2026 Mazda CX-60 G25 Pure review

The Mazda CX-60 range offers the widest spread of powertrains of any current Mazda model.

Available with mild-hybrid turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel six-cylinder engines, or a plug-in hybrid four-cylinder – all with all-wheel drive – the CX-60 launched with modern and sophisticated engine options.

In 2025, a new price-leading model joined the range. A non-hybrid four-cylinder petrol engine with rear-wheel drive. The simplest Mazda CX-60 yet.

The ‘G25’ model suffix points to the four-cylinder model, and apart from black replacing chrome on the tail pipes and guard vents, there’s little to separate the four-cylinder model from the others visually.

With 18 combinations of engine and trim level to pick from, the CX-60 range is broad. We took the simplest base model, the CX-60 G25 Pure, for a week to see if the CX-60 loses out in its most basic form, or if the purity of the Pure offers the best value solution.

Priced from $44,240 plus on-road costs, the CX-60 Pure is about the same price as a higher-spec CX-5 Touring AWD ($45,100). It is only slightly larger, but with less equipment overall. If the CX-5 is mainstream, the CX-60 is meant to be a more spacious step up.

While it's relatively mechanically simple compared to its more advanced range mates, it also shows some signs of being de-contented to hit a price target (more on that further down).

Standard equipment on the Pure includes 18-inch alloy wheels, dusk-sensing LED headlights, keyless entry and start, fabric seat trim, a 7.0-inch digital driver’s display, 10.25-inch infotainment, manually adjusted front seats, dual-zone climate control, a 360-degree camera, and adaptive cruise control.

What’s really interesting, though, is that despite the power deficit compared to six-cylinder models, the CX-60 G25 hasn’t lost Mazda’s reputation for delivering engaging driver’s cars… with some caveats.

The only equipment difference compared to the G40 six-cylinder version is the removal of all-wheel drive. The G25 in Australia drives the rear wheels instead.

Mazda offers a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty on the entire CX-60 range. Access to Mazda roadside assist is also included for the warranty period.

Service intervals are set every 12 months or 15,000km, and Mazda has marked down servicing on the four-cylinder CX-60 drastically compared to the petrol six. Over five years, scheduled servicing will add up to $2292.

On a G40 petrol, over that same period, maintenance would add up to $3544.

Rivals offer pricing from as little as $995 over five years for a Honda CR-V, up to a similarly priced $2240 for five years on a CX-5, or $2150 for four years of prepaid servicing on a Skoda Karoq, with no five-year plan offered.

Running the numbers on insurance, a comprehensive policy from a leading insurer would cost $1785 per year for the CX-60 G25 Pure on test.

The same driver got quotes of $1676 for a Honda CR-V VTi-L 2WD, $1609 for a Mazda CX-5 G25 Touring 2WD, and $2060 for a Skoda Karoq Sportline AWD.

In each case, quotes are for a 35-year-old male with a clean driving record living in Chatswood, NSW. Quotes vary by location and circumstances, with the figures provided here as a side-by-side guide.

The Mazda CX-60 range was awarded a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2023, aligning with the car’s local launch, but based on the European test date, giving it a 2022 time stamp.

At that time, the four-cylinder petrol CX-60 had not launched, and is technically not covered by the five-star rating. But with the four-cylinder PHEV and six-cylinder models all covered by the five-star score, it seems likely that the new variants would be ranked similarly.

Those CX-60 variants that are covered received scores of 91 per cent for adult occupant protection, 93 per cent for child occupant protection, 89 per cent for vulnerable road user protection (pedestrians and cyclists), and 77 per cent for safety assist technology.

The CX-60 Pure gets the most basic version of Mazda’s safety suite, but it only misses out on a couple of minor items. There’s no front cross-traffic alert, no driver monitoring camera, and no see-through view for the 360-degree camera system.

The adaptive cruise control also lacks the ‘cruising and traffic support’ low-speed follow function and lane centring, but move one grade up to the Evolve and all of those features are included.

Mazda’s array of features works well with surrounding traffic. The lack of lane-centring is a bit of a missed opportunity on longer drives, but otherwise, the lane-support systems aren’t intrusive, and the traffic sign recognition is commendably accurate.

Despite being the lightest and least-powerful CX-60 model in the range, the four-cylinder G25-powered versions are also the thirstiest despite the lack of all-wheel drive.

Mazda launched the CX-60 range as 'all-hybrid' and pushed the advantages of high-tech mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid engines hard, but the base G25 engine is completely electricity-free.

Mazda says buyers wanted a familiar no-nonsense, no-fuss powertrain, but it feels like cost-cutting may have been a factor here. Official fuel consumption is rated at 7.5 litres per 100 kilometres, compared to 7.4L/100km for the six-cylinder G40e petrol and 5.0L/100km for the D50e diesel.

In the real world, it doesn't take long to blow out consumption figures around town. Mazda’s stop-start system does what it can to save fuel when stopped, but the need to get the big CX-60 moving in traffic makes it thirsty.

If your commuting is all city driving, it’s easy to exceed 15L/100km. Balanced out with some off-peak running and a few highway trips, and that figure will, of course, come down.

For me, the result was 9.8L/100km after a week of mixed driving. For an SUV of this size, sneaking in under 10L/100km is reasonable but not exceptional.

The CX-60 G25 is able to run on regular 91-octane unleaded, rather than premium, which helps keep a lid of running costs. Expect to cover around 590km on a single tank for the as-tested consumption of this review.

The CX-60 launched with criticism that its ride was too firm, and its then-new transmission wasn’t as polished as other cars in Mazda’s range. Since then, Mazda has rolled out revisions and updates that the new four-cylinder model benefits from.

Compared to the first CX-60s in Australia, the CX-60 G25 has a more compliant ride. As with other Mazda models, it has an inherent firmness, and that’s a big part of what makes Mazda cars engaging to drive.

Some owners may still find it a little jiggly on uneven surfaces, and it can feel crashy where road conditions turn bad, lacking the all-road comfort of the CX-5 or a Honda CR-V.

The transmission work has also settled some of the rough gear changes and clunk-and-shunt behaviour that were present previously, but it still lacks overall smoothness. The multi-clutch eight-speed automatic transmission struggles with low-speed situations.

For me, that meant if I stopped midway up my steep driveway and tried to resume, the car would roll downhill with no pickup in the intended direction of travel. That meant having to let it reach the bottom of my driveway before attempting to move back up in a single motion – not really ideal.

On the road, accelerating out of an intersection and building pace before lifting off the accelerator also caused the CX-60 to rock, unable to smoothly absorb the shift in powertrain load. Creeping along in slow traffic could also cause some rocking and jolting.

As the least-powerful engine in the CX-60 range, the 138kW/250Nm 2.5-litre petrol engine feels fine for daily suburban driving. It’s not until you push for a burst of overtaking urge, to try to blast onto a freeway on-ramp, that you notice the lack of urgency.

With no turbocharged torque to rely on, the 2.5-litre engine needs to rev hard to push things along, and goes from reasonably smooth and calm to quite thrashy and buzzy when working hard.

It’s this lack of torque that causes the transmission to spring into action more often too, to try and compensate for the lack of torque. Whereas the six-cylinder models hunt for gears less, and feel more settled at speed, the G25 shuffles gears more often and highlights more of the shift quality issues.

Apart from the sometimes coarse engine and firm ride, the rest of the CX-60 package scores highly.

The handling is very tidy for an SUV of this size and weight. It responds accurately to driver inputs and can even feel just a little engaging on a winding road.

Road and wind noise are quite well managed. At high speeds, there’s not much to trouble occupants, resulting in great passenger comfort on longer cross-country drives.

The CX-60’s big advantage over Mazda’s other medium SUV, the CX-5, is interior space. The CX-60 feels bigger in every dimension and, crucially, offers much more rear leg room.

From the front seat, you’ll notice the wide console and the space between the driver and front passenger. Actual storage space is a little slim, though. The lidded armrest only offers a shallow storage tray, there’s no wireless charger in the entry-level Pure grade, and other than cupholders, there’s not a lot of storage in the console.

The Pure also feels a bit like Mazda ran out of ideas, so rather than getting padded surfaces or interesting details on the dash and doors, there’s a weirdly cheap-looking and feeling hard black plastic decor panel, way out of step with the quality look and feel of other variants in the CX-60 range.

The fabric seats are firm and supportive but lack lumbar support, and are only manually adjustable in the Pure. To get real leather and electric adjustment, you need to step up to the CX-60 Touring grade.

The Pure does still include nice-to-have features like keyless entry and start, dual-zone climate control, rear air vents, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, one-touch up/down power windows on all doors, and an auto-dimming interior mirror.

Rear seat space is decent enough to fit a 180cm-tall passenger behind a 180cm-tall driver, with room to be comfortable, but the growing number of mid-size electric SUVs with flat floors and long wheelbases show the CX-60 up for overall space.

It’s nice to see Mazda has kept a fold-down armrest in the rear, along with a rear backrest that fold in three sections and can be easily folded by a lever from inside the boot.

The cargo blind that lifts with the tailgate is another nice feature, but of course, it’s a manually operated tailgate at this price point. Annoyingly, there are no bag hooks or extra load restraints in the boot either

Boot space is 570 litres with the rear seats up and 1726L with the second row folded down, matching other CX-60 variants. A CR-V VTi-L measures 589L/1671L, the outgoing CX-5 measures 438L/1340L (but the new 2026 model will be larger), and a Skoda Karoq Sportline claims 521L/1630L.

The Mazda CX-60 Pure comes with a 10.25-inch infotainment screen operated via the centre console rotary controller with no touchscreen capability.

The screen size feels compact, and the slimline widescreen format Mazda has selected makes the 10.25-inch screen feel more compact than it really is. The bigger 12.3-inch touchscreen of higher grades is not offered with any of the three G25 four-cylinder models, and reserved for the GT and Azami six-cylinder and PHEV models only.

Mazda’s own in-house menus work fine with the rotary controller, but some of the operations in Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are less suited to a rotary dial. The system includes wired and wireless smartphone mirroring, AM/FM/DAB+ radio, and in-built navigation.

An unbranded eight-speaker stereo is fitted, and it punches above its weight with great sound reproduction and surprisingly good clarity.

The driver faces a 7.0-inch part-digital instrument display that can show limited trip computer info or driver assist graphics. A big head-up display is also standard, and does almost all of the heavy lifting that you’d expect from a digital cluster.

Unlike some other Mazda models, like the CX-70 and CX-80, the CX-60 is not yet compatible with Mazda’s connected services. You can pair your car through the MyMazda app for service bookings and access to owners' manuals, but the CX-60 lacks remote access, vehicle tracking, and other connectivity functions.

Mazda is playing a tough game with the CX-60. When it first went on sale it was positioned as a more premium alternative to the CX-5, with more powerful engines and a roomier interior.

Since then, lower-spec versions, and the less-powerful G25 engine have made the difference between CX-5 and CX-60 less clear, and those differences will only become more vague once Mazda launches the new, large CX-5 later in 2026.

The base-model CX-60 Pure feels like a misstep for Mazda. A brand that has long felt more plush and premium than many of its rivals. It features a hard and plasticky interior, and a number of key luxury features were sidelined to get the price down.

The higher-spec Evolve and Touring grades feel closer to what Mazda usually represents, but unless you absolutely need the rear seat space of the CX-60, an up-spec CX-5 Touring gives you a much more comprehensive equipment list for roughly the same price.

Buying early in the year can be a smart choice, at least, with dealers looking to clear 2025-plated stock, but just like the CX-60, rivals like the Honda CR-V, Skoda Karoq, and Toyota RAV4 will all have offers of their own to sweeten the deal.

Mazda is currently running a 2025 plate clearance deal on the CX-60 G25 Pure, with a $47,990 pricing offer that essentially extends the drive-away deal Mazda first offered on the model when it launched.

The Mazda CX-60 is not a car to shy away from, but rather than being a catch-all for a wide variety of buyers, Mazda’s more focussed enthusiast-driver focus for the CX-60’s suspension means not all families will love it.

Factor in the less powerful four-cylinder engine, and the basic look and feel of the entry-level Pure trim grade, and the CX-60 G25 Pure probably isn’t the best model to go for.

If the number of CX-60s I’ve seen with rental fleet barcodes on the windows is anything to go by, that indicates who this particular variant is really aimed at.

Within Mazda’s own range, there are more compelling models with better equipment at a similar price. Shop around and its rivals offer a more comfortable balance of size, performance, and economy at a similar price.

The CX-60 isn’t a great low-price SUV and feels better balanced when you get to the more expensive six-cylinder models. If you want a CX-60, focus on those, but if you want an affordable midsize Mazda SUV, the CX-5 might be a better bet. 

Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.

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