MAZDA CX-60 Rating ★★★★★ Price from €55,280 - €60,530 as tested Engine a 3.3 litre turbodiesel mild-hybrid The Spec nearly overwhelming and the quality on offer is astonishing Verdict Conquest sales here we come The race to electrify our national fleet – by which I mean all the cars in the nation – has brought with it a lot of downsides such as terrible second-hand values, vanishing residuals, controversial manufacturer prices cuts and a still awful nationwide charging infrastructure. That has meant the initial surge of goodwill towards EVs has all but vanished – for now.
Undoubtedly as manufacturers refine their products, the Government reinstates EV subsidies and the infrastructure issues are slowly but surely dealt with, demand will surge once more. But for some car companies, there has been a way forward in all of this by looking backwards. Those who have not dived headlong into the manufacturing of EVs have suddenly found new life being breathed into old product, by which I mean the continued production of cars with internal combustion engines.
This week we test a car which should, by all known parameters, have been dead in the water before ever hitting our streets. In the face of the EV onslaught, most observers would have laughed themselves sick at the thought of a major manufacturer deciding to launch a flagship car with a 3.3 litre in-line six-cylinder turbodiesel engine.
Yet, despite mass thigh-slapping hysterics in the motoring press, that’s e.