While placing high value on the comfort and ease of driving demanded by a large family SUV, the Mazda CX-80 has also been engineered to offer the driving pleasure that’s the cornerstone of Mazda’s signature Jinba-Ittai car and driver as one experience. As a result, the biggest vehicle in Mazda’s European line-up has been designed to offer the same sense of oneness from behind the wheel as smaller models, while at the same ensuring comfort for passengers across all three rows of seating.
The all-new Mazda CX-80 is the second model in Europe to be based on Mazda’s Large Platform scalable architecture that is also used by the US market Mazda CX-70 and CX-90. All models share the same platform optimised for longitudinal, rear/all-wheel drive powertrain layouts. Built for both six-cylinder as well as PHEV engine units, placing the large battery of the PHEV under the floor realises a low centre of gravity key for agile vehicle dynamics.
Due to a 250mm longer wheelbase and an increase of 200kg in weight compared to the CX-60, the chassis and electronic components of the CX-80 have been retuned, while the adjustments to the suspension take full advantage of the Large Platform architecture’s potential, with a set-up that provides both a comfortable ride and reassuring stability at speed. The suspension firmly dampens vibration and movement of the body’s sprung weight and provides a smooth, calm and comfortable ride while suppressing unpleasant reactions to poor or undulating road surfaces.
Featuring a double wishbone suspension at the front and a multi-link set up at the rear, the CX-80’s suspension has been engineered to achieve well-balanced neutral handling stability that makes use of the dynamically ideal layout of longitudinal engine and rear-wheel drive biased drivetrain. Fine tuning of the suspension focused on finding the ideal balance between comfort and stability.
The suspension geometry of Mazda’s Large Platform sets the stroke trajectory of the wheels (unspring weight) in a straight line that achieves smooth vertical movement, as a result the vehicle’s body (sprung weight) maintains a largely flat posture, providing a comfortable ride for driver and passengers. Rigid die-cast components are used for suspension top mounts to provide a smooth suspension stroke and a stable body feel. By minimising the offset between the tyres and damper input, damping force can be quickly applied in response to suspension movements thereby providing a consistent steering feel and feedback.
For the front suspension, compared to the Mazda CX-60, the axle geometry has been modified to deliver a slightly less sensitive response to steering inputs, while to increase base stability, the rear anti-roll bar has been removed and the bearing bushes of the subframe have been reset. These changes lead to a slightly less pointy balance at turn-in, which enhances cornering stability at higher speeds. Mazda believes the CX-80’s balance perfectly embodies the car’s concept and usage.
In addition, the rear spring and shock absorber characteristics have been retuned: softer springs paired with a significant increases in rebound in the damper settings combined with an increase in maximum spring travel all contribute to greater stability and minimum pitching on uneven roads. The shock absorber rebound damping on the front suspension has also been tuned to be significantly firmer.
Working in conjunction with the mechanical elements of the CX-80’s chassis, Mazda’s unique Kinematic Posture Control (KPC) technology further improves the dynamic abilities of the CX-80. While the suspension is designed to oppose lift force and draw the vehicle body downwards, KPC complements this by braking the inside unloaded rear wheel under hard cornering, minimising roll and drawing the car body downwards to stabilise posture. KPC is also found on MX-5 and CX-60 and the system adds no weight to the CX-80.
All versions of the Mazda CX-80 feature Mazda’s i-Activ AWD system, which employs a multi-plate clutch rear-wheel biased AWD system that was first introduced on the Mazda CX-60. The drivetrain combines high-traction performance with ideal handling attributes. Designed to offer peace of mind across a wide range of everyday driving situations the all-wheel drive system combines the stability of four-wheel drive with the balanced cornering characteristics of rear-wheel drive. The system significantly outperforms Mazda’s previous front-wheel drive biased i-Activ AWD system from the CX-5 in terms of both straight running stability and engaging handling on twisty roads.
Furthermore, via the Mi-Drive system Sport, Off-road and towing modes use integrative control of the powertrain, braking and AWD systems to optimise distribution across all four wheels to suit the different driving conditions and scenarios.
Developed to achieve the balance between refinement and driver engagement that SUV buyers expect, the Mazda CX-80 has been designed to deliver class leading comfort. When it comes to noise reduction, the CX-80 uses both sound insulation and absorption technology to reduce unpleasant sounds while at the same time ensuring the transmission of pleasing elements such as engine note. With the CX-80’s three-row passenger focused design, background road noise has been isolated from the rear of the cabin.
Easy to drive, engaging and refined, the all-new Mazda CX-80 has the signature driving experience you’d expect of a Mazda.