Car News

Cheaper Mazda CX-8 petrol introduced with MY20 changes

24 Feb 2020

Practical Motoring 1

A heap of changes and additions to the 2020 Mazda CX-8 sees the price…go down.

MAZDA AUSTRALIA has updated its seven-seat CX-8 family SUV, bringing improved safety, better technology, new petrol engine option, more grades, and a lower entry price.

In total, the range expands from the previous three-tier diesel-only showroom to an eight-variant strong lineup consisting of diesel and petrol engine options across four different trim grades.

While the CX-8 was previously the only (and exclusively) a diesel seven-seater in Mazda’s lineup (its CX-9 being a petrol turbo), it now offers Mazda’s 140kW/252Nm Skyactiv-G 2.5-litre non-turbo four-cylinder petrol powertrain in front-wheel drive. The new engine brings the cost of entry to the CX-8 under $40,000 plus on-road costs, the base CX-8 Sport FWD automatic with the petrol engine priced at $39,910 plus ORCs.

For the money, the CX-8 Sport comes equipped with 17-inch alloys, fabric-trim seats, new larger 8.0-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, three-zone climate control covering all three rows of seating, blind-spot monitoring, reversing camera, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, AEB with night-time pedestrian detection (new) and sat-nav.

Stepping up a grade, the petrol Touring is priced at $46,590 plus ORCs and adds fog lamps, keyless entry, electric front seats with heating, front parking sensors, black leather trim and a “one touch walk-in switch” added to the left and right seat cushion sides on the second row that make folding the seats down easier.

The carryover 2.2-litre diesel producing 140kW and 450Nm is available in both entry-level grades for an additional $7000. It is also available in upper GT trim, adding electrically assisted remote tailgate, 19-inch alloys, sunroof and two 2.5amp USB power points for the last row of seating. Pricing starts at $57,900 for the diesel CX-8 GT with front-wheel drive, while AWD adds $4000.

Lastly, the flagship diesel Asaki starts at $61,440 and it has all of the fruit, including real wood trim inserts, front-seat ventilation and a 360-degree birdseye view camera system.

There are further changes to the MY20 CX-8 across the board, such as revised badge font, restyled key fob and improved noise suppression in the roof that will help “reduce noise penetrating the cabin on rainy days.” All models also gain Mazda’s new off-road mode in AWD models which “brings the AWD and traction control systems together to supress tyre spin and distribute the right amount of torque to the tyres that have grip.”

2020 Mazda CX-8 price and spec

Get articles like this and more delivered to you without lifting a finger. Simply join our Facebook page to talk about this article and subscribe to our newsletter for weekly updates (it’s free).