New Mazda CX-60 gets 3.3-litre diesel engine option – because diesel still matters

The recently revealed Mazda CX-60 – aimed at cars like the BMW X3 – gets a new 3.3-litre in-line six diesel option.

Diesel-engined cars – post-Dieselgate – have gone from the favoured choice of the majority to the stuff of the devil, and from being incentivised by taxation to being penalised.

Neither argument is sound, because diesel-engined cars always had emissions issues – particularly NOx – even when they were being promoted by government incentives, but diesel-engined cars are really now very clean, deliver great economy and torque and are the only sensible choice for high-mileage drivers.

But the car industry is no longer driven by demand, but by legislation intended to put us all in EVs, and car buyers have been put off diesel because of bad publicity which has seen car makers dropping diesel options in droves.

But Mazda is brave enough to see that a good diesel engine is a bonus for many buyers, so the recently-revealed Mazda CX-60 is getting a 3.3-litre in-line six diesel engine option with 48v hybrid assistance.

The engine comes in two flavours, with either 197bhp or 251bhp, with the more powerful good for 0-62mph in a decent 7.4 seconds, with the lower power model getting RWD and the more powerful 4WD. Economy is good too for the new diesel lump, with the 251bhp version managing 53.3mpg and the 197bhp 57.6mpg.

The new Mazda CX-60 Diesel will join the current CX-60 PHEV in Mazda’s 2023 line-up, arriving in the UK in the first quarter.