2020 Mazda CX-8 SUV - New Mazda CX-8 Introduce

2020 Mazda CX-8 SUV - New Mazda CX-8 Introduce

Given our guerilla coverage of the Mazda CX-8 has included various single, twin and whopping mega testing in the 12 months since we brought you its local range release, I’ll spare you the well-trodden ‘what is it?’ path with this flagship 2019 Mazda CX-8 Asaki garage review and instead focus on ‘what’s new?’.

Well, there’s a mild update for a start. Some of the changes are conspicuous, such as addressing the often-maligned absence of Apple CarPlay/Android Auto in infotainment, and a new 7.0-inch digital display central to the driver’s instrumentation. Other stuff, such as the frameless rear-view mirror and LED rego plate lighting, is more ‘blink and miss it’.

There are also changes for the better, such as a 'Plus' update to the handling- and stability-enhancing G-Vectoring Control system, which you may never notice at all. But what you’ll feel is that the full suite of changes has added $1100 to the bottom line. At $62,590 before on-roads, the Asaki wants for a pretty penny.

To date, in review in pre-updated form, the Asaki’s hip pocket sting has been a regular topic of discussion. Against the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace, we found the longer-than-medium-but-not-properly-large family hauler to be loaded with features, to offer consummate ride comfort and impressive drivability… While reminding ourselves it’s a whopping $12K step up from the top-spec diesel CX-5 Akera with which it shares power and much DNA, a $14K premium above the next-rung-down CX-8 Sport AWD, and – hello, elephant – similar money to a high-spec petrol all-paw CX-9; a range that continues to outsell its smaller diesel sibling two to one.You sense the CX-8 struggles to escape the cast of familiar shadows. Fact is, the Asaki measured up on price and value admirably against segment rivals in mega testing – a victim, perhaps, of being tarred with a lesser-of-both-worlds brush and not having been considered fairly on singular merit. And having arrived at this single review with brush in hand, I came away being more impressed with Mazda’s ‘Japanese large’ SUV than I’d estimated.