A new number, with a twist, is setting the standard in new-car showrooms.
If it’s not the top speed, the 0-100km/h time, or fuel economy, then it must be EV range, right? Well, yes and no.
The new number is the pure-electric distance for the latest breed of plug-in hybrids or, as many Chinese makers prefer in their marketing pitch, super-hybrids.
These are petrol-electric vehicles which promise enough battery range to get you through your daily runaround duties, with combustion support for longer trips.
The EV range on this latest breed of hybrids can top 150 kilometres, more than enough for week-a-day commuting or suburban work for most people. The current pecking order is topped by the GWM Haval H6, at a claimed 180 kilometres.
Which is how I came to be driving the Mazda CX-60. Or, to give it its full title, the CX-60 P50e Azami AWD.
That’s showroom code for the CX-60 flagship, complete with a pricetage of $83,990, the plug-in hybrid package with 2.5-litre combustion engine and all-wheel drive.
The cheapest CX-60 in 2026 is priced from $44,740, and the least expensive of its hybrid family is $63,290.
Why is the pricing important? Because Mazda has dropped its showroom stickers on the CX-60 after an underwhelming response from buyers when it arrived in 2025. There are important changes, too …
The suspension has been made more compliant, the gearbox has been recaliabrated for smoother shifting and there is more equipment in the cabin and on the safety side. Is it enough?
My first acquaintance with the CX-60 in ’25 was underwhelming. There was none of the Zoom-Zoom driving enjoyment promised by Mazda since the 1990s, the car felt big and clunky and heavy, and it was definitely too costly.
Today, the driving experience is far nicer and the quality remains. It’s a car which looks nicely aggressive in any field of family SUVs, not just another big box, and the materials and finishing in the cabin are great.
Even the basic car now comes with the Vision Technology package of safety equipment, which means a like-for-like comparison shows the 2026 car is $6500 cheaper at the bottom end.
My two biggest complaints last year, super-harsh suspension which was non-compliant on Australian roads and clunky response to the accelerator, have been fixed. The ’26er is much nicer away from freeway smoothness, coping on country roads with a cushy feel, and the shifts in the eight-speed automatic are far smoother.
Riding as an EV, the CX-60 is also lovely and quiet.
But … It’s still not good and not best in class, which is what we have come to expect from Mazda over the past 30-or-so years. And the price is still too high, especially compared with Chinese rivals.
The transition from EV to petrol power can still be jerky and, once it cuts in, the combustion engine is relatively harsh. The car still feels heavy, too.
Even so, a pure electric range of 76 kilometres and overall economy of 5 litres/100km in the real world is good, and so is a spritely sprint time – remember it has a combined 241 kiloWatts with 500 Newton-metres of torque – of less than eight seconds.
The latest CX-60 should be a winner, but it’s only worth a podium place. And, even then, not on price or the electric-only range which has become hugely important to shoppers over the past month.
More worrying, Mazda should have got the CX-60 right the first time. Having to back-track and update so soon after a new model is a trend which should not be repeated.