We like
Six-cylinder diesel and petrol engines are punchy, standard surround-view camera and lots of user-friendly safety tech, upmarket interior vibe, spacious third row, roomy boot, attractive base model price

Room for improvement
Clunky transmission, ride still not good enough for a family car, diesel has lower towing than petrol and PHEV and shorter service intervals, expensive at the top end, no spare wheel

Overview

 

MAZDA has added the CX-80, which is part of a confusing mix of models at the top of its SUV range.

 

You could consider it to be an elongated and rethought CX-60, and to a degree that would be right – it shares the same powertrains, technology, and the same platform, but with a bigger body on a stretched wheelbase.

 

But honestly, the easiest way to think of this car is as the replacement for the CX-8 that came before it, because it offers more practicality than its smaller sibling, and it undercuts the larger CX-90 widebody model by a substantial margin.

 

Indeed, pricing is of critical importance for this model, which starts from $54,950 +ORCs for the base model Pure, which is only available with the G40e petrol engine and all-wheel drive.

 

Standard kit includes 18-inch alloy wheels, LED lights, cloth seats with manual adjustment, a 10.25-inch display (not touchscreen) with Mazda’s rotary dial controller, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat nav, connected services and a whole host of standard safety technology.

 

Above it there is a Touring grade from $61,950 +ORCs for G40e petrol, $63,950 +ORCs for the D50e diesel, and $75,000 +ORCs for the P50e PHEV. If you choose the PHEV Touring model you get a 12.3-inch touchscreen display, but the other engines retain the smaller screen.

 

The Touring also gets leather trim, heated front seats, power seat adjustment up front, sunshades in the back, a wireless phone charger and power tailgate.

 

The GT grade also has petrol ($68,950 +ORCs), diesel ($70,950 +ORCs) and PHEV ($82,000 +ORCs) options, and this grade steps up to 20-inch wheels, adds adaptive LED lights, and it has body-coloured wheel arches but gloss black bits outside, too.

 

Inside there is a 12.3-inch full colour touchscreen and 12.3-inch driver display standard, electric steering wheel adjustment, heated second row window seats, a panoramic glass roof and a Bose sound system.

 

The flagship Azami spec starts at $74,150 +ORCs for the petrol, $76,150 +ORCs for the diesel and $87,200 +ORCs for the PHEV, and it adds distinct 20-inch wheels and its 360-degree view monitor has a see through view, plus black Nappa leather trim, front ventilated seats, traffic jam assist, and more advanced driver memory tech.

 

The Azami models also have the option of the SP pack, at $5000 more, which changes the interior to a tan Nappa leather finish with a two-tone steering wheel, and the middle row shifts from a three-seat bench to a two-seat captain’s chair layout with heating and ventilation, and additional storage, too. 

 

The cabin design is basically the same in the CX-80 as in the CX-60, with a classy look up front and good practicality for storage and adjustability for adults. 

 

The second-row slides fore and aft to allow more room for rear seat riders, and it’s a spacious place to sit with the evident wheelbase stretch making it a comfy experience, even with the second-row scooched forward a bit. There are ISOFIX points and top-tethers in the second row, and a quick ‘fold-and-slide’ button to gain access to the very back.

 

At 182cm (6’0”) I managed to clamber in with ease, and while it’s a knees-up position for someone my height, smaller occupants will be comfier – despite the fact there’s ample headroom and even good shoulder space in the back.

 

There are vents (knee height) and USB-C ports, plus cup holders in the very back too. And for the family buyer that intends to make full use of the seating capacity, there are third-row top-tethers, but no ISOFIX points back there.

 

Boot space is good. With three rows up the figure is a decent 258 litres, expanding to a claimed 588L with the rear row down. Under the boot floor is a spot for a cargo cover and your tyre repair kit – no spare, which is a concern.

 

The G40e has a 3.3-litre inline six-cylinder petrol with 209kW and 450Nm, and fuel consumption rated at 8.3 litres per 100km. Choose the D50e and you also get a 3.3-litre in-line six’ with 187kW and 550Nm, and fuel use of 5.7 litres per 100km. These models have 74-litre fuel tanks, too.

 

The flagship powertrain choice across most grades is the P50e, which combines a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a 129kW electric motor and a 17.8kWh battery pack, for a total combined output of 241kW and 500Nm. That model is said to boast 65km of pure EV range, and has 7.2kW AC charging, and a stated recharge time of 90 mins from 20-80 per cent. It has a 70L tank, potentially great for those who hate the servo.

 

Towing capacity for the petrol and PHEV models is up to 2500kg for a braked trailer, but the diesel has a more limited rating of 2000kg. All have a 150kg ball limit, and 750kg unbraked capacity.

 

There’s no ANCAP rating yet for the CX-80 line-up, but the CX-60 it shares plenty with achieved the maximum five-star score in 2022, and there’s an abundance of tech including autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian, cyclist and junction detection, lane keeping assistance, blind-spot monitoring, front and rear cross-traffic alert, a surround-view camera system, front and rear parking sensors, a speed sign recognition system and a driver monitoring camera, too.

 

Airbags? Eight, including dual front, front side, front centre, driver’s knee, and curtains.

 

Mazda Australia offers a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty for the CX-80, and five years’ roadside assistance is included at no cost, too.

 

There’s a seven-year capped-price servicing program, but the costs are relatively high: $670 on average for petrol, $549 for the PHEV, and $651 for diesel – but the latter requires maintenance every 10,000km, where the petrol-derived models have 15,000km intervals.

 

Driving impressions

 

I’d love to tell you that the CX-80 is a game-changer compared with the CX-60, but the reality is that it’s still not quite as complete feeling as some seven-seat rivals.

 

That comes down in part to the emphasis on the handling of the car, rather than a focus on comfort and competence more broadly. It isn’t going to be comfortable with all the kids on board, because it’s not comfortable with just two adults on deck.

 

The rear suspension continues to be a concern, with a soft and squishy – at times unsettled – feel to the back end, and I’d hate to be a back-seat bandit if I was car-sick prone.

 

Likewise, the transmission still isn’t as crisp or clever as it ought to be, with a jerky motion when the car is cold, and some unnerving hesitation at intersections too.

 

If it matters, it can handle itself well in twisty bits. But that’s the whole issue with it – a family SUV like this arguably should be better at cossetting its occupants than at making the driver smile.

 

I drove the diesel, the petrol and the PHEV, and I think Mazda’s projections that the petrol will be the favourite are on bang on. It’s a peach of a thing when the transmission is behaving itself (which, really, is most of the time at highway pace), but the diesel argues a strong case with its responsiveness and easy-going torque.

 

The PHEV? The price premium is too much in my opinion for it to be convincing enough to buy one, unless you can get it under a lease agreement prior to the March 31, 2025, cut-off for FBT exemption.

 

My advice, though, is to do a thorough test drive of it, because my short stint showcased a few odd behaviours from the powertrain.

 

None of them have the best brake pedal feel, either, with the regen system making for a wooden pedal feel that doesn’t offer the bite you might want.

 

On the whole, it’s not super seven-seater to drive. But if you’re enticed by the idea of a six-cylinder SUV with a heap of space, it might do the job for you.