Mazda's cut-price luxury rival: New, rear-wheel drive 2026 Mazda CX-60 SUV still a rival to the BMW X3 and Audi Q5 despite dropping under $45,000, according to Mazda

Mazda has just introduced new, cut-price versions of its Audi Q5 and BMW X3-rivalling CX-60 in Australia that has seen the asking price dip below $45,000 for the first time.

However, the Japanese carmaker claims these new CX-60 offerings are still premium.

Mazda Australia Managing Director Vinesh Bhindi said the new rear-wheel drive CX-60 trims form as a budget-conscious option for those who don’t want outright performance.

“Yeah, we consider it [to be premium],” said Bhindi.

“So what we learned after CX-60 [is] that some customers who are either on a budget or are not willing to invest above a certain number for their automotive need.

“[The] inline-six [engines are] great for most, but others who are not that much concerned about a performance package.

“They’re more interested in the interior design, the space, the dimensions of the car.

“So we thought this could be a possibility.

“Now, luckily, an inline-four version was already available in Japan. So then to ask them to make it for ADR compliance was reasonably easy.

“So we’ve got that covered with inline-six, both diesel and petrol, and then we’ve got plug-in hybrid versions covered in [CX-]60 and [CX-]80.”

The new, rear-wheel drive versions of the CX-60 start from $44,240 before on-road costs. Previously the line-up opened at $50,240 before on-roads with the G40e Pure inline-six all-wheel drive.

For context, this new entry price for the CX-60 is the same as a mid-spec CX-5 G25 Touring AWD which is soon about to be replaced by a new-generation model.

Rear-wheel drive CX-60s are powered by a 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine which produces 138kW and 250Nm. This is the same engine that’ll power the new-generation CX-5 at launch.

However, it’s 2kW and 2Nm less than the outgoing CX-5 with the 2.5-litre naturally aspirated engine.

The big point of difference between the CX-5 and CX-60, beyond it being rear-wheel drive instead of front-wheel drive, is the latter has an eight-speed Skyactiv-Drive eight-speed automatic.

Mazda has confirmed Australian customer deliveries of the CX-60 rear-wheel drive will commence in September.