2026 Mazda CX-60 Takami Kuro – An Endangered Species

Mazda’s own showroom shows where things are heading. The new CX-5 arrives with a massive central screen, and the CX-6e SUV goes further, with an even bigger screen and almost no buttons. The CX-60 still goes the other way, and that’s what makes it interesting.

EXTERIOR – THE BONNET TELLS A "LONG" STORY

The defining feature of the CX-60’s design is that long bonnet. It’s what moves the car out of RAV4 territory and into BMW territory.

The length is there for a reason. Mazda has put a straight-six into a rear-biased chassis, which means the engine sits front to back instead of left to right, and it needs the room. Sports cars of old had long bonnets for the same reason: they had long engines to fit underneath. That's why the proportions are evocative.

Beyond that, the surfacing is understated. There isn’t much curvature or strong character lines running down the side. That’s becoming more common. The new BMW 3 Series, X3 and X5 all have side panels that are dead straight. In the CX-60's case, it's elegant and sophisticated. a premium Japanese SUV.

One small detail I appreciate is the “Inline 6” badge on the side. It’s set in elongated lettering that echoes the shape of the car itself, and it’s a subtle nod that this is something special.

The rear is nicely judged, too. There's no full-width LED lightbars to see here, like most of the products coming out of China. It looks like a Mazda, and given how good Mazda’s design language is, that’s a good thing.

INTERIOR – OLD MONEY

This is where the CX-60 really earns its keep. Honestly, it feels nicer than most European cars priced well above it.

The Volkswagen Tiguan and Skoda Kodiaq aren’t even close. Among the Japanese rivals, nothing I can think of comes close either, short of maybe a Lexus. For the price, it’s punching well above its weight.

The details do the work. There’s soft, plush Alcantara-like material, tan leather that looks great, excellent stitching, and accent features that are all well executed.

Then there’s the screen, or rather how little it matters. It isn’t the focal point; the star of the show is everything else. It still does its job. You get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, your maps and Spotify, and it’s big enough that you’re not squinting. It’s perfectly adequate. It just isn’t the centrepiece.

That's one of the reasons this interior feels like "old money". I mean that as a compliment, not as a polite way of saying dated. This is classic luxury. You get buttons to press and click, with real tactility, and that’s sorely missing from most new cars.

The digital instrument cluster follows the same theme. It’s obviously a modern screen, but the graphics represent analogue dials. Even the font is an elegant serif, so it’s like reading the New York Times.

The 12-speaker Bose sound system is decent. It isn’t top of the line, but it has good bass and good clarity, and you’ll be happy with it.

The quality continues into the back, with the same plush surfaces. The rear seats are heated, which is a nice touch (literally). I'm 6" and there’s enough knee room back there without compromising the front. It’s not cavernous, but it’s enough. I also tested our rear-facing baby seat, and it fit just fine.

PERFORMANCE – EFFORTLESS, NOT EXPLOSIVE

We timed 0–100 km/h in 6.81 seconds with two of us on board. There’s no launch control mode, so that’s basically taking off from a traffic light. That’s not bad, and it’s quicker than my Kodiaq RS (TDI).

It feels quicker than the time suggests, mostly because once you're in the sweet-spot of its power band (which is reasonably high at ~5,000 RPM), acceleration continues at a brisk pace. You just need to wait a second or two to get there first.

In Sport mode the straight-six sounds properly good. It sounds more premium than most four-cylinders, which tend to sound like they’re working harder and have that lawnmower edge.

I think there's a perception adjustment to be made here. The 3.3-litre displacement might make you think "performance SUV", but it doesn’t translate to huge power. It makes 209 kW and 450 Nm, both of which are more than respectable. Mazda isn’t chasing high performance here. It’s chasing effortless, relaxed, silky-smooth progress, and as long as you don’t go in expecting a performance SUV, they’ve nailed it. Most of the time it just glides along. Put your foot down and it’ll drop a gear and give you a decent shove.

RIDE & HANDLING – COMFORTABLE, FOR THE MOST PART

When the CX-60 first launched, the media criticised it for two things: ride quality and the transmission. Mazda has made changes over the years, so I paid much closer attention to both than I normally would.

I didn’t tell Andy (my co-host) any of this before we set off. Without prompting, he said the ride was comfortable. It’s not the cushy air suspension you’d find in some premium European brands, but it’s comfortable.

With my critic’s hat on, though, it’s on the busier side. You jostle around a bit more than you might expect, and can feel the undulations in the road. And if you happen to give it some extra juice into a corner, you can feel the roll. It’s not very flat.

Granted, this is a family SUV and it’s not really meant to be driven that way, but we’ve driven other SUVs that stay a lot flatter.

The steering is my bigger gripe. It feels slightly slow to respond and a little loose. It isn’t sloppy, but you have to turn the wheel a lot to get the car to go anywhere. It's not bad, it just doesn’t feel very precise.

Both the suspension and the steering feel are more at home with highway cruising.

TRANSMISSION – SORTED, MOSTLY

The transmission was the other launch criticism. It’s an 8-speed, but it isn’t a typical torque-converter automatic, nor is it a typical dual-clutch. The layout runs from the engine to a clutch, then a small electric motor, then another clutch, then the transmission. There’s a lot going on in that powertrain, and all of it has to work together.

For the most part, I didn’t notice anything awry, so whatever Mazda has done over the years seems to have worked. The only strangeness I felt was when coming to a stop, or sometimes when pulling away. I believe that’s mostly down to the i-Stop auto stop-start system cutting in and out while you’re still moving. It’s certainly not as buttery as some of the luxury European models, but I don’t see a major problem here.

It's worth noting, as you'll almost certainly notice it in an extended test drive. Once you're moving, the gear shifts are super-smooth and consistent.

EFFICIENCY & SAFETY – NO NASTY SURPRISES

A 3.3-litre petrol sounds like it should be thirsty, but the CX-60 is surprisingly efficient. On a mix of open road and town driving, you can dip into the low 7s L/100km. If you mostly drive around town, expect something closer to 10. It depends on where and how you drive, but it can be economical. This is mostly thanks to both the Skyactiv-G technology which works harder to extrac more out of each drop of fuel, and the mild hybrid system stepping in to assist with shutting the engine off (even when cruising).

Safety is fully covered, too. It has automatic emergency braking, cross-traffic alerts, blind-spot monitoring and lane keeping, so nothing is missing. All of it acted admirably. There wasn't a constant chime of warning lights and sounds, nor was there annoying interferences from the driver assistance systems.

VERDICT – A FINAL CALL FOR THOSE WHO ARE STILL LISTENING

In a world moving to big screens, fewer buttons, EVs and hybrids, the CX-60 feels like a final call from the previous generation. That was a time when luxury meant materials rather than screens.

If you’re already sold on an EV, especially with current fuel prices, this probably isn’t your car. But plenty of people aren’t ready for an EV yet. Maybe your car is parked too far from a power source, or you’d rather not mess around with plugging in. You want to fill up and drive, and never think about range or whether the cable will reach. Within that group are buyers who also don’t want to pay over $100,000 for a European brand, but still want refeinement and luxury. For them, the CX-60 makes a lot of sense.

Our test car comes in just shy of $80,000. There’s a version closer $70,000 that drops the tan interior and a few other bells and whistles. But get the tan, without question.

My only real complaint? I just wish it had a way bigger screen (kidding).