2022 Mazda CX-60 spied undisguised: This is it!
Meet the first of Mazda's new rear-wheel-drive SUVs, the CX-60, snapped undisguised during a photo shoot.
This is your first look at the first of Mazda’s hotly-anticipated, rear-wheel-drive SUVs, the new 2022 Mazda CX-60 – and it’ll be in Australia within 12 months.
Images posted by Instagram’s Kurdistan Automotive Blog (via CSK Review on YouTube) show the new CX-60 without disguise during an official Mazda photo and video shoot – indicating its official reveal is mere months away – with any doubt over the identity of the vehicles quelled by ‘MAZDA CX-60’ script on the white car’s licence plate.
The CX-60’s styling is yet another evolution of Mazda’s ‘Kodo’ design language, mixing the smooth surfacing and grille shape of the recently-facelifted current CX-5 with an unconventional new LED headlight design, with the daytime-running lights placed separately to the main beam.
The distance between the front wheels and front-most ‘A’ pillars – known as the dash-to-axle ratio – is noticeably longer than any of Mazda’s current models – a key characteristic of vehicles with longitudinal (front to back) engines and rear-wheel drive layouts.
There a small trim piece on the front quarter panels – as previewed in Japanese renderings, and similar to a modern Mini model – while the body-coloured lower bodywork and machines alloy wheels suggest the white car is a range-topping model.
A red CX-60 was also snapped, with a black grille and black mirror caps – likely a sport-themed model, which would wear GT SP badging in Australia.
As a refresher, the mid-size CX-60 is one of four new Mazda SUVs confirmed for launch by the end of 2023, riding on an all-new Large architecture with a rear-wheel-drive-biased layout, and the option of inline-six engines.
It’s the only one of the four confirmed for Australia, with a launch locked in for sometime next year. The other three models remain “under consideration” for our market.
Pitched at European and Japanese markets, the two-row, five-seat CX-60 will be joined by a three-row CX-80 (the successor to today’s CX-8), with two-row CX-70 and three-row CX-90 models slated for North America with larger footprints to account for broader roads.
CX-60 buyers will have a choice between SkyActiv-X inline-six petrol and SkyActiv-D inline-six diesel engines – both with 48-volt mild-hybrid systems – along with a four-cylinder petrol plug-in hybrid option.
While Japanese magazines claim the 2022 Mazda CX-60 will be unveiled towards the end of 2022, the photo shoot the vehicles are undergoing suggests a global unveiling is mere months away.
Stay tuned to Drive for all the latest updates.