Mazda CX-8 Super Luxury review: An SUV with 6 appeal

Singapore

IF SOMEONE made it to the head of the queue to put a gun to my head and asked me what Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) I would buy, I would probably ask them to just pull the trigger. My feelings about needlessly tall cars dripping with fake ruggedness run pretty deep.

But not all SUVs are hopeless, of course, so after some consideration I might offer them this list: a Porsche Macan if I wanted something sublime to drive, the BMW iX3 if I felt like making the switch to electric drive now and maybe the Toyota Harrier if I wanted a hybrid.

The Mazda CX-5 would be my mass-market pick, because if you're going mainstream, you might as well go with a masterpiece.

Now I can add a car to the even shorter list of SUVs I would happily ride around in the back of: the Mazda CX-8 Super Luxury.

Essentially a stretched CX-5 with a third row of seats, the CX-8 has been around for a little over a year in various trim levels, but the newly-introduced Super Luxury version is, as you've probably guessed, the fanciest one. At S$213,888 with Certificate Of Entitlement, it's actually the most expensive Mazda you can buy here.

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The money gets you an SUV with elegant lines and nearly every mod-con you can think of, but with a pair of individual chairs in the middle row. There was a six-seat configuration of the CX-8 before this, but the Super Luxury has the kind of fancy seats your children will fight over, judging from how my colleagues reacted to them.

The chairs are broad, firmly padded and covered in lovely, coffee-coloured Nappa leather, plus they come with ventilation to banish the sweat of a muggy day. If you're inclined to recline, hit a switch and electric motors do the rest.

It's all very Business Class back there, which it ought to be since the Super Luxury pack costs an extra S$15,000. That includes 5 years' warranty and servicing (2 more than with the lesser versions of the CX-8), which is a luxury in itself, but the outlay also gets you brighter wheels and a different front grille, along with strips of chrome along the lower edge of the front bumper and the car's sills, just to make the car stand out a bit.

Those inviting chairs are installed in what is fundamentally a highly appealing car.

There's a well-measured way about how the Mazda responds to steering inputs, with perfect weighting at the wheel itself transmitting useful feedback to the driver's hands.

It's not a super agile car, but it does feel collected and graceful around corners, while the suspension strikes the right balance between firmness and tranquillity.

The engine might seem outdated in the current turbo, electrified era, but it's still an eager thing, pulling the big Mazda along willingly and making a nice rasp when asked to work hard.

Most other times, it has exemplary manners, generally keeping its voice down to a whisper. And if reliability surveys are anything to go by, it should run like a Swiss watch.

While the Mazda is as nice to drive as it's possible for a three-row SUV to be, what makes it nice to live with is how pleasant the cabin is. Just as Japanese whiskey sometimes beats the Scottish stuff at the awards game, the CX-8 is a nice example of how Mazda out-Europes some European brands when it comes to interiors.

The plastics are soft to touch and the controls are laid out both logically and neatly. Giant touchscreens have become the norm, but the CX-8's dial-operated interface is still a pleasure to use, and the wireless Apple CarPlay system means you're connected as soon as you climb aboard.

Those virtues are available in the plain Luxury version of the six-seat CX-8, and indeed the seven-seater, so there's every chance the plush Super Luxury variant will turn out to be a rare car. As a curveball, it's something I would consider if I had a chauffeur but wanted to avoid ostentation.

Come to think of it, if I had to sit in the back for a long drive to, say, Kuala Lumpur, I'd choose the Mazda over a pretty long list of luxury sedans that cost much more. You wouldn't even have to put a gun to my head.

Mazda CX-8 2.5L Super Luxury

Engine 2,488 cc, in-line 4 Power 192 hp at 6,000 rpm Torque 258 Nm at 4,000 rpm Gearbox 6-speed automatic 0-100km/h 10.7 seconds Top speed 196 km/h Fuel Efficiency 8.1 L/100 km Agent Trans Eurokars Pte Ltd Price S$213,888 with COE Available Now