SUVs are the most popular new car category in Australia, sure. Big seven-seat SUVs are also an obvious choice for big families or medium-size ones occasionally picking up additional kids who happen to befriend yours, or taking your parents to weddings.
But why? There are good reasons why a Mazda 6 wagon beats an SUV.
It’s so convenient being able to whip out two extra seats at a moment’s notice, but Mazda already has the CX-9, so why does the Mazda CX-8 exist? Is it just a cynical marketing opportunity, or is there method behind the money-making?
When the CX-8 first arrived back in 2018, I didn’t understand the point of it. Trying to think like Mazda, I was asking ‘why cram another SUV into your product range, especialy one that’s going to cannibalise CX-9 sales?’ I didn’t think we needed something between the CX-9 and CX-5 simply to compete with the likes of Mitsubishi Outlander, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento or Toyota Kluger. Why do we need a smaller CX-9 when it’s already excellent?
Strange too that Mazda put its 2.2 diesel engine into the smaller CX-8 and not into the bigger CX-9 where that engine would be better suited to moving that heavier vehicle and would make it an absolute weapon for big-family holiday roadtrips.
This is where I’m going to help you make an objective decision to buy the CX-8 that best suits your potential usage case. Starting with how much this this costs.
Front-wheel drive CX-8 is cheaper than the equivalent all-wheel drive: so it’s $45,000 for base model ‘Sport’, and hits as much as $65,700 for top-spec Asaki.
In all-wheel drive, ‘Sport’ is a serious $7000 jump to $52,400 just because you’re adding rear-wheel drive. The Asaki AWD is a whopping $73,000 spend before coughing up another $2700 to get the Asaki LE that gets the sexy caramel Nappa leather and captains chairs (see below). Let’s be frank here, the CX-8 is not cheap when you compare it with other mainstream rivals.
But if you’re shopping for a lower-tier luxury German SUV or maybe a Lexus, then you should consider the tens of thousands you could save buying a fully decked out CX-8 instead of a poverty pack Beemer, barge Benz or shitbox Audi.
So how do you intend to use the CX-8? Does your mob take extended roadtrips between home and some moderately far location? Do you do a lot of freeway commuting to and from work on a fairly regular basis? Are you a sales rep or some kind of frequenter of semi-rural or regional roads for vocational purposes? Maybe you run a small business which requires some occasional light towing, people moving and supplies carting between offices and clients.
If you answer yes to many, any or all of these propositions – I strongly encourage you to consider the CX-8 diesel over the CX-9 in petrol-only form. Any prudent financial decision has to be made on a long-term analytical basis here. So don’t concern yourself with short-term fuel price discrepancy between petrol and diesel, because when prices return to quasi-normal, you do not want to be stuck with the inferior powertrain that will cost you more by filling up 25-30 per cent more often.
We’ll get to that below. For now, let’s look at the practicality backbone of CX-8, because it is certainly ripped in that regard.