The 2023 Mazda CX-60 has been leaked just hours before its official reveal.
Photos shared by Instagram user Wilcoblok show the plug-in hybrid version of Mazda’s new premium mid-sized SUV inside and out. Mazda has confirmed the CX-60 is bound for our shores as part of its new upmarket assault on the SUV market.
While there’s a strong familial resemblance to the CX-5, the CX-60 rides a new rear/all-wheel drive platform and uses a range of new powertrains, including four-cylinder plug-in hybrid and 48V mild-hybrid inline-six petrol and diesel engines.
Only the PHEV has been confirmed thus far for Australia, packing a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor for a total system output of 223kW.
Mazda’s given the CX-60 a wider look than the CX-5, with LED daytime running lights stretching into the grille and tail lights extending onto the tailgate.
There are chrome elements on the front fenders, advertising the car’s plug-in hybrid powertrain.
The dashboard has a similar layout to the CX-5, too, but the CX-60’s interior is marked by an all-new, large digital instrument cluster.
A similarly large infotainment system juts out of the dashboard, which is finished in a mixture of more premium materials.
Mazda says the CX-60 interior will, per the Kaichô design philosophy, mix different materials and textures, with elements of maple wood, Nappa leather, chrome, and Japanese textiles.
There’s also Musubu, which Mazda indicates is a “uniquely Japanese way of binding textiles”.
The CX-60 is the first of a quartet of SUVs on Mazda’s new Large Architecture.
The two-row CX-60 and three-row CX-80 are aimed at markets such as Japan and Europe, and will feature narrower bodies than the CX-70 and CX-90 targeted at North America.
Given the CX-60 has been locked in for Australia, at this stage it seems likely the CX-80 will also make the trip, while the CX-90 is also a possibility – after all, we currently get both the Asia-focused CX-8 and US-focused CX-9.
Mazda Australia executives have said not to assume the introduction of the new SUVs will immediately spell the end of its existing models.
Although its new model will be more luxurious, Mazda has previously told CarExpert it won’t be abandoning the mainstream market.
“We still have to demonstrate value to the end consumer,” Mazda Australia managing director Vinesh Bhindi said in 2021.
“What we’re saying is, we still offer what we call the mainstream, and then also have extended products that are more towards the premium pricing,” he said.
This isn’t the first time the CX-60 has been leaked completely undisguised.
In November 2021, photographers snapped two CX-60s that appeared to be part of a photo or video shoot.
