Mazda CX-60 Revealed for Europe With New RWD Platform, PHEV Powertrain – Roadshow [CNET]

We’ve been hearing for years about Mazda’s plans to introduce a brand-new rear-wheel-drive platform and straight-six engine, and the first production car to use it is finally here. Meet the CX-60 crossover, which won’t be sold in the US but shares its bones with cars that will.

The CX-60’s new architecture is apparent from its proportions and the long dash-to-axle ratio. Overall it’s shaped like a longer CX-5 with a much longer hood — it almost exactly splits the difference in size between the CX-5 and CX-9. Sadly, the side-view proportions are the best part of the CX-60’s exterior styling. While it features the same brilliant surfacing as cars like the Mazda 3, the CX-60 has an ungainly face and strange detailing. The bluff front end has a large grille, small squarish headlights and tiny triangular intakes, and there’s an ugly fake vent on the front fenders. The CX-60’s greenhouse doesn’t have a lot of tumblehome, and paired with the narrow-looking body and tall doors it just looks strange. I do like the design of the taillights, at least, and the quad exhaust tips are pretty cool.

Thankfully the CX-60’s interior more than makes up for the outside. It’s similar in theme to the CX-50, with a horizontal layout, slim vents, a large 12.3-inch screen atop the dash and a cool mix of materials. The CX-60’s Takumi trim level adds maple wood trim, nappa leather, unique Japanese textiles and intricate layered stitching. It looks truly high-end, which bodes well for Mazda’s plan to move further upmarket. Mazda says the CX-60’s large cargo area makes it the most practical car the brand makes.

By far the most interesting part about the CX-60 is its platform. Designed by Mazda from the ground up, the unnamed rear-wheel-drive-based architecture has double-wishbone front suspension and a multilink setup at the rear. Mazda says it’s super rigid and features the same Kinetic Posture Control antiroll tech that recently debuted on the MX-5 Miata. An all-wheel-drive system with torque vectoring will feature across the lineup, though RWD models will come in the future.

At launch the CX-60 will use Mazda’s first plug-in-hybrid powertrain, which is dubbed e-Skyactiv. This setup pairs a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with an electric motor, an eight-speed automatic transmission and a 17.8-kilowatt-hour battery pack for a total of 323 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, making the CX-60 the most powerful road car Mazda has ever produced. The PHEV powertrain gives the CX-60 a 0-to-62-mph time of 5.8 seconds and an electric-only range of up to 42 miles on the European WLTP cycle. In the near future Mazda will also introduce a brand-new 3.0-liter inline-6 engine and a 3.3-liter diesel, both of which will feature a 48-volt mild-hybrid setup.

Following the CX-60 in Europe will be a new three-row SUV called the CX-80, but the US will get two different models called the CX-70 and CX-90, all of which will use the CX-60’s fresh underpinnings and PHEV powertrain. The CX-60 goes on sale in Europe this fall.

The Mazda CX-60 Looks Kinda Weird, Debuts New Chassis and Engines

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