Mazda CX-80 is 7-seat SUV with peachy engine & top notch cabin – but price means it may be best to wait

WE gave the Mazda CX-60 a love bomb. Now the bigger CX-80 has just turned up – and it’s every bit as good, if not better.

Here are seven things you need to know.

1. Take a CX-60, stretch it, add a third row of seats to make it a seven-seater and, ta-dah, that’s the CX-80.

2. Same engines as a CX-60 – the best one being a peachy 3.3-litre straight-six diesel with 254hp. Buckets of low-down torque. Ultra-clean. London to Inverness in one go.

3. Mazda also has a 2.5-litre petrol plug-in hybrid which is 327hp and can do up to 38 miles as an EV. Both have the added assurance of all-wheel drive.

4. Top-notch cabin. Lots of luxury. Lots of kit. Big lettering on the infotainment screen. People of a certain age will appreciate that.

Proper controls for things we use most. Head-up display. Skinny steering wheel. Squishy elbow rests.

Rear doors open almost 90 degrees with easy access to the third row.

Drink holders and charging ports galore. All things that please.

5. Even more luxurious is the six-seat version with two captain’s chairs in the middle.

6. Not only does the longer wheelbase increase cabin space, it also improves ride quality.

Stick with the standard 18in wheels. Big wheels look nice but smaller wheels ride better on our lumpy roads.

7. Finally, price. £49k for the hybrid, £51k for the diesel, a £3,500 jump from the equivalent CX-60.

We really like the CX-80 but we’ll like it even more when it’s three years old and half the price.