Still-to-be-seen Mazda CX-80 gets the nod for South Africa

Confirmed during an interview with this publication, Managing Director of Mazda South Africa, Craig Roberts, says the brand will aim to introduce the CX-80 in the first quarter of 2024.

Plans include new engines

Sharing the brand’s Large Architecture platform with the CX-60, expect the new seven-seater model to feature both a stretched profile compared with the 60 (which is already 4 740 mm in length), as well as a longer wheelbase than the 2 870 mm available in most recently launched Mazda SUV.

Also confirmed by Roberts is that South Africa is no longer “off the radar” when it comes to the availability of Mazda’s newest 3.3-litre inline six-cylinder turbodiesel powertrain.

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That said, while our market now must wait its turn for allocation of this 187kW/500Nm engine option, expect it to feature once the CX-80 arrives here.

Another exciting drivetrain that this Japanese brand will look to introduce in both the CX-60 (within the second quarter of 2024) and CX-80 is a plug-in hybrid setup.

More details soon

With already a clear mandate in terms of maintaining the look and feel of its newest products across its broad portfolio, expect the CX-80 to offer suitably enlarger exterior styling to mimic what we’ve already seen in the CX-60, as well as the forthcoming new CX-5, that is scheduled to begin production by the end of 2025.

Article first appeared on carmag.co.za.

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