The new seven-seat Mazda SUV spied ahead of its debut.
Mazda is expanding its CX-badged SUV lineup with an all-new model, which will be called the Mazda CX-80. We’ve caught it testing on the road, suggesting a full reveal may take place towards the end of this year.
The CX-80 will sit above the newly-launched CX-60. Despite the camouflage we can clearly see the front will retain a similar grille and headlight arrangement as the CX-60. The headlight is connected to the grille, shrouded slightly by the bonnet line for an aggressive look. The overall outline of the grille apes that of the CX-60 and to the side we can see air intakes on the bumper.
The wheelbase looks extremely long from the side. The CX-80 will sit on a stretched version of Mazda’s Large Product Group platform – seen on the CX-60. This extra length will enable seven-seat capacity inside – something the CX-60 doesn’t offer. With the rear seats up we expect the CX-80 to have less than the CX-60’s 570-litre boot space. The rear also copies some elements from the CX-60 such as the roof spoiler, rear light cluster and curved rear pillar.
Mazda says the Large Product Group platform can accommodate mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid, four-cylinder and straight-six petrol and straight-six diesel engines too.
We expect plenty of crossover in terms of powertrains from the CX-60 here with a 2.5-litre plug-in hybrid petrol, a 3.3-litre turbocharged straight-six diesel and a 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine.
Inside we expect to find a brace of 12.3-inch screens lifted from the CX-60 with Mazda’s handy rotary knob on the centre console taking care of the central screen’s infotainment functions.
The CX-80 is confirmed to go on sale in Australia with pricing and specifications yet to be confirmed.