren' t even fussy strongly prefer an inline six!! Furthermore, in theory, an inline six is far more easily servicable than v6 and has fewer parts and less labor for major work. By a huge factor, which these days is biiiig deal in the developed world.
@@18_rabbit Yeah, I will give you better access (I own inline-6 engined car myself, Morris Isis) and if you work on your car yourself, could make a difference. When comes to complexity, I am an automotive engineer and frankly, it is more about how much of a rip-off service network is in your area than anything.
Renault for example is very expensive for sort of lower-cost brand, Ford on the other hand is reasonable. Jaguar in my experience is the cheapest of all premium brands, regardless of model. Japanese brands tend to be more expensive to service. Opel is surprisingly expensive, reason why my father sold his previous car way earlier than he wanted because service costs were pissing him off.
As somebody into older cars/veterans, having a choice, depends on brand but I wouldn't care if the engine is V6 or I6. I would care if the choice was V8 or I8 because these two are very different animal (and I much prefer inline-8, they are sleeve-valve silent) but here, I like both configurations equally.
So a few thoughts. The fidgety ride is (obviously) worse on the 20" wheels - but you can only have the 18" wheels on the base spec 'Exclusive'. There has been some chat on forums that there was a tweak from Mazda for some changes to suspension to improve that... also some aftermarket shocks (can't remember the brand) that make a big difference but hard to get in the UK right now but Mazda will endorse. I've driven a Homura spec PHEV demo quite a lot (20" wheels) and own an Exclusive spec PHEV (18" wheels) - my own choice as it's the only way to get the smaller wheels. Ride quality is definitely better on the 18" wheels. Handling and turn in on the 20" is (maybe) marginally better but at the end of the day it's a 2 ton high riding vehicle.. so what!. I decided to go Exclusive and add technology packs (but not the stupid pano roof that only opens a tiny amount). It's not been a seamless 'delivery' - as my first Mazda - I like the car but it's been some trouble from new (mostly not mechanical). The one mechanical thing is that the prop shaft needs replacing... weird vibe above 35 or so MPH to 45 - 50 MPH. Known issue apparently... Batch of bad prop shafts I guess.
I've got a Mazda CX-5 2.2 Diesel. That manages a consistent 48.5 MPG. I'd have thought the hybrid would have been better. Anyway, well done to Mazda 👏🏻
Mazda isn't into building real hybrids.
What I loved about my previous focus is you could essentially turn off lane assist while still having it active. Could stop it moving the wheel and only have the alerts. If the light on the dash annoyed you It also had a very convenient button on the end of the indicator stalk to turn it off. But like you mentioned about this car, the collision assist was incredibly panicky. Thankfully only had the audible warning and not emergency braking kick in
Auto-braking saved my ass twice. Once I was a bit too close to the car in front at an intersection and they slammed on the brakes despite being yellow. I also slammed on the brake but I felt it soft meaning the auto-brake had kicked in.
And once I was reversing in a lateral parking spot and didn't notice the front of the car heading towards a small fence. The car started beeping then braked itself, preventing a bumper scrape.
Could be an award winner if they fix the ride. Shouldn't be a massive task to fix it
I hope Mazda is listening and improves the suspension next model year onwards.
Hello They have and it is very good much better than the mk1. I have the mk2 PHEV. Very impressed.
I've got a CX5 Sportnav 2.2 Diesel for the last 8 years and I love it. I am thinking about an upgrade, But your points about annoying safety features and the harsh ride helped me to cross this one off my list as it doesn't sound much fun to drive. Thanks.
Mazda going for BMW’s jugular.
Bravo
That interior, seriously impressive.
I bought a Mazda CX-5 a few months ago and it’s a brilliant car. It’s nice to see Mazda get some recognition at last for doing things a little bit differently.
I wish they could slot this engine into a CX 5 that would be a amazing car...
I agree with you on safety systems. Not heard one good thing about lane keep assist. Luckily my golf 7.5 only has collision assist and that doesn't pipe up that often but odd weather conditions can fool it and make it beep. Mostly just beeps though rather than forcefully doing anything. The stop start is linked to the radar too so if going slowly in traffic and the car in front is stationary it will kill the engine. But if that traffic then moves off straight away its not quick to restart again. Very quick if you've already stopped and need to set off from some lights, even restarts when car in front moves but there's a delay between immediately switching the engine off and engine back on again. Also kills the engine on busy roundabouts if you have to stop. So great I have an easily accessible button to turn that off. The replacement mark 8 on the other hand goes a few steps further and also gets rid of my lovely well laid out controls. Nice to see that mazda is still using them unlike VW. Mild hybrid should make stop start restarts a lot more seamless.
That's precisely why I went for a proper hybrid. The Toyota CHR may not be a fast car but it's amazing in town. Everything is so seamless. Once it's warmed up (and it does that really fast due to some clever tricks) you never feel when the petrol engine kicks in and when you're going purely electric. And the e-CVT means no stutters, no judders, no vibrations.
The lane assist is also pretty awesome. I don't use it in town as it gets quite annoying but on motorway I set the strength to maximum, sensitivity to maximum, radar-based cruise control on and all I have to do is keep a finger on the steering wheel and it turns into a full-on autopilot (with the odd beep as it pulls the car back in lane on sharper motorway turns)
It's not pretty like the old 6 was, it looks as aggressive as that car felt to drive though. Rear wheel drive as well? They're tilting at BMW hard, but I think it's a fight they can steal a win in easily on appearances alone, let alone the quality. Nice mix of modern accoutrements with some old school features. No eating inside though
Really sweet car. My only gripe is that the headlights are too chunky. I love the slender headlights of the CX-5.
Thank you for your evaluation, especially the ride characteristics. That fidgety ride is a complete deal breaker for me. It still amazes me how vehicle manufacturers manage to get it so incredibly wrong.
I do find it is exceptionally good looking especially the interior. The back seat room seems small yet that can be small screen
I have a mk1 Mazda 3 and a Jaguar Sovereign XJ40. When I switch back to the Mazda, it's not even fun how potholes seems to be everywhere, whereas in the Jag, they disappear completely. But, the Mazda is fuel efficient and very reliable.
i remember reading a press release from Mazda a few years back and they announced they will focus more on SUV's and maximum profitability, canceling any sporty models. While they are appreciated, not many are sold and the company struggled financially. Considering the circumstances, I think they made the right decision for now.
Driven both the PHEV and RWD diesel, I would go for a diesel 100%
Overall more refined experience and fuel economy are consistently low. On the PHEV you must plug it in to get advertised economy figures.
Lane keeping assist... In Cyprus... Are they mad 😅😅
I have a diesel Jaguar XJ and Sadiq Khan will have to prise the keys out of my cold dead hands. I regularly drive it from London to the south of Spain doing the whole of France in one day and the whole of Spain the second day. A big fast comfy diesel is the only way to do it.
"It's a Mazda, that will be 30 grand then"! Glad I only paid 15 for my Mazda 2 skyactiv D! Diesel rules.
One reason for this approach may be that Mazda is very big in many emerging countries. I live in Colombia and have a CX-9 which unless you really love big Toyotas or are willing to stomach Audi’s insane parts costs is really about the best luxury choice you can make. Infrastructure for electric cars has started but is well behind the developed countries. So petrol and diesel cars will still be the majority of the market here for a long time. Not that I am anti electric cars, and Colombia produces most of its electricity from hydro so when it does come online here it will be a good choice. But in the interim Mazda and some other companies will take even more of the market share here as other manufacturers drop petrol and diesel cars. And of course if they can sell the product elsewhere as well, all the merrier for their shareholders.
Google - “mazda diesel oil dilution” in the cx5 - I am concerned that Mazda HQ in Japan forgot about the oil problem when creating another diesel.
Just FYI since i had the same gripe on the auto brake system, all Mazda cars 2016+ i think have it, they learn your drive style what the dealer said anyway(does take a few days of driving), and there are options that you can set, as in regard to sensitivity of the system, its under settings then safety... etc...
Pleasant to listen to. I cannot explain but I like the way you speak. That's it. Nothing more to it.
Mazda started low compression in 2012 when they developed their first post Ford, Skyactiv-D.
It was based on decades of British and Indian university papers which showed low compression to have significantly lower emissions, but Mazda has been the only car maker to adopt the research due to low compression being harder to start in cold conditions. Mazda fixed that by performing cylinder warming by exhaust recirculating on startup. But the main benefit aside from emissions is a higher rpm that happens to also divorce it from the agricultural noise present in 16:1 and more so 18:1 engines.
JayEm you are by far my favourite automotive journalist as you look at cars in a everyday way and enjoy the finer details of cars .
Cheers mate from North Norfolk UK Joel
Thanks Joel!
I don't think I would have a car that decides to brake when I don't need it to, it sounds like there is so much to go wrong, the style is similar to a brick but it is nice to see an interior that isn't dull black.
Seen one or two of these on the road and they look brilliant in the metal. Drivetrain options are definitely appealing too. *BTW you can spec these with lesser wheels and higher profile tyres.
This is Mazda's best product by far! I honestly don't understand why this isn't being offered in North America. It would sell like hot cakes!!!
likely they predict it won't sell well. Our american appetites and knowledge as consumers has been dismal as has been other social understandings etc with many ppl behaving in retrograde antiprogress manners. Hopefully we are starting to regain stability and basic social controls in society in the not distant future!
Spot on styling, looks insanely good!
Good review as always James
It's a brand new platform and what I am hearing is this is very much a version one car. If you have an interest in the CX-60 it might well be worth waiting until Mazda have revised and refined the driveline (which they will) or even wait until the second generation of this platform before buying.
That's what I always do. I have owned a few mazdas and always wait a while and buy the special editions. Always well worth it
Mazda design is stunning 😍
I've owned a F15 X5 40d for the past 8 years! To be entirely honest I'm yet to drive a car with that much breadth of ability. 45mpg schlep across Europe - check. 30+mpg round town - check. Hot hatch performance, comfort and practicality all rolled into one package. Comparing the mMazda to its nearest competitor, the Toyota Highlander, I think that the Mazda would (in Europe where the highlander is only available as a 4 pot hybrid) make for a more complete ownership experience barring the need for a 7 seater.
Mazda has been working on low compression diesel tech for years. I wonder if it has anything in common with the new high mileage gas engine tech with the pre-chamber, that us Yanks don't get. Wasn't Honda doing pre-chamber combustion in the 70's, with a carburetor? Given the disaster electric charging will become in the near term, high mileage engines and green fuels will continue to be interesting for some time to come.
wow, how pathetic as usual that we muricans dn't get the full-on right-stuff. Nothing like continuing to be the piss-poor cousins and getting the least options, fewest models, fewest brands by far! Literally this trend started long ago and was a sign to me that the american traditional flexiblity in economy and relatively smart-thinking was deterioiating in ways that are very expensive to the little ppl. Disgusting to me as a very left leaning liberal.
I have owned a number of diesel vehicles. I have zero complaints. I especially enjoy diesels on the freeways.... they usually settle down and just run. They get quieter I think. No tuneups really. Glow plug replacement rarely. Oil changes.
Good job mazda. After watching cx60 reviews and hearing the inline 6 diesel 250+hp this is going to be my first choice compared to ford everest 4x4 and fortuner grs. My only concern is the ground clearance?
I think it's a really interesting car value for money quality car and they've actually thought but not everyone's going to be able to have an electric vehicle. There's not the infrastructure. We have a CX-5 on the firmer ride on the big tires means you actually handles lovely compared to all the Hyundai's and Kia's that I chose to test drive. The masda was by far much better quality all round I didn't have frustration of the touch buttons and you know it will last
Seems a shame we don't also get the straight-6 petrol that Mazda are fitting in other markets.
After watching video after video lauding Mazda's prowess, I showed up at an American dealership to purchase a CX-90. The reviews were so glowing, and the interior photos so beautiful, that I had thought the test drive perfunctory. Instead, I found the ride flinty and disagreeable, as was found the in this CX-60 review. Others may embrace the sporty handling, but I did not. I had expected Mazda's ride to have the excellent marriage of sporty feel with compliant suspension that is found almost routinely in German vehicles. That ride was not found here, and I continue my search for the sophisticated suspension in something other than a German car. I do feel that the Lexus GS 350 has come the closest.
I really hope this engine remains reliable. I work at a Mazda dealer and the 2.2 Skyactiv D 4 pot diesels can, and do, suffer from serious problems. Some of which can mean the end of the car. I am not a fan of SUVs. HOWEVER, the second I saw the first CX-60 we serviced, a 2.5 PHEV in Soul Red Crystal, I fell in love with it.
I love my older 2.2 Diesel CX5 auto and won’t be trading up anytime soon - 42-44 mpg average , roomy ,comfortable and mainly reliable - yes the ride is a little hard standard - I changed to gas shocks and struts - night and day and the tyres are a little noisy but still a great car for the money and cheap to service…. Hybrids ( battery issues) and EV,s - shove them where sun don’t shine - I,ll be running my dirty diesel till the doors drop off👍
in moderate climates, ie not too cold or hot, the newer hybrids by toyota at least are truly nice to operate and own. Even fifteen years ago they were and the efficiency is the larger such toyotas is incredible, e.g. Rav4. But im with you ,i prefer the diesel power, though NOT what it may cost to own overall!!! watch out for that!
i had to rent a car recently and got a CHR - the thing had lane assist that tried to send me into a ditch at least three times in the one day that i drove it..
I’m a simple man who grew up in the 80/90’s very much enjoying my regular diet of Gerry Anderson, so a video that references Thunderbird 6, which is an excellent film, I immediately give a ‘Like’.
Inline sixes are smoother ( perfect balance) and cheaper to make than vee sixes.The latter have two heads,camshafts,exhausts etc. Yes they are longer but that is the only minus against all the plusses.
I had a fully loaded CX60 as a rental. I have to say I was impressed, very premium. But, the gearbox is a bit of letdown. Very often searches for gears.
Great review, most enjoyable. Agree about the safety features - manufacturers and legislation have gone too far in the wrong direction. Too much tech that doesn’t function properly or is expensive to repair when it inevitably goes wrong. Whose fault is that? I applaud the efforts to make our trips safer but what gives? Love my Mazda 6 to bits but it has a TPS warning symbol that cannot be reset as it is incorrectly diagnosing a fault that doesn’t exist. Mazda have failed to fix it on 2 visits but I have got over the irritation long time ago. Fond of Mazdas, not so much of the dealers.
A splendid intro talk, I immediately liked and subscribes! Wish they had brought this model to the US!
I just acquired an suv for my wife, it was between the Macan and BMW X3, I opted for the latter as two Porsche on our drive was not the impression I wanted. The X3 so far is excellent for the daily grind with a balance of economy, drivability and performance if I can used that word.
I hope this vehicle is supported solely for the diesel options. £52k for a Mazda though. A very big and nicely equipped Mazda but I think it's the wrong side of £50k by some margin
Not sure it's related, but I have a 2011 Mazda 6 & I would also call it fidgety. It doesn't want to sit completely still in a lane on a fast road/motorway without more steering adjustment than I'm accustomed to. It's way more fun to drive than any of my previous old bangers, but it's not as relaxing a motorway cruiser as some of them. It's the 1st car I've ever owned that I could say comes even close to having a sporty feel (1988 Fiat Uno, 1990 Nissan Sunny, 1994 Primera Saloon, Ford Escort, another Primera, Almera, & finally a P12 2006 Primera (the ugly one & I loved it)). All of which had small wheels & big old tyre side walls, & therefore slumphy rides.
The Mazda has 18" wheels & 225/45 tyres, which aren't exactly rubber bands, but they do make speed bumps a little more obvious. Maybe it is just a Mazda thing & that's the way they feel. Also, as it's the NA 2.0 petrol, you have to rev it out to get any sort of acceleration, which just adds fun as you need to interact with the manual gears & floor it.
Wish Mazda hadn't dropped the newer 6, as that'll be the next car I'll likely move up to, but I stopped buying Nissans beacuse I don't want an SUV. I'll do the same with Mazda down the road.
Fully agree with the point about turning off safety features, my car has been in for repair for the last week or so and i've had a nissan Quashqai hire car. It had a fit every 5 minutes for no good reason and the collision pre-warning drove me insane, it was honestly distracting because it made a loud beeping noise and flashed a warning on the screen in the instrument cluster which drew the eye away from the road which to me is downright stupid. I was very happy to have my 2016 Octavia VRS back. Turn off lane assist and so on, and they stay off, plus it doesn't flash distracting warning messages all over the place
My Mazda 6 diesel still can do 60~64MPG, clean and efficient.
7:03 when you say stuff like that in your reviews you need to make it clear that it's only on that SPECIFIC TRIM LEVEL, any regular person who sees this will immediately dismiss the whole model bc they don't understand that other trims do NOT have this issue.
He states the trim level at 6:40...
@@jimboslice500 regular people don't know that different trims have different materials, you need to tell them
Fantastic cars these. The diesel engine feels like the engine this car should've always had. See if you can have a go in the PHEV as well
Those are three questions! PS: I really like your intro/title song!
The front looks kind of strange, the headlights are too small. Otherwise a good car, like all Mazdas are.
It would need to be much better than the previous Mazda diesels that were horrific
Nobody talks about Mazda much, but they always have the most interesting engines and innovations on the market. And fun cars too.
The safety systems in my Mazda 3 don't bother me personally and are probably quite similar, although the car is quite a bit smaller than the cx-60. The ride quality isn't the softest in that car but I like it personally, however I get that you'd want more compliance from an SUV
Great review! Thanks. You've earned yourself a new subscriber :)
Lovely review! Informative. Extremely useful. Thank you.
My dad had one of these (Plug in hybrid) as a loaner for a week. The conclusion was that the build quality is quite superficial (don't look to closely), the Infotainment is a nightmare (slow, convoluted menus, even some abbrev. points in the settings, no proper trip computer) and the space to size ratio is horrible. It was also quite noisy. He ended up ordering the Seat Tarraco hybrid instead - significantly cheaper, more intuitive user interface, and significantly more space.
700 miles to a tank normal commutes 800+ on longer motorway journeys , reason I bought a diesel and wouldn't want anything else.
There's still a massive fan base for real cars that deliver reliability , economy and longevity....just can't see EV's ever doing the same.
James, it would be good to know the towing capacity of these SUVs when you test them. Some of us have boats and other interesting stuff to tow and I sometimes wonder if the weight of these hybrid powertrains compromise their towing capability?
Mazda has been pretty obvious in its attempts to copy the BMW in many aspects - one of my babies is a 530d F11 - and there are SO MANY details on the Mazda that just remind instantly of anything made by BMW - design of the plastic engine cover, design of lane/change or brake assistant buttons and their placement (along with the freaking storage cubby underneath!), design of Mazda's iDrive controller (esp. in previous gen Mazdas which was IDENTICAL to BMW's), and of course - the I6 (is it true? Mazda and BMW are currently the only ones globally manufacturing I6 diesels?). Which overall isn't a bad thing. BMW has figured out very many of its features - which Mazda "gets inspired from" - besides, Mazda will probably be much more reliable than its German "inspiration" - and most importantly, Mazda is not mimicing - or even trying to - BMW in one very important aspect - exterior design. Where BMW has been horrendous in all its models during the last 5 years - up to the point where Zipse (BMW's current CEO) has gone on record saying "modern cars need to be UGLY" - by the way - NO - THEY DON"T - Mazda on the other hand - has been designing beautiful, cohesive, flowing cars imbued (what a word) with GOOD DESIGN (as opposed to BMW's BAD design). Especially the current Mazda6 are just.. marvellous to look at, both in sedan and Touring... sorry, wagon form. I almost can't help myself but stop and take a picture every time I see one (the same goes for E34 Touring BMWs and many other BMWs - except any from the last 5 years). Mazda's have never been particularly ugly - or at least no one will remember any period of Mazda car manufacturing as "being ugly" - unlike with current BMWs - but I guess it all started with the current Mazda3 - which is more beautiful than a Golf, a Corolla, an Elantra, probably on par/similar with current Civic - and they've been making just overall very visually pleasing machinery. Also introduction of a new, large diesel engine currently is applaudable and flies on the face of all those idiots who - without understanding or reason - claim they're saving pandas, polar bears and ... what else... whales, yeah, definitely whales. So Mazda being one of the smallest Japanese car manufacturers - keep doing what you're doing - and good luck - from Latvia.
The front is a bit too square. I'm of the same opinion as you, I don't hate it, but it has a whiff of modern BMW about it
Damnit Mazda, give us a 6/Atenza with these engine options and interior!
If I could get a straight six hybrid sedan or wagon that wasn't as ugly as the current BMWs, I absolutely would.
I get why it's not happening, but that won't stop me wishing it would and being sad that it's not.
Like the styling a lot. Interior too.
This stupid ban on diesel and petrol needs to be cancelled. EV’s are far more polluting and if you have any sort of reasonable busy life a pain to fill up. EV’s do have a part along with diesel and petrol, hydrogen will also feature heavily when these stupid politicians are voted out. Common sense is needed
That “stuff” you refer to in the dashboard is the fabric used for kimono suits. It is very beautiful and nice to touch but I have no idea how it will age. I am waiting the delivery of our CX-60, and I was thinking of writing about it.
Diesel is the fuel of freedom. My diesel car has 1200km range and refuels in a couple of minutes.
And diesel can be easily and safely stored.
yep and doesn't explode or catch fire as easily as petrol/gas
I hate the nanny state "protections". The difficulty of turning them off in this car would be a deal breaker for me.
Not a pretty car, but looks stately. I feel your frustration with the safety systems. Several times my Qashai has slammed on the brakes for no reason. Fortunately, I wasn’t going very fast at the time and even more fortunately, there was nothing behind me. It is very disconcerting though.
Isn't it possible to program a few hot key presets in the computer for frequently chosen options? In my old e61 I can use the numbered preset buttons on the radio to make shortcuts to e.g. audio settings, night mode, screen off etc.
I really hope they make a sedan or estate with this setup. Something to rival the 3 series.
Great review Jay really enjoyed your humour and your knowledge. Thanks a million 👍.
Wonderful review...... Loved it
clean and efficient ? does it clogg up the engine with carbon like the diesel engine before they are plagued with issues
I saw the new Mazda EV at Le Mans with the rotary engine range extender, which I think was hydrogen fuelled. There were quite a few people (myself included) who went and had a look at it, although probably not for the EV part though.
Few other interesting cars on display in the display areas including a Toyota GR tuned new Prius and quite a lot of hydrogen fuelled cars including a load of Toyota Mirai's, Toyota's hydrogen combustion Corolla they used at the 25 hr race event in Japan and other hydrogen powered vehicles including a bus.
Have had the PHEV Homura version of this for some 2 months now and it both impresses and disappoints in equal measure. Gripes include it having almost to much safety tech, it seems to be forever bleeping or flashing messages the most ironic one being "distracted driver detected" which seems to happen frequently on motorway driving causing you to be distracted. Another would be that, as it rides on 20 inch wheels, it has a tendency to wander and follow camber, again particularly noticeable on motorways and the suspension is firm to say the least, in a nutshell its not a relaxing car to drive. On the plus side best combined mpg is around 35.5 which, for something the size of a small bungalow, is respectable, fit and finish holds up against better perceived brands, very good basic spec and my favorite, put it in sport mode where you then harness all 330bhp, plant your right foot and hold on tight, a tad over 5 seconds 0 to 60 is fairly brisk but do this around 40mph and it becomes one seriously quick bungalow!!
It reminds me of the old top gear when Jeremy reviews the BMW M5 and presses the M sport button. All the flaws fade away in sport mode.
You would have had to spec into all that safety stuff though. And the 20 inch wheels. Its way to expensive for my tastes even in out the box spec, but i would be curious if basic spec alleviates all the gripes. Seems likely to me.
@@jamesmaybrick2001 I suppose you do in a way as its standard spec on that model in the range (starting point for PHEV) but I'm pretty sure it has a lot of these as standard across the whole range? Definitely think the smaller tyers would help but, as I said before, it's not a car you can relax in whilst driving.
Would not touch a mazda diesel with a barge pole. The absolutely stuffed the cx5 diesel, the diesel drives well, runs well, dies really well. Mate has one and its just over 5 years old with oil problems and now has a drinking problem.
Pretty sure they a hybrid mixed with the 2.3 petrol and isn’t just brilliant it’s brutal! I love the car my mate has one as a company car on order i am very jealous!
I would say one thing I noticed while driving it is was that considering it’s size! It felt like I had so much sensitivity in the steering it was almost frightening a little too twitchy! But boy o boy does it grip!! It shouldn’t be able to do the things it does while weighing that much!
I love my 530d F11 BMW. It’s luxurious, practical and goes like stink. Handles well too for a big heavy car due to its adaptive dynamic drive. Cost me £7.5k with 86k miles with £12k of optional extras. In comfort mode it’s like a Limo, but put it in sport or sport + mode and it becomes a Jekyll and Hyde car.😁
I have owned the Exclusive 254bhp version with 18" wheels for a year now and I must disagree with some of your comments. Firstly, the gearbox is fine, the gearchanges are smooth and slick(not F1 standards of course) with no delays or jerkiness. Secondly, as you say the ride is quite firm at times but not uncomfortably so - the price you pay for sporty handling maybe ?
I guess 18" wheels make a difference. Lastly, your mpg(43/44) figures are, may I say, as a result of your driving style which I guess errs on the side of Lewis Hamilton . I comfortably get 50+
mpg whether in town or on a run. I am not a slow driver.
Having said that I do enjoy your reviews.