Is the BMW X3 the ideal competitor for the Mazda CX-60
With the CX-60, Mazda does not make life easier for automotive journalists. After all, the new top model from the Japanese is difficult to place, but in many respects the BMW X3 comes closest to the ideal competitor.
Mazda does everything differently from other manufacturers, does that also apply to the CX-60?
Mazda is and remains quite stubborn. The Japanese brand swears by large, naturally aspirated petrol engines, is the only manufacturer in the world to see salvation in the rotary engine (MX-30 R-EV) and fully adheres to that typical rotary knob for infotainment use, which is no longer sacred even at BMW. Mazda is also different from the rest when it comes to brand positioning. In other words: Mazda cannot be easily pigeonholed. Where a brand like DS claims to be ‘premium’ from the start and competes with BMW, Mercedes and Audi, Mazda will never say that about itself. But the models of the Japanese do tend more and more towards that level. Take the CX-60, which is the flagship until the CX-80 comes along. It is a large SUV, but not of the kind that we find at Kia as the Sorento and at Skoda as the Kodiaq.
The Mazda CX-60 is a hefty SUV, but is it also premium?
Yes, but cars such as the Kia Sorento and the Skoda Kodiaq are on a front-wheel drive platform and have ‘space’ as a spearhead, including a possible third row of seats. The Mazda is on a completely different footing. Literally, because it has rear-wheel drive, with the fuel engine in the front in the longitudinal direction. Exactly as with most BMWs, although the Germans are obliged to do so and Mazda is not. The rather remarkable layout for a Mazda is not the only area where we see similarities between the CX-60 2.5i e-SkyActiv and the BMW X3 xDrive30e. For example, they are both plug-in hybrids, with very similar specifications, moreover. The outer dimensions do not differ too much and because the Mazda as the most luxurious Takumi is no longer a bargain, it may just be that the CX-60 is on the list of those who are also considering a BMW. Let’s see if the Mazda can live up to that position.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl