2024 Mazda CX-60 P50e PHEV review (video)

As part of a wider pursuit to reinvent Mazda as a premium brand, the Japanese carmaker has released a brand-new mid-sized SUV; the Mazda CX-60. It falls under the brand’s ‘Large Product Group’ and is available with three all-new powertrains options.

Remarkably, as engines across the globe get smaller, the CX-60 introduces a new mild-hybrid 3.3-litre ‘G40e’ turbo inline-six petrol, a 3.3L ‘D50e’ inline-six mild-hybrid diesel, and a ‘P50e’ plug-in hybrid four-cylinder that we’re scoping out here.

2024 Mazda CX-60 P50e Azami: Specifications

Engine: 2.5-litre plug-in hybrid four-cylinder
Output: 241kW@6000rpm / 500Nm@4000rpm
Gearbox: Eight-speed auto
Drive type: All-wheel drive
Wheels: F & R: 20×7.5, 235/50
ANCAP: Five stars
Tare weight: 2005kg
Power-to-weight: 8.31:1 (kg:kW)
Official consumption: 2.1L/100km
Our consumption: 6.7L/100km
Fuel tank/Fuel type: 50L/95 RON

Power efficiency: 114.76kW:L/100km
0-60km/h: 3.16 seconds*
0-100km/h: 6.25 seconds*
60-110km/h: 4.18 seconds*
1/4 mile: 14.49 seconds at 162.0km/h*
Max acceleration: 0.741g*
100-0km/h braking: 39.04m in 3.32 seconds*
Max deceleration: -1.310g*
Decibel at idle (on standby): 23*
Peak decibel at 60-100km/h: 83*
Starting price: $86,800

*Figures as tested by Driving Enthusiast on the day. Manufacturers’ claims may be different

2024 Mazda CX-60 P50e Azami: How much does it cost?

Premium Mazda also means premium pricing. The lineup starts from $60,400 and goes up to $86,100 (excluding on-road costs). Three trims – the Evolve, GT, and the Azami at the top – can all be chosen with all three powertrains. This Azami P50e tops the pricing out at $86,100.

All engines pair with an eight-speed automatic transmission and 4WD on-demand with power biased to the rear wheels to mimic a luxury European tourer. Speaking of, the CX-60 places itself into the premium mid-size SUV market with the likes of the Audi Q5, Lexus NX, and Genesis GV70. The CX-60 is cheaper than all of them.

Mazda offers a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty and five years of complimentary roadside assistance on the Japanese-built CX-60. It requires servicing every 12 months or 15,000km. The first seven services completed by a Mazda service centre cost $411, $618, $532, $618, $411, $723, and $411.

2024 Mazda CX-60 P50e Azami: Interior & packaging

In terms of size, it is slightly bigger than the CX-5 but smaller than the outgoing CX-9 and new CX-90. The design doesn’t pull too far away from Mazda’s current styling theme. The front end appears sterner with a large black honeycomb grille, a bull-shark nose with a flatter shape, and two black air scoops.

The bonnet length takes up a greater ratio of the overall proportions, which gives off a powerful, sports car presence. The midsection and rear also take on Mazda’s familiar design philosophy, with smooth contours along the doors, body coloured wheel arches, wide LED taillights, and chrome exhausts. Doors and the body appear tall, thanks to extra side skirting. Though, this takes away any rugged tones.

Turning to the interior, and room is aplenty in all seating positions. It is also practical, with many storage areas throughout. There is a large and high-rising centre console up front, and surfaces and materials feel of a premium standard. The Azami is dressed up with woven textile fabrics and black Nappa leather upholstery. You can also select other optional colours. Small touches go a long way to make the Azami feel elegant and luxurious; ambient lighting, frameless rear mirror, and leather on the door trims.

Adding to the levels of luxury are two high quality digital displays – one for infotainment, and one for the instrument cluster. The infotainment display is made simple to navigate as you can control functions via a BMW-style wheel on the centre console. There is a wireless charging pad, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a magnificent Bose 12-speaker sound system.

Mazda has introduced its first ‘Driver Personalisation System’ with the CX-60. The driver can enter their height and using an eye detection camera it will automatically adjust the driving position by adjusting the seat, steering wheel, head-up display, and door mirrors to match the driver’s eye position. We found it quite accurate. From there, the system uses facial recognition to remember each driver’s broader settings (more than 250). For example, vehicle, audio and climate control settings.

Thanks to a more upright rear, the boot volume is decent but not class-leading, measuring in at 477 litres (or 1741 litres with the rear seats folded down). However, unlike some rival SUVs, the rear seats are not on rails to adjust the size of the space to where you need it. We’re surprised to see the rare inclusion of a 150-watt AC power outlet in the back, and a 1500-watt AC outlet in the boot (PHEV only).

To compete with the premium market, the CX-60 gets a mammoth list of inclusions as standard, including some rare ones not often seen. Some highlights include a 360-degree monitor with ‘see through view’ (projects natural footage of the CX-60’s surroundings), head-up display, blind-spot monitoring with vehicle exit warning, electric steering column adjustment, hands-free powered tailgate, a panoramic sunroof, heated front and rear seats and ventilated front seats, 20-inch alloy wheels, and Nappa leather.

You can also turn up the luxury levels in the Azami by choosing the optional ‘Takumi’ package. This adds bright decoration panelling, a cloth dashboard panel with “Kakenui” stitching, a white maple wood console panel, and white Nappa leather seat trim. Or the ‘SP’ package adds dark-coloured side signature, front bumper with gloss black honeycomb-type grille, gloss black exterior mirrors, LED headlamps with dark signature, a suede finish dashboard panel, tan Nappa leather seat trim, and a two-tone steering wheel.

In terms of safety, it’s all there. Features like low- and high-speed crash and pedestrian avoidance control with braking, reverse collision mitigation, front and rear cross-traffic alert, emergency steering assist, forward collision warning, blind-spot and lane departure warning with lane departure intervention, driver alert detection, adaptive cruise, road sign recognition, and adaptive LED headlamps come standard, to name a few.

2024 Mazda CX-60 P50e Azami: Powertrain & handling

Well, Mazda got the interior right, but the CX-60 P50e powertrain and dynamics need some work in our opinion. First of all, let’s look at the specs. The 2.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol and 50Ah, 355-volt, 17.8kWh lithium-ion batteries all offer an impressive combined output of 241kW and 500Nm.

On their own, the petrol engine produces 141kW and 261Nm, and the electric side pushes out 100kW and 250Nm. These figures are strong, with plenty of oomph on tap for all situations. Officially, it can reach 0-100km/h in an inspiring 5.8 seconds. Our tests with the Vbox returned a best of 6.25 seconds on a private road. There is no doubt, this is a quick SUV. Overtaking performance is thrilling thanks to the electric motor filling any gaps in response from the petrol engine. It just gets up and goes almost instantly.

However, it’s the delivery of the power that worries us. It is woefully rough, jolty and unrefined. The transition between the power sources, gear changes (including downshifting), braking, and changes in acceleration makes the CX-60 feel quite unnerving. There are reports that Mazda acknowledges these anomalies, and that it will fix in a future software update. But until it is fixed, it is not good enough in our view. Our test car produced an audible winding and grinding sensation underneath as well, perhaps as components battled to work out which way to go.

On the electric side, the battery capacity is large enough to offer an electric range of up to 76km. We were able to achieve this distance in the real world, which is great. Charging is achieved by plugging it into a 240-volt AC plug or a 7.2kW AC charger. Charging from empty to full takes about five hours using the standard 240-volt home socket, or 2.5 hours using a 7.2kW charger.

The official average fuel consumption figure of 2.1L/100km is a bit deceiving. It really depends on how many times you get to plug it in. If your trips between charges are less than 76km, your fuel consumption can be zero. Without plugging it in and simply using it as a standard hybrid, our average fuel consumption was 8.6L/100km. That figure is disappointingly high for a hybrid, even with the impressive power outputs. During our time with the P50e, we travelled one full petrol tankful and plugged it in four times to full charge and that brought the overall average consumption down to 6.7L/100km.

Distributing power is done with Mazda’s newly developed ‘Skyactiv-Drive’ eight-speed automatic gearbox. It’s great to see no boring CVT auto in sight. Upshifts and downshifts prove to be rough and rocky, however. There is no conventional torque converter in this gearbox. Torque is transmitted directly using a single clutch on take-off, and it sends power to all four wheels via ‘i-Activ All-Wheel Drive’. It biases power to the rear wheels to maximise efficiency, and to provide a sporty dynamic. There are four selectable driving modes as well; Normal, Sport, EV and Off-road.

We would love change the tone and bring you some positive feedback on the ride and handling front, but it is not the case. Bumps can easily cause cabin disturbance. In our opinion, the suspension struggles to cope with common thuds, and tracking isn’t as accurate as we’d hope.

In terms of handling, performance cornering benefits from the taut suspension. It holds and grips onto bends confidently. The front suspension gets double wishbones and the rear is made up of a multi-link setup. The fundamentals are there for a great driver’s SUV. But we think it needs more tuning.

Light off-road routes are supported by all-wheel drive, and that ‘Off-road’ driving mode. But it is limited by a low 175mm ground clearance, those low profile 235/50 tyres and only a space-saver spare wheel.

2024 Mazda CX-60 P50e: Key attractions/reasons to buy

• Price: A new luxury SUV on the block that is more affordable than pretty much all of its competitors.
• P50e plug-in hybrid versatility: The package offers the best of all worlds; loads of grunt, and petrol-free driving if your lifestyle allows.
• Interior: This is a high-class environment with quality materials and design. Very nice.
• Practical: The Azami is impressively-packaged, offering many storage areas, charging ports, and even a household socket.

2024 Mazda CX-60 P50e: Key considerations before you buy

• Powertrain smoothness: Jerky power delivery and transition between petrol and electric. An update needs to come quick.
• Suspension refinement: It struggles over rough roads and bumps, which means that luxurious environment inside is easily disturbed.
• Side mirror positioning: They are further back on the door than usual, bringing them closer to you, but you need to turn your head more to see them.

2024 Mazda CX-60 P50e: Video