2024 Mazda CX-60 GT PHEV long-term review part 1: Is a plug-in hybrid engine justified?

It’s becoming clear now that electric cars are not the be-all and end-all for the automotive industry, so maybe Mazda Australia was ahead of the curve.

As a reminder, the Japanese brand brought out its first production electric vehicle in the form of the MX-30 in 2021, but was discounted after just two-and-a-half years on the Australian market and just 131 sales.

Mazda says the all-electric model simply “exhausted its demand”, and with cooling interests in electric vehicles (EVs) in favour of hybrids and plug-ins, the brand could be right.

Enter the CX-60 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) – a first for Mazda – that is better positioned to take advantage of not only the booming family SUV market, but also the sudden surge in interest for plug-in powertrain technology.

Will this model resonate more with local buyers than the MX-30? We’ve secured a three-month loan of the CX-60 PHEV to see how well it slots into the day-to-day family minutiae to determine if it should be on your shopping list.

As a PHEV, the key consideration all buyers should look at first is whether they will take advantage of that limited all-electric driving range regularly.

With a 17.8kWh battery in play, paired to a 2.5-litre petrol four-cylinder engine, the CX-60 PHEV has a claimed electric range of 76km – at least on paper.

In the real world, the dashboard shows a 60km maximum driving range with the battery fully charged, which is still more than enough to cover my daily commute to childcare, then the office, and then back again with about 5km to spare.

I also have access to an 11kW AC charger at work and a wall plug 'trickle charger' in the garage at home, meaning there is always an opportunity to fill the battery when parked.

With the CX-60’s 7.2kW maximum charge rate, this car’s high-voltage battery is topped off in well under two hours at work, and will take around seven hours at home – not a problem given I have access to overnight charging.

It means the start of every journey is always in electric-only mode, and often an entire day’s worth of driving will be achievable without using a single drop of petrol.

In fact, in my first month with the car, I’ve used barely over a quarter of the CX-60’s 50-litre fuel tank.

After 1212km, the dashboard is showing a fuel consumption average of just 1.2 litres per 100 kilometres, which is well under the quoted 2.1L/100km figure.

However, my efficiency figure of 24.7kWh/100km is on the higher side, with similarly sized and weighted electric vehicles (EVs) like the Toyota bZ4X consuming just 16.1kWh/100km.

I also have to point out that I’ve had the CX-60 in its strongest regenerative braking setting, which can be toggled in the infotainment menu, for most of the time.

Not the most efficient, then, but the backup of a petrol engine that can be quickly refuelled and keep things moving along over long journeys is invaluable to some.

After some time with the car, I really only needed that backup on one occasion – on a cross-city journey to a birthday party after forgetting to plug in overnight – but with plans for a long-distance road trip around Christmas, I’m sure I’ll be glad of that 2.5-litre petrol engine.

Speaking of which, that engine is the same one that has been in service under the bonnet of the Mazda 6 from as far back as 2013.

And while the motor feels spritely enough in a mid-size sedan or wagon without a large battery and electric motor to contend with, it does lose a lot of its peppiness here in the CX-60 PHEV.

Performance is undoubtedly dulled with the added weight, needing to rev harder and longer for an acceptable pace, but made more egregious when you switch over from the instant torque of electric power.

That changeover can also be jarring and clunky, as the petrol engine whirrs to life with a mechanical clunk and judder more akin to Optimus Prime transforming to robot mode than a family SUV with premium aspirations.

Paired to that engine is an eight-speed automatic transmission, which sends drive to all four wheels and needs some smoothing out as swapping cogs up or down can be a jerky affair.

Likewise, the suspension is tuned more to the firm side than comfort, with potholes and bumps in the road met with jostling cabin debris and unwanted interior bounciness.

To Mazda’s credit, it is aware of the CX-60’s shortcomings in this regard, and another suspension tweak is on the way to hopefully alleviate this problem further.

However, as it stands now, the ride comfort is the CX-60’s biggest problem to overcome to win over prospective customers.

The trade-off here, however, is that the CX-60 handles like few family SUVs can, and on a perfect road this Mazda model can hustle around a bend more like a hot hatch than a high-rider.

Straight-line performance isn’t an issue either, as combined outputs of 241kW and 500Nm result in a claimed zero-to-100km/h acceleration time of just 5.8 seconds – making this the quickest Mazda model on sale in Australia today.

And speaking to that sporty performance is the variant of our long-term test car, a mid-spec CX-60 GT that features blacked-out 20-inch wheels and exterior accents, as well as the body-coloured wheel-arch cladding.

But even the base (for now) CX-60 Evolve is equipped with a sizeable list of features to make family life easier.

As standard, there is a surround-view monitor to make parking easier, a powered tailgate to make loading/unloading a pram a breeze, and dual-zone climate control to keep rear-seat occupants comfortable.

Stepping up to the GT adds some nice-to-have features for families, like a panoramic sunroof and easier-to-clean leather seats, but other additions to the spec sheet like an electronically adjustable steering wheel column and a heated steering wheel fall firmly in the ‘want’ not ‘need’ category.

But finally, to the elephant in the room: price.

As Mazda’s first model on a new platform shouldered with pushing the brand more upmarket compared to its peers like Toyota and Hyundai, the CX-60 is positioned as such.

And as a PHEV, well, there’s a price premium attached to a complex and complicated electrified powertrain like this one.

As a result, this CX-60 P50e GT PHEV rings the till to a total of $81,600 before on-road costs – $13,050 and $11,050 more expensive than the equivalent petrol and diesel model. Ouch.

With so much movement in the all-electric space, there are now comparable models with similar sizing such as the Tesla Model Y, Kia EV5, Polestar 4, and Hyundai Ioniq 5 available for less, not to mention other mid-size plug-in hybrids like the Mitsubishi Outlander and BYD Sealion 6.

In the coming months, I look forward to seeing whether a PHEV is the way to go in this price bracket, and if I can keep that fuel consumption figure low enough to justify the premium over a petrol model, especially with all the running around the festive season brings.

But for now, the CX-60 P50e GT PHEV presents itself as an able and willing partner for family duties, standing out due to its premium appointments and cutting-edge powertrain.

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Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.

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