What is it?

Mazda has been steadily expanding its CX range of SUVs over recent years and now we are getting the biggest one yet, the CX-80. It takes over the mantle of the Japanese brand’s range flagship from its sister the CX-60, launched in 2022, and follows Mazda’s mantra of doing things a little differently to the herd.

This brand-new vehicle comes in all-wheel-drive format only (though biased tot he era ran normal motoring), with an eight-speed auto transmission and two engine choices; a plug-in hybrid – and a diesel…

In fairness it replicates the propulsion options of the CX-60, in fact using the same engines, and as that has been on sale for a couple of years now Mazda must be happy that this choice works.

The 3.3-litre oil burner has mild-hybrid assistance and is pitched as one of the cleanest diesel engines ever produced, particularly with regards to NOx emissions, the most serious pollutant of diesels. It’s rated at one-third of the compliance level of the latest highly stringent Euro 7 emissions regulations.

Business Motoring readers, however, will no doubt be looking to the plug-in hybrid variant. The PHEV drivetrain, which combines Mazda’s 2.5-litre Skyactiv petrol engine with a 129kW electric motor, claims an-all electric range of up 38 miles, so long as the driver does not exceed 62mph, while recharging on a typical AC callbox takes 2 hours 20 minutes.

Sadly that range doesn’t compare to some other PHEVs and that has an effect on Benefit-in-Kind tax rates. A couple of miles more and the CX-80 would have qualified for 8% BIK but instead is rated at 12% – mind you this compares to the diesel’s 34%.

Mazda describes this vehicle as the most spacious it’s ever sold, and the CX-80 is a full seven-seater, something that is not so common these days. As ever carrying seven adults will require a compromise in second and third-row legroom but for a large family it will be a practical option.

In terms of design the CX-80 rationale is easy to describe. Up to the B-pillar (the one between the two sets of doors), the new model replicates its smaller CX-60 sister. But the CX-80 has a wheelbase stretched by 250mm over the CX-60, which translates to more spacious second-row seats and the means to free up some room for those in the very back.

In standard form the middle row seats slide by up to 120mm and recline between 15 and 33 degrees. There are also a pair of six-seat options – on all but the entry-level Exclusive Line trim one can specify two middle-row heated captain’s chairs with a walk through to the back row, while on the top-line Takumi Plus the two gain add ventilation to the heating and as an extra-cost option their own centre console.

In terms of boot storage, with all seats in place there’s 258 litres, including space under the floor, while in two-row form the volume grows to 687 litres. Drop both rows of seats and there’s 1971 litres to play with – all accessed through a hands-free electric tailgate whichever of the five trim levels available is specified.

Being the range flagship even the base if these trims, Exclusive Line, gets plenty of equipment, including the powered tailgate, a head-up display, three-zone climate control and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. You need to go to Homura Plus, level three of five, to get such niceties as a 360-degree around view monitor, panoramic sunroof and wireless smartphone charging.

In terms of safety the CX-80 certainly ticks the boxes. A full menu of active safety features come as standard on all versions, the model not only earning a top five-star Euro NCAP rating but being named best 2024 vehicle in the large SUV class by the safety body. About the only safety desirable absent from the Exclusive Line and Homura versions is adaptive cruise control, these making do with the standard form – mind you the radar version is available as part of an option pack on both.

What do we think of it?

For a large seven-seat SUV the Mazda CX-80 does a good job of not looking too bulbous, its exterior styling giving it a quite purposeful presence. Step inside and anyone that has driven a recent product from the brand will not be surprised by the general quality of the fit and finish – especially the wood veneers and nappa leather of the top Takumi levels, along with neat little touches, just one example being USB-C port availability for all rows.

Mazda does its driver controls pretty well. The combination of a digital instrument panel and the standard-fit head-up display provide everything one needs, while the brand’s standard pop-up design of infotainment screen is effective, very much in the eye-line.

It is easy to forget, however, that the infotainment system is not a touchscreen, worked instead by a large rotary control at the base of the centre console – Mazda’s refusal to follow the crowd extends to retaining a certain level of physical switchgear in its cars, which in this reviewer’s view is a plus point.

That long wheelbase – outstretching many rivals – has a trade-off. The car feels big inside, comfortable with loads of space in the first two rows, but it also feels big when driving it, especially on narrower roads or when manoeuvring on tight streets.

This reviewer is about to make a comment that today is not at all politically correct – in terms of driving satisfaction, I preferred the diesel. Mazda makes pretty good diesel engines these days, and while this is of course a dying market, the combination of low-down torque, high-end refinement with an anything but intrusive audio note and enough pace to matter makes for an enjoyable drive, especially on less than straight but not that slow A and B roads.

The audio note of the plug-in hybrid is okay once cruising at speed, but under reasonably hard acceleration provides just a little too much of that laryngitic rasping sound that has traditionally been a signature of the hybrid. It has enough power but not quite as much refinement as one might expect. With a free choice (without the taxman looking over his shoulder) this reviewer would choose diesel.

Ride comfort of the CX-80 is generally pretty good though less than perfect road surfaces can unsettle it – not as much as on the CX-60 (Mazda having specifically responded to criticism of that car by softening up its sister’s rear end), but still not quite to the standards of rivals. No complaints about the steering though – it’s light to the touch but precise, the car easy to place accurately.

Mazda does not expect to sell huge numbers of CX-80s but it will find buyers. For those needing seven-seat capability it offers such in a reasonably stylish and very well-built package. And overall for a big car it produces a more than adequate on-the-road performance – it’s just that when a car is pitched as a flagship you perhaps expect something just a little more special.

Business Motoring First Drives are the initial test of a new vehicle, of usually between 50 and 100 miles. Business Motoring Full Reviews are usually conducted over a full week, completing several hundred miles.