For more than 15 years Mazda Australia has bounced from one success to another. From the Mazda3 hatchback knocking the Holden Commodore off the top spot on the sales charts, to the continued success of the MX-5 and the growth of its SUV range as the market shifted, it seemed Mazda could do no wrong.
And then it went wrong.
The launch of the Mazda CX-60 in late 2022 was meant to usher in a new era for the brand, pushing it more upmarket than ever before. While Mazda executives were very careful not to mention BMW and Mercedes-Benz, it was clear who the rivals for the CX-60 were based on its price, more polished presentation and new plug-in hybrid powertrains.
But unfortunately for Mazda, when the rubber met the road, the news wasn’t good. The CX-60 was a rare miss for a brand that had rightly earned a good reputation for driving dynamics. Instead of feeling comfortable and composed, the CX-60 felt fussy, too stiff and just generally unresolved.
Literally, it felt like the development of the new model, the final fine-tuning, was rushed or otherwise negatively impacted by the global pandemic that would have hit at a critical moment of its testing.
The problem was compounded by the fact the CX-80 seven-seater was based on the same underpinnings. And then the very similar CX-70 and CX-90 suffered a similar fate, so Mazda rapidly expanded its range to underwhelming reviews.
READ MORE: 2025 Mazda CX-70 review
A lesser brand would have dug its heels in and insisted the CX-60 was fine and customers (and the media) simply didn’t appreciate it. Mazda, however, acknowledged the problem and set about rectifying it, which is why in 2025, less than three years after its initial launch, Mazda has given the chassis a comprehensive overhaul.
Mazda’s engineers have looked at every aspect of the ride and handling of the car and tried to improve it as best it can. The company’s own presentation admits the changes are “extensive” to the suspension, which is a rare use of such a dramatic word for a mid-life update. But it’s an accurate word, at the front they’ve altered the dampers and even the suspension hard points, while at the rear they have made changes to the springs, bump stop and ditched the sway bar.
And that’s not all, the engineers also altered the drivetrain, improving the smoothness of the transmission, in particular the switch between the clutches, and altered the all-wheel drive system to change its rear-wheel bias.
To put these changes to the test, Mazda gave us the opportunity to test the updated CX-60 back-to-back against the original. Which was another brave choice as it highlighted the shortcomings of the first attempt, but it did bring into full focus the vast improvements the company has made.
To achieve this in the most scientific way, Mazda took us to the Lang Lang Proving Grounds, the former Holden base that developed generations of Toranas, Commodores and more but is now owned by Vinfast; the fast-growing Vietnamese car maker. By using Lang Lang’s specific testing environment we were able to get a clear understanding of just how different the new CX-60 is.
The most informative test was a back-to-back run around the Handling Loop, which is a recreation of a typical Australian back road. It has a good mix of corners and bumps before finishing with a special section of whoops to really test the suspension. This really highlighted just how much more composed the new suspension is, feeling both more comfortable but also offering better handling.
These changes translate to the real-world too, with the CX-60 now living up to Mazda’s reputation and its goal for this particular model to feel more premium and dynamic. It’s still an SUV, so it doesn’t drive like an MX-5 but it’s an enjoyable experience and feels properly resolved for the first time.
The driving experience isn’t the only major change. While the styling isn’t touched, Mazda has tweaked the model line-up and added a new, cheaper, entry-grade model called the CX-60 Pure G40e.
Priced from $50,240 (plus on-road costs, but offered initially at $53,990 drive-away), that’s a $10k reduction from the previous entry price for the range, which means it now crosses over with the CX-5.
Mazda has reduced pricing across the range, but hasn’t totally abandoned its more premium push though, with the Evolve (from $55,240), Touring (from $58,240), GT (from $64,240) and Azami (from $68,440) completing the line-up and stretching it all the way to $83,490 for the Azami PHEV AWD with either the SP or Takumi option packages (which are $2000 each).
There are three engine options across the range – P50e (a 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine with plug-in hybrid), the G40e (a 3.3-litre inline six-cylinder turbo petrol mild-hybrid) and D50e (a 3.3-litre inline six turbo diesel mild-hybrid). The P50e is good for 241kW/500Nm and uses a claimed 2.1-litres per 100km, and is the obvious pick of the range from a performance and efficiency point-of-view. However, from a price perspective, the P40e has appeal and still makes 209kW/450Nm and uses 7.4L/100km, while the D50e makes 187kW/550Nm and has a 5.0L/100km, but diesel appears to be out-of-favour with many buyers.
Is this all enough to turn Mazda’s rare miss into a success? Obviously that will only be decided by sales, but the brand has certainly made a huge effort to correct the mistakes of the original. This updated CX-60 may look the same but it’s a completely different SUV to drive and certainly has the kind of premium feel the brand was originally aiming for.
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