Since Mazda announced the development of the back-drive platform and the straight six engine two years ago, countless fans have been waiting for the unveiling of their new cars. Just recently, the first model, the CX-60, with a new rear-drive platform and a straight-six engine, finally unveiled its mystery. Along with the unveiling, Mazda also announced the price of the CX-60 in the German market for 47,390-52,890 euros, which translates to 330,000-360,000 yuan! Considering that the previous price of Mazda in Germany was converted into RMB and similar to that in China, so after seeing this price, I really doubted life, a Mazda sold so expensive, can there be a way out? Today, we will talk in detail about all aspects of the Mazda CX-60 and whether it has a future!
As a model with a new platform and a new car series, the shape of the CX-60 does not seem to give people a particularly strong "new car feeling", and the family style of the CX-5, CX-30 and other models currently on sale has not changed much, far from the sense of surprise given by the soul design when it debuted 10 years ago. Of course, as a new model, the CX-60 still has some unique design elements, such as the front of the car using split LED daytime running lights, the headlight size is smaller, the size of the net is larger, highlighting the brand characteristics at the same time, but also gives people a more domineering feeling.
The biggest change in the side of the body is in the area before the A-pillar, because the vehicle uses a rear-drive platform, the engine should be placed in length, so the distance between the front axle of the vehicle and the firewall has become particularly long, which is the standard rear-drive ratio. Like other sporty models, the CX-60's driver is located close to the center of the front and rear axles for a better handling experience. At the same time, the vehicle also uses a large 20-inch wheel rim to match the temperament of the vehicle's movement. As for the shape of the rear half of the vehicle, in fact, there is not much difference from the CX-5, the door is still designed without a waist line, and the gradient surface reflects the light and shadow changes to create a sense of hierarchy, and the rear is slightly slippery.
In terms of size, the CX-60 is positioned as a mid-size SUV, so the size is significantly larger than the compact CX-5, and the bmw X3, which is also a medium-sized rear-drive platform, is almost at the exact same level. It can be seen that the competitors of the Mazda CX-60 are obviously directly targeting luxury mid-size SUVs such as the BMW X3.
The tail design is relatively calm, the taillights of the spoon type are highly recognizable, and the center of the tailgate is concave, which looks more personalized. The four outlets below are decorative pieces, and the real exhaust is hidden under the car.
Interestingly, the CX-60 standard appearance version is called "Takumi", fans who have seen "Head Text D" should know that the English writing of the male protagonist Takumi is "Takumi", which is also a wonderful linkage.
In addition to the Takumi version, the CX-60 has a more sporty version of "Homura", a character in the Japanese anime Magical Girl Circle who is "Xiaomei Flame". In the anime, Xiao Meiyan is a magical girl dressed in black with a red ribbon on her head. The Homura version of the CX-60 adopts red car paint, and the middle net is changed to a black honeycomb structure, and the window lines, wheel rims, rearview mirrors, and exhaust of the vehicle are all blackened, and the overall red and black sports temperament is very compatible with the characters in the anime.
Coming to the car, since Mazda is determined to be luxurious, the interior part naturally cannot be too bad. Overall, the interior of the CX-60 is indeed more textured than the Toyota and Honda models we are familiar with. In particular, the large blank design on the center console is also a means of displaying the materials and processes of the vehicle interior.
For example, the gray fabric used on the center console is a unique Japanese textile product, which can give people a warm feeling at home compared to traditional leather or plastic materials. However, as a machine used in complex environments, it is inevitable that people will doubt the durability and anti-fouling ability of textile products.
The door panels are also paneled in a variety of materials, with light maple wood on the top, polished aluminum alloy in the middle, and fabric fabric and Nappa leather covering below. I have to say that the interior material and atmosphere of the CX-60 are still good, at least a little Lexus flavor.
The steering wheel of the CX-60 is very sporty and is clad in spliced leather. In front of the driver's line of sight is a 12.3-inch full LCD instrument, and on the right is a 12.3-inch central control screen. It is worth mentioning that although the UI style of this screen remains the same as the current Axela and CX-30, it supports touch operation, which can also be regarded as improving certain convenience. It's just that When Mazda canceled the screen touch, it said that this was to improve security, and now it has been added back, I don't know what the reason is?
Of course, Mazda, which has always been driving as the core, has not abandoned the physical buttons, and the vehicle's air conditioning system provides a large number of physical button operations, and also includes the heating/ventilation of the front seats, steering wheel heating and other functions. The delicate electronic gear handle is a newly designed style, with a storage slot for wireless charging of the phone in front and a cup holder with a solid wood lid on the right. As for Mazda's ancestral physical multimedia operation knob, it was not canceled because of the addition of the touch screen, and it was still placed in a very convenient position.
If you choose the sporty version of Homura, the interior is mainly covered in black leather, with dark red stitching, the overall texture is also good, but there is less of a warm atmosphere brought by material stitching.
Axela interior
But to be honest, if you pay attention to Mazda models, you should know that even the Currently cheaper Onksela, in fact, its interior is more textured than the same level of Corolla, Civic, Sagitar and other models. So at present, the interior luxury conveyed by the CX-60 has not exceeded our expectations, compared to ordinary brands such as Toyota, Honda, and Volkswagen, it is indeed better, but if you really compare it with Luxury brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Lexus, which are known for their interiors, they really owe some fire. Even comparing BMW and Audi, Mazda's interior is a little less visible brand recognition.
For the CX-60 car, everyone must be most concerned about its rear-drive platform. Unfortunately, too many details and features of the new platform have been announced. The currently known news is that the CX-60 is the first model of Mazda's new rear-drive platform and the most entry-level model in the new rear-drive SUV product line. In the future, this rear-drive platform will also launch a three-row version of the medium and large SUV CX-80 to meet consumers' needs for space and multi-person travel.
In addition, whether it is the CX-60 or the CX-80, they all adopt a "narrow body" design, that is, the body width does not exceed 1.9 meters, mainly for the Japanese and European markets. The urban streets in these areas are relatively narrow, so the narrow body design is more suitable for Japanese and European use. For the North American market, Mazda will launch "wide body" models, that is, CX-70 and CX-90, which can be understood as the 60 and 80 widened versions, which also use the rear-drive platform and are positioned in medium- and medium-sized SUVs.
Regarding the sportiness and driving experience of the new platform, we don't have to worry at all, after all, even the Mazda with the transverse front-drive platform has always had a first-class driving experience of the same level. Now that the rear-drive platform has been changed, Mazda will also have more room to play.
As for the space of the rear-drive platform, according to the on-site experience of foreign media, the CX-60 of the rear-drive standard axis design is obviously not very optimistic, and the space in the second row is very cramped. Despite the experiencer's height of more than 185cm, such a rear performance is still too small for a mid-size SUV, even comparing the BMW X3 with the same standard axle rear-drive platform, it is completely inferior. Of course, the CX-60 is a model driven by individuals in the European market, and the rear row is really not very important.
In addition to the rear drive, the rumored straight six engine is also expected by everyone. However, due to the release of the CX-60 is the first for the European market, so the first to launch is more in line with the European white left environmentalism plug-in hybrid model, followed by the addition of 3.0L compression-ignition straight six gasoline engine, as well as 3.3 liter straight six diesel engine. Both straight-six engines will also be equipped with a 48V light mix system as standard to further reduce fuel consumption and improve smoothness.
The plug-in hybrid version is made up of a 2.5L four-cylinder engine, a drive motor, an 8AT transmission, and a battery pack. Among them, the 2.5L engine provides 192 horsepower and 261N·m of power, the drive motor has 136 horsepower, 250N·m of power, the whole system has a maximum power of 328 horsepower, the maximum torque of 500 N·m, and the use of a rear-drive four-wheel drive system. According to official data, the CX-60 accelerates at 0-100km/h for 5.8 seconds, and the maximum speed in hybrid mode is limited by the computer to 200km/h.
The 2.5L plug-in hybrid version has a battery pack capacity of 17.8kWh, and the WLTP can travel 63km and have a top speed of 140km/h in pure electric mode. In addition, the vehicle supports 7.2kW external charging, but the official did not announce the specific charging time, and whether the vehicle supports the function of external reverse discharge.
As for the new 8AT gearbox, it is also a product of Mazda's own research and development. Unlike conventional AT transmissions, Mazda's longitudinal 8AT eliminates the hydraulic torque converter structure between the engine and the transmission input shaft and replaces it with a set of multi-plate clutches. We speculate that Mazda is doing this because, whether it is a plug-in hybrid version or a future 48V mild hybrid version, the CX-60's motor is located at the front end of the input shaft inside the transmission, which is what we commonly call the P2 motor. Therefore, the vehicle will often be in the engine shutdown, relying on the motor alone with the gearbox operating conditions.
However, when the engine is turned off, if the driver needs to overtake or accelerate and suddenly presses the accelerator pedal, the engine needs to be ignited before power is delivered to the transmission. At this time, if the gearbox is a traditional hydraulic torque converter structure, the speed of power transmission is relatively slow, which will bring a more obvious sense of hysteresis. After changing to a multi-plate clutch structure, the electronic control system can compress the clutch plate in advance according to the pedal depth of the accelerator pedal to achieve faster power response. As for whether the replacement of the multi-plate clutch will cause the transmission to be frustrated in congestion, or bring about the durability problem similar to the dual-clutch transmission, it is not known at present.
Will the CX-60 be introduced domestically? To be honest, not much hope. First of all, in terms of pricing, the CX-60 starts at 47,390 euros in the German market. The BMW X3, which is the same size and rear-drive platform, starts at 51,400 euros in Germany. Of course, the price of the CX-60 mentioned here is 2.5L plug-in hybrid version, and the upcoming 3.0L straight six compression-ignition version will be even higher due to the larger number of cylinders and more complex compression-ignition technology. In other words, the CX-60 will most likely be priced at the same level as the BMW X3.
Converted to the domestic market, BMW X3 starting price of 392,800 yuan, assuming that the CX-60 can also be domestically produced as desired, the pricing probability will be around 350,000. If you think about it, even if the performance of the CX-60 is not inferior to the BMW X3 in all aspects, and even the power configuration is stronger than the X3, how many people are willing to spend the price of BMW to buy a Mazda?
In addition to the embarrassment of price positioning, the Europeanized design of the CX-60 itself is obviously not in line with the needs of Chinese consumers for vehicle practicality. After all, spending more than 100,000 yuan to buy a Mazda can be a wayward choice for young people. But if you spend three or four hundred thousand to buy a Mazda SUV, the rear space is still cramped, which is obviously a bit difficult to accept. After all, even Mercedes-Benz and Audi have chosen to lengthen to increase the back space.
In fact, in the current domestic luxury SUV market, cadillac XT6 such as second-tier luxury brands in large and medium-sized SUVs, the terminal price is about 350,000 to start. Therefore, unless Mazda domestically produces the CX-60 and controls the price at a level of more than 200,000 yuan, and reduces the dimension to hit volkswagen Tiguan L, Buick Encore S and other models, otherwise this car may not have any way out in the Chinese market.
For Mazda, their top priority should be to introduce the new compact SUV CX-50 for the North American market. This car adopts a more people-friendly horizontal front-drive platform, and the shape and interior are also newly designed, and the pricing should still be expected. After all, the current CX-5 has been introduced in China for 10 years, and it really needs a replacement to carry the banner of Mazda's compact SUV.
As the pioneering work of Mazda towards a luxury brand, the CX-60 has indeed opened up the gap with ordinary brands through the hardware of rear drive and six cylinders, and truly reached the level of luxury brands. But for this century-old brand, the transformation of luxury is not achievable overnight, because luxury car users not only care about feelings and product strength, but also care about brand value, which is exactly what Mazda lacks at present.
However, although the value and positioning of new cars are becoming more and more high-end, this does not mean that Mazda's low-end market is no longer updated. After all, the current CX-30 and Mazda 3 are at the peak of their life cycle, and Mazda has recently launched a new generation of Mazda 2 by changing the label toyota Yaris, and also uses Toyota's hybrid. Therefore, its own high-end products with six-cylinder rear-drive are a good thing for entry-level models, after all, the brand has a high-end totem, which can make users of entry-level models feel the brand value, and in the long run, the influence of the brand will naturally be gradually improved.