MAZDA'S SUV MARKET DISRUPTER
The all-new CX-8 is set to come to Thai showrooms luring potential buyers of both pickup-based SUVs and entry-level luxury ones
The fact that Mazda is the only player among established pickup brands in Thailand to not have an SUV derivative could be a thorn in its side.
Even Nissan has decided, for the first time, to bring the Terra, based on the Navara NP300 workhorse, to local showrooms later this year, taking advantage of the PPV (passenger pickup vehicle) tax.
By making an SUV off its BT-50 would also enable Mazda to level the field of competition. Other models include the Chevrolet Trailblazer, Isuzu MU-X, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Toyota Fortuner.
However, Mazda seemingly isn’t too perturbed about this, because it actually has some vehicles with which to answer the demands of people needing a three-row package with SUV looks to match, like the CX-8 and CX-9.
Both are built on car-based platforms rather than the shakier chassis-on-frame variations seen in the likes of the Fortuner. Although the CX-8 and CX-9 share the same underpinnings, the former is deemed a sportier version.
As you now well know, Mazda wants to offer the CX-8 for sale in Thai showrooms, rather than the CX-9. Better still, there’s a plan to assemble the CX-8 at the brand’s Rayong factory, to help make its prices as competitive as possible.
Although the CX-8 will suffer a 5% tax disadvantage over those pickup-based SUVs, executives at Mazda Sales Thailand are keen on keeping prices under 2 million baht when it goes on sale late this year, or early 2019 at the latest. Attractively kitted and powered Fortuners and Everests already cost more than 1.7 million baht.
Mind, the CX-8 is actually a bigger vehicle than all of those pickup-based SUVs if you take some figures on paper into consideration, like the 5m overall length and 3m wheelbase (4,900mm and 2,930mm, respectively and to be exact).
Jump into the cabin of the CX-8, as we did at Mazda’s Kenbuchi Proving Grounds in Sapporo, and all reveals. It feels effectively airy in the first and second rows of seats, although the last tier is more suitable for children.
It appears that much focus has been given to legroom for second-row occupants, thanks to that long wheelbase. In fact, there are three configurations for the middle cabin: two big seats with either a fixed console or walk-through access between them, plus a conventional bench for three.
According to product strategists at Mazda, it hasn’t been finalised yet which matrix is coming to the Thai-spec CX-8. Once again, though, executives are eager to offer the two-seat alternative as well, because it could also help snare some buyers choosing to be driven in Toyota Alphards. Yes, the CX-8 is quite a comfortable place to be if taking solely this particular aspect into consideration.
Another area in which the CX-8 wins over those pickup-based SUVs is in perceived quality. Whether you’re chilling out as a passenger or taking the helm of the cockpit, it feels sumptuously upmarket thanks to nice materials used especially on the cleanly designed fascia. Yes, buyers eyeing for entry-level luxury SUVs such as the BMW X1 may take a good look at the CX-8.
Although the driving test was on the short side of things, the differing road surfaces at this snowy Hokkaido-based proving grounds was enough to garner some initial impressions of the CX-8’s driving manners.
The CX-8 feels properly bigger than the tworow CX-5 on the move. Yet the steering is nicely tailored in terms of both weight and sharpness. Also, the ride over coarse and bumpy roads is smooth and well-controlled. It’s in a completely different league when you compare it to what can be found in a pickup-based SUV.
Our test vehicle came with 2.2-litre dieselturbo and six-speed automatic, as featured in the top-spec CX-5. However, the CX-8 gets an uprated fuel-injection system for better combustion and higher outputs, of 190hp and 450Nm, compared to the CX-5’s 175hp and 420Nm.
Probably due to better noise-insulation that what typically comes in expensive models, the diesel clatter in the CX-8 is less audible than in the CX-5. The 15hp increase has also seemingly offset the CX-8’s near-100kg weight penalty over the CX-5, which tips the scales at 1,726kg in full uniform. Yes, the CX-8 doesn’t lack grunt and performs more effortlessly than the 200hp Everest, the most powerful of all those porkier pickup-based SUVs.
Although our test vehicle came with frontwheel drive, there is a four-wheel-drive option. Both are being considered for the Thai market. No low-range gears are available in the CX-8 (or CX-9), meaning those pickup-based 4x4 SUVs hold an edge in off-road capability.
The all-wheel-drive system of the CX-8 is shared with the CX-5. Drive is normally sent to the front wheels and can divert as much as 50% to the rear axle when necessary. An engineer has hinted to us that torque-vectoring for the left and right rear wheels would come in the future, although that would partially drive up the prices of those models fitted with it.
But what is set to happen at the Thai launch of the CX-8 would be the additional choice of a 231hp/420Nm 2.5-litre petrol-turbo engine sourced from the CX-9. At the moment in Japan, the CX-8 is exclusively diesel and CX-9 exclusively petrol.
First impressions suggest that the CX-8 will be an interesting choice for well-heeled buyers. The CX-8 feels way more capable than those pickupbased SUVs, and should easily compensate for its slightly higher prices. At the same time, the CX-8 would kill the sales prospects of imported, 2 million baht-plus SUVs like the Kia Sorento, Ssangyong Rexton and Subaru Outback.
The CX-8 may be the most expensive Mazda SUV and family car to ever grace Thai showrooms, although its role is not to be underestimated. That’s because the CX-8 can thwart potential rivals above and below itself in price.