2026 Mazda CX-60 G25 Touring review

Our verdict

The Mazda CX-60 G25 Touring is a likeable family SUV that makes the most sense if your driving life revolves around school runs, supermarket trips and the occasional freeway cruise. It's spacious, well-built and cheaper to own than its six-cylinder siblings. But the moment you ask it for anything beyond gentle suburban duties, its lack of punch and disappointing fuel economy become hard to ignore.

What does the CX-60 G25 cost in Australia?

The G25 engine option exists to get the CX-60's asking price closer to the magic $50,000 mark, and it works. Three trim levels are available - Pure at $44,240, Evolve at $49,240 and Touring at $52,240 before on-road costs. Our Touring test car came in at roughly $57,707 drive-away in NSW.

That's a flat $6,000 saving over the equivalent turbo six-cylinder G40e at every trim level. You can't have the G25 in the fancier GT or Azami grades, so the Touring is as high as it goes with the four-pot.

Is it good value? That depends on what you're comparing it to. A CX-5 G25 Touring is about $9,600 cheaper, but the CX-60 gets you a bigger, newer platform with rear-wheel drive and an eight-speed auto instead of a six-speed. Against a Volkswagen Tiguan or Honda CR-V, the CX-60 lands in a competitive zone - though both of those cars feel more resolved in some areas.

What does the CX-60 G25 look like?

Nobody's going to mistake this for a cheap car. The CX-60 carries itself with a quiet confidence that few mid-size SUVs manage at this price. At 4,740mm long it throws a proper shadow - wider and longer than the CX-5 - and the proportions are genuinely handsome.

The 18-inch wheels won't set hearts racing, but Mazda has somehow made them look right on this car. Thick 235/60-section Yokohama tyres help fill the arches without looking undersized. The front end is clean and modern, the LED headlights auto-levelling and the overall shape avoids the overwrought surfacing that plagues some rivals.

It looks classy. Not luxury - but premium enough that you won't feel shortchanged pulling into the school car park.

What is the CX-60 G25 like inside?

Step inside and the Touring grade justifies its existence immediately. Where the base Pure gets hard plastics on the dash and cloth seats, the Touring swaps in black leather upholstery and retains the soft-touch materials that make the cabin feel genuinely well-finished.

The layout is classic Mazda - clean, logical, and devoid of gimmicks. Physical climate controls with metallic-look buttons are a welcome sight in an era where too many manufacturers have buried everything in touchscreens. The steering wheel is excellent as Mazda steering wheels tend to be.

There are a couple of letdowns. The 10.25-inch infotainment screen perches on top of the dash and can only be controlled via the rotary dial on the centre console - there's no touchscreen capability in this variant. That makes navigating Apple CarPlay or Android Auto more fiddly than it needs to be, even if Mazda's own software works fine with the dial. The screen itself is crisp, but it feels small by 2026 standards.

The 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster is a better story - sharp, easy to read and complemented by a head-up display that projects speed and navigation onto the windscreen.

Two USB-C ports serve the front row and a wireless phone charger sits in the console tray. The console also houses a shallow split-lid bin and a pair of cupholders. It's not extravagant, but it's sensibly laid out.

One oddity: the gear shifter. Mazda uses the same unusual unit across the CX-60 range and it still doesn't feel intuitive. You get used to it, but it's a peculiar choice in a car that otherwise prioritises ease of use.

How practical is the CX-60 G25?

This is where the CX-60 earns its keep over the CX-5. The cabin is noticeably wider with more elbow room front and rear and the rear seat legroom is genuinely generous. At just under 180cm, you can sit comfortably behind your own driving position with room to spare in every direction.

The rear bench gets its own air vents, two USB-C ports, a fold-down armrest with cupholders and bottle holders in the doors. It's a bit grey and plasticky back there, but functionally it works.

The boot is a strong point. 570 litres with the seats up is a useful improvement over the CX-5, and folding the 40/20/40 split rear seats opens up 1,726 litres. The load floor isn't perfectly flat, and you won't find many hooks or tie-down points, but there's a netted cubby, a light and a cargo cover that rises with the powered tailgate.

For families, this is a genuinely practical car. Five seats, big boot, easy to load - the basics are done well.

What is the CX-60 G25 like to drive?

Here's where the conversation gets honest. The 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder produces 138kW and 250Nm - figures that were adequate in a lighter CX-5 but feel stretched thin in a car weighing 1,847kg.

Around town, it's fine. The eight-speed multi-clutch auto shuffles through gears smoothly in normal driving, the steering is well-weighted and the rear-wheel drive layout gives the front end a lightness you don't get in front-driven rivals. For school runs, commutes and suburban errands, you won't think twice about the powertrain.

But push beyond that comfort zone and the limitations arrive quickly. Hills expose the engine's lack of torque - the gearbox hunts for lower ratios, sometimes dropping two or three gears before finding something useful. Freeway overtaking requires planning and patience. In Sport mode, throttle response improves noticeably and the transmission wakes up, but even then you're looking at 0-100km/h in the 10 to 11 second range. This is not a fast car.

The chassis is more convincing. Mazda's extensive suspension revisions have improved the ride over earlier CX-60s, though it remains firmer than most buyers in this segment would expect. The trade-off is decent body control and tidy handling through corners - the rear-wheel drive helps here, with the steering unencumbered by front driveshafts. It's no sports car, but it's more composed than you'd expect from a family SUV.

Road noise is well managed and those chunky Yokohama tyres add a layer of compliance that softens the firm springs. Around town, the ride settles into a comfortable rhythm once you stop noticing the occasional sharp edge over broken surfaces.

How efficient is the CX-60 G25?

Mazda claims 7.5L/100km combined. In a week of mixed driving - city, highway and back roads - we recorded over 10L/100km. That's a significant gap and it gets worse in heavy suburban traffic where figures north of 14L/100km aren't unusual.

The irony is that the six-cylinder turbo G40e claims 7.4L/100km - essentially the same on paper - and delivers similar real-world numbers with vastly more performance. The G25 runs on 91-octane unleaded which keeps fuel costs slightly lower per litre, but the economy case is thin.

On the ownership side, the numbers are more encouraging. Mazda offers a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty with roadside assist for the duration. Servicing is on a 12-month/15,000km interval, and capped-price servicing runs for seven years. Budget roughly $450 per year for the first three years - reasonable for the segment and cheaper than the six-cylinder variants.

And yes, you get a spare tyre - a space-saver, but a spare nonetheless.

Is the CX-60 G25 safe?

The CX-60 holds a five-star ANCAP safety rating from 2023 testing valid until July 2028. While the specific G25 four-cylinder wasn't tested, the platform scored strongly across the board - 91% adult occupant, 93% child occupant, 89% vulnerable road user and 77% safety assist.

Six airbags are standard including a driver's knee airbag and a front-centre unit to prevent head clashes in side impacts.

The Touring grade adds junction assist and a see-through function for the 360-degree cameras on top of the standard suite of AEB, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and lane-keeping assist. Over a week of testing, the safety systems worked unobtrusively and without false alarms - something that's becoming rarer in a market full of poorly calibrated driver aids.

One notable absence at this trim level: adaptive cruise control with traffic support only arrives at GT grade, which isn't available with the G25 engine.

What are the main competitors to the CX-60 G25?

The Volkswagen Tiguan is the obvious cross-shop. Sharper to drive, better infotainment and a more polished overall package - though it's tighter inside.

The Honda CR-V offers hybrid efficiency and a spacious cabin with cheaper servicing but shorter service intervals that even out the cost for higher-mileage drivers.

The Skoda Karoq sneaks in under the CX-60 on price and delivers a practical, no-nonsense cabin, though it can't match the Mazda's interior quality.

And then there's the Mazda CX-5 - the elephant in Mazda's own showroom. It's significantly cheaper, nearly as spacious and about to be replaced by a bigger next-generation model in late 2026. If you don't need the extra rear legroom right now, the CX-5 might be the smarter buy.

Should I buy the CX-60 G25?

The CX-60 G25 Touring is a good car in a narrow lane. It looks great, the cabin is genuinely pleasant, the boot swallows family life without complaint, and the ownership costs are sensible.

But the case for choosing it is specific. You need more space than a CX-5 offers. You can't stretch the budget to a six-cylinder or PHEV. And your driving is mostly suburban, where the leisurely powertrain and thirsty around-town consumption matter least.

If that's you, the G25 Touring delivers. It's an easy car to live with, day in and day out. Just don't expect fireworks when the lights go green.

For everyone else, the turbo six-cylinder is worth every cent of the $6,000 premium. It's more refined, more effortless and no thirstier in the real world. If your budget allows it, that's the CX-60 to buy.

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