Mazda is about to launch the first of up to four big SUVs later this year in Australia, as it both adds to and updates an ageing line-up of popular models that have helped push the brand to the number two sales spot.
And pushing is the operative word in more ways than one, as two of the four are charged with winning conquest sales from upmarket makes that were out of reach until now.
Kicking things off in December will be the long-awaited CX-60, which ushers in a new era of premium technologies for Mazda, with a box-fresh, electrified-ready, longitudinal-engined, rear-wheel-drive-based architecture that also offers all-wheel drive with increased off-road capability compared to what came before.
Plus, it will debut all-new inline six-cylinder (I6) petrol and diesel engines as options to the standard inline fours (I4), with some offering electrification to help meet increasingly tough emissions standards.
Expected to be priced to overlap with up-spec versions of the smaller, front- or all-wheel-drive and transverse-engined CX-5 mid-size SUV, such as the Akera Turbo AWD from $53,380 before on-road costs, the CX-60 is Mazda’s ambitious power play against the BMW X3, Audi Q5, Mercedes-Benz GLC and Lexus NX, never mind the more-mainstream Toyota RAV4, Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson.
Key takeaways here are that it is aimed at European and Japanese buyers seeking refinement, luxury, efficiency and driving dynamics. The CX-60 replaces no model directly, though historically it would occupy a similar space to the old CX-7 from the mid-2000s.
Speaking of sevens, then there’s the CX-70, due in Australia by about 2024.
Mazda describes this as a ‘Wide Body’ five-seater vehicle, meaning it will be larger and broader to reflect its North American-market focus.
Nobody has seen this vehicle outside of the company as yet, but expect a more rugged and adventurous appearance compared to the rather conservative CX-60 on which it shares much with underneath. Think Land Rover Discovery Sport or Alfa Romeo Stelvio as possible inspirations, but at more accessible price points, possibly starting from under $60,000 in today’s money.
Again, CX-70 has no existing precedents in Mazda’s current line-up – unlike the CX-80 and CX-90. These are direct replacements for the CX-5-based CX-8 and still-brilliant CX-9 respectively. The CX-80 will be narrower to suit Japanese and European tastes, while the CX-90’s width is for North America and other big-country markets. Australians, uniquely, seem to like it both ways.
These two, too, move over to the CX-60/CX-70’s Large Product Group RWD/AWD and I4/I6 powertrains with hybridisation and more, but with three rows for seven and perhaps (for the CX-90) eight-seater configurations. Time will tell. Production for CX-90 is nearing, and expected to be well underway for its prime US market by March next year. It is believed Australia won’t be too far after that.
While refusing to reveal details about what’s in the pipeline, Mazda Australia’s marketing director, Alastair Doak, further clarified the largest SUVs’ points of differentiation against CX-80 to CarsGuide.
“The CX-90 certainly is a product that is more in tune to American design and specification,” he said.
“We haven’t confirmed anything beyond CX-60, and we’re still not doing that, but we’ve said our attitude is: Let’s go in and say ‘why shouldn’t we sell this’ rather than ‘why should we sell this’. Then there has to be insurmountable obstacles to stop you doing that, as opposed to the other way around.
“Having said all that, we haven’t got to a point we are absolutely locked in to any products beyond CX-60, but that’s the going-in attitude, as it is to all the products that Mazda have. We look at it and say ‘how do we make this work in this market’ as opposed to ‘we don’t know about that one’. It’s more fun that way.”
Finally, Mr Doak explained that history and experience is behind Mazda’s decision to consider all four newcomers for Australia, especially when it comes to the larger pair of SUVs.
“I think CX-80 and CX-90 are quite different, size wise they’re quite different as well,” he revealed. “Each have a different character and a different story to tell.
“The CX-8 and CX-9 is a great example of expanding overall, rather than relying on one model. When CX-9 came out, we were selling 7500 to 8000 (annually) from memory; and when we announced CX-8 later on, people wondered how that was going to work.
“Now we selling nearly 7000 of both (each year) so we’ve actually almost doubled our numbers. It shows if you position them right, you have a very clear story you can articulate through the press, the dealers and ultimately the people who buy them, then it works.”
Still confused? Don’t worry. We’ll keep reporting on each model as more details drop, so please keep watching this space.
Keyword: Pocket guide to Mazda's confusing big-SUV onslaught: With CX-60, CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90 looming for Australia, should you still order that Toyota Kluger hybrid, Mercedes GLC, BMW X5 or Hyundai Palisade?