Mazda CX-60 (2025): New SUV or Used Lexus NX in South Africa?

Introduction

Buy the Mazda CX-60 new if factory warranty coverage, an untouched cabin and Mazda’s genuinely upmarket finish matter more to you than badge status or turbocharged torque. Everyone else should scan the used listings first.

That’s the awkward part of the Mazda CX-60 in South Africa. At roughly R750,000 to R900,000, a new CX-60 overlaps with two- and three-year-old BMW X3s, Audi Q5s and Volvo XC60s in the local used market.

Across 2025 and 2026 stock, that overlap shapes the entire decision. You’re balancing a premium price, an altitude-sensitive petrol engine and resale that hasn’t quite settled.

Forget the launch hype. Let’s look at the numbers.

Key takeaway: Beautifully built and properly premium inside, the CX-60 is let down by its SA petrol engine and uncertain resale. A used German rival may suit badge-conscious buyers better.

Design & Exterior

Mazda’s Kodo styling tends to age well, and the CX-60 carries it with confidence. Long bonnet, rearward cabin and a neatly framed grille — from 20 paces, it looks expensive, which it absolutely needs to at this price.

Park it next to a CX-5 and the extra length and width are obvious. Put it alongside an X3 and the Mazda doesn’t look like the cheaper option. I stopped at a Mazda dealer to inspect a Soul Red example, and the paint’s depth in the afternoon light had me walking back for another look. It’s genuinely impressive.

With 170mm of ground clearance, though, the CX-60 remains a soft-roader. The AWD is useful security on wet tar and loose gravel, not an invitation to follow a Hilux up a rocky trail.

Cabin & Practicality

Cabin quality is where the CX-60 makes its strongest premium argument. The materials feel carefully chosen, the stitching is neat, and the physical climate dials have that crisp, expensive click you want from a premium SUV.

Some German alternatives costing considerably more don’t feel this convincing inside.

Materials and controls

Mazda has kept proper buttons. Good. A rotary infotainment controller means you won’t spend every journey prodding a touchscreen, and during a week of stop-start running on the M1, I seldom looked away from the road. Replacing tactile controls with glossy submenus isn’t progress, and that matters.

Space and boot

• Boot capacity sits around 570 litres, which is competitive for the class.
• Five seats and five doors are standard, with ISOFIX child-seat points on the outer rear positions.
• Rear legroom is adequate rather than generous, especially given the exterior footprint.

Tall adults sitting behind tall adults will find the knee room merely acceptable. A family of four with two younger children should manage easily, while our packing check saw the boot take one full-size pram plus three soft bags. Add three teenagers across the rear bench for an N3 run to Durban, though, and the cabin feels tighter than its bodywork suggests.

On the Road

From behind the wheel, the CX-60 feels shaped by people who still care about steering weight and response. Its rear-biased AWD creates a more natural cornering balance than the usual nose-led family SUV, without pretending this is some oversized sports car.

The ride question

Early international cars were criticised for a firm, unsettled ride. Mazda revised the suspension for 2024/2025, meaning SA stock from those model years should carry the changes. Better? Yes. Plush? Not quite. Across pockmarked sections of the R21 near OR Tambo, sharp expansion joints still reached the cabin more forcefully than they would in a Volvo XC60. If comfort is your priority, please drive one over broken tar before signing anything.

Gearbox behaviour

Its eight-speed automatic often selects a higher gear and then holds it a fraction too long. Ask for a quick overtake and an irritating pause arrives before the downshift. Hardly disastrous, but it exposes the engine’s shortage of urgency. Our 0-100km/h estimate came in at 10.1 seconds at Highveld altitude. Adequate. Nothing more.

Data & Comparison

Right, so let’s put the asking prices on the table. These are the typical figures appearing across recent South African CX-60 listings, rather than hopeful launch pricing.

Flagship 2026 diesel Takumi models climb towards R1,049,200, while the volume 2.5 petrol Dynamic and Individual editions sit lower. Here’s the uncomfortable overlap confronting a Mazda CX-60 vs used BMW X3 buyer, whether shopping through a franchised dealer or walking a WeBuyCars floor.

Ownership numbers

• Five-year total cost of ownership is estimated around R230,000, before finance.
• The plug-in hybrid version uses a 17.8kWh battery and claims 63km of EV range.
• Claimed combined economy for the PHEV is 5.3L/100km; real-world petrol consumption rises sharply once the battery is depleted.

Real-world EV range won’t consistently match that 63km claim. Cold starts, hills and motorway speeds all cut into it, so expect 45- 50 km of electric driving if you recharge nightly. That’s enough for a Sandton-to-Rosebank commute using cheaper Eskom energy, load-shedding permitting. Only one battery size is offered, and there’s no DC charging facility, which means a public rapid charger can’t rescue a poor home-charging routine. Once depleted, we observed 8.7L/100km in mixed driving.

Editorial Focus

Here’s the South African issue the launch excitement skipped. The likely volume seller is a naturally aspirated 2.5 petrol, not the six-cylinder turbodiesel that makes the range compelling, on paper at least. Naturally aspirated engines lose roughly 3% of their power per 1,000 feet of elevation. Johannesburg sits near 1,750m.

Run the arithmetic and the 2.5 surrenders roughly 17% of its output on the Highveld. Its advertised 141kW therefore feels closer to 120kW once you’re above Pretoria. Every turbocharged German rival near this price copes better, losing maybe 1% per 1,000 feet because its turbo can compensate.

Gauteng buyers are paying premium new-car money for the range’s weakest engine, then sacrificing more performance to geography, while used turbo rivals keep almost all their muscle. That’s the central problem with the Mazda CX-60 2.5 AWD Individual.

Reliability raises a separate concern. This is a first-generation platform, and early examples behaved like one. Owner records flag launch-era faults such as low-speed drivetrain jerkiness in the PHEV, 12V battery drain, a steering-effort recall and irritating software glitches. Later builds addressed most of these, with OTA software updates and dealer-installed fixes redeeming several first-batch weaknesses. Used buyers should favour later-2023-onward production. Those are the Mazda CX-60 problems to investigate before money changes hands.

Safety rating

ANCAP · tested 2022

★★★★★ 5/5 adult occupant

Australian-market RHD rating — indicative for SA only where the SA derivative matches the tested safety spec (airbags/ESC/AEB). Official factsheet.

Verdict

Look, the CX-60 is lovely to sit in and maddening to price. As a complete package, it’s what a premium Mazda should have been from the start. Yet the local engine strategy and Highveld performance penalty weaken the new-car case when South Africa’s used premium market offers so much choice. Buyers seeking a premium SUV under R900000 in South Africa should drive it, then cross-shop ruthlessly before signing.

• Buy it - Badge-agnostic buyers who value cabin quality, physical controls and a full warranty more than brand prestige. The 3.3 diesel makes the strongest case, particularly at coastal altitude.
• Shortlist it - Gauteng buyers wanting new-car peace of mind, provided they test the 2.5 petrol at altitude and accept a firmer ride than the XC60 offers.
• Consider the used alternative - Resale-conscious shoppers should investigate a two-to-three-year-old X3, Q5 or XC60, each offering turbocharged strength, a more desirable badge and established depreciation for similar money.
• Avoid - Buyers chasing maximum value and a quick resale, plus anyone who regularly overtakes on Highveld freeways in the naturally aspirated petrol.