Mazda sports utility vehicle sibling rivalry just got hotter, with a reborn five-year-old CX-8 refitted out and snapping at big brother CX-9’s heels, while fending off the challenge of the mid-size CX-5.
Available in six grades – Sport, Touring, Touring Active, GT SP, Asaki and Asaki LE – with petrol or diesel power front or all-wheel drive, the entry-level Sport FWD petrol comes to market at $42,060, plus on-road costs, while the Asaki LE diesel AWD tips the scales at $71,410.
Rearranging the chairs, the Touring Active takes over where the old Touring diesel stood, while the GT SP fills the gap left by the absence of the petrol and diesel Touring SP and GT models. On test was the GT SP petrol, which takes in premium touches such as power sliding and tilting sunroof and burgundy or black leather seat trim.
Mazda’s five-year unlimited kilometre warranty, with roadside assistance, applies across the model range, with service intervals of 12 months or 15,000 kilometres.
STYLING
Mazda designers have modernised the CX-8 exterior with bold new front and rear bumpers, and tailgate, LED headlamps and tail lights, while a new front grille maintains the company’s Kodo – Soul of Motion design tradition.
New signature wings add a premium quality feel, a metallic finish reflecting light in motion, enhancing vehicle dynamics, maybe the colour too, in this case Soul Red Crystal Metallic. Black metallic and machined finish 19-inch wheels give a lift to the sleek styling and sophistication of the GT SP.
INTERIOR
Three rows of seats, with quality finishes, offer enough space to fit all but the most broad-beamed family members comfortably on short trips or long journeys. Massive rear doors open to almost 90 degrees – there are sun shades too – but there’s still some clambering to do to settle in the third row.
Once in, the upright back rest and the cramped knee situation are not conducive to long-distance comfort. There’s limited head room here but the GT SP does have the power adjustment and rear seat heaters of upper specced variants.
A non-too generous 209 litres of cargo space is available with all seats in operation.
A removable base boots capacity to 242 litres. With the third row folded the total rises to 775 litres.
INFOTAINMENT
Call me out of touch but I remain a fan of the switch-and-knob style of control of in-cabin tech. There is nothing worse than sticky fingerprints on the touchscreen. The CX-8 centre-console rotary control set-up is my kind of connection.
Some previous CX-8s had only half-smart levels of phone mirroring. Mazda has fixed this and updates now offer Android Auto and Apple CarPlay wirelessly. Also newly included is wireless device charging and 10-speaker Bose audio.
ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONS
On offer is the choice of two engines – a 2.5 litre four-cylinder petrol or 2.2 litre turbodiesel – both mated with a six-speed automatic transmission. The test vehicle included the former, which came up with maximum power of 140 kW at 6000 rpm and maximum torque of 252 Nm at 4000 rpm.
Diesel versions boast all-wheel drive, while petrol motors have to make do with front-wheel operation only.
SAFETY
The Mazda CX-8 was a five-star rating when it was introduced in 2018. As little has been significantly changed the Australasian New Car Assessment Program says it will not be retesting the latest version.
Included are blind spot monitoring, lane-keep assistance, rear-cross traffic alert, tyre pressure monitoring, traffic sign recognition and Isofix child seat anchors for two of the rear seats.
A reversing camera is standard across the range but only in the Asaki and LE is there a full 360-degree system.
DRIVING
The 2.5 litre four-cylinder motor sends a maximum 140 kW of power and 252 Nm of torque to the front wheels only, putting the brake, so to speak, on top-notch towing.
Maximum rating is 1800 kg.
The six-speed transmission is left behind by rivals with more cogs but it doesn’t seem to affect the CX-8 unduly, producing a smooth run through all but the upper echelons of the rev band. Engine noise is the downside here.
Fuel consumption is claimed to be an average of 8.1 litres per 100km for the petrol front-wheel drive on the combines urban / highway cycle. The test vehicle came up with 11.4 litres per 100 kilometres in city and suburban work and 6.1 litres per 100 kilometres on motorway cruising.
With a bit of heft to handle, the ride can be hostage to some bumps and bangs over bad roads. Steering responds with feeling and is particularly efficient in parking manoeuvres at lower speeds.
Front-wheel-drive versions of the CX-8 miss out on the Mazda Mi-Drive switchable driving modes allowing the driver to choose between Normal, Sport, Off-Road and a towing mode.
All-round vision for the driver is limited by large rear-view mirrors and a slim rear window but I do rate the clarity of the head-up (any head-up) windscreen display.
SUMMARY
Fitting in can be a challenge to anyone going through adolescence. Doing a person’s best for elders can be elusive and so could be the case of the CX-8. Thankfully Mazda has taken the large SUV and planed off some of the prickly sides to its character, leaving an acceptable member of a growing family.
