Long-term report: ‘Diesel do nicely’ – Mazda CX-80 shows diesel is still king when towing
Diesel power might not exactly be in vogue recently, but in the world of towing there’s nothing quite like it.
While petrol engines tend to be smoother and electric alternatives (petrol plug-in hybrids and full-EV) offer silent running, diesel has traditionally given the best blend of performance and economy. This was put to the test a while ago as my Mazda CX-80 was entered into the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Towcar of the Year awards, and the big Mazda massively impressed.
What’s unusual about this engine is that it’s brand new. While most manufacturers have long since switched off their diesel engine production lines, Mazda is taking the view that it needs a range of powertrains that suit customers in the here and now. Which is why you’ll find it has mild-hybrid petrol and diesels along with a plug-in hybrid petrol in its line-up, plus a couple of pure-electric models on their way later this year. Also, Mazda has visions of becoming a premium brand, and offering a large capacity diesel engine is the type of thing that BMW and Audi still like to do.
Mazda wanted to enter the CX-80 into the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Towcar of the Year 2026 competition, and as I am a judge of it, and had specified my car with the optional £980 towbar, my car was duly entered. The competition is the original of its type, and has been going for more than 40 years. It’s a four-day judging process held at the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire (yes, before you ask, it was the place Daniel Craig ‘rolled’ his Aston Martin DBS in Casino Royale), and involves a multitude of gruelling tasks, from high-speed driving and hill starts to manoeuvrability and practicality tests.
Away from the test track and the judges’ clipboards, I have also been doing some towing for friends. It’s remarkable how when people know you’ve got a car with a towbar, the requests for help moving things magically appear. I recently assisted a friend move a whole load of stuff with his trailer, and again I was amazed at how the CX-80 takes towing in its stride. The engine’s 550Nm of torque is useful when getting up to speed and overtaking, of course, but of equal importance is how the car handles when towing a heavy load. There’s little to no ‘shunting’ from the trailer, and the car takes control of the weighted trailer – some cars can feel as though the trailer is in charge.
There are a range of driving modes in the CX-80, including a towing setting. This adjusts the all-wheel drive system when pulling a heavy load to give the most amount of traction, but I haven’t yet felt the need to select this as the default normal mode does such a good job at towing. The CX-80 is just an effortless towcar.
Aside from towing, the CX-80 is proving to be a wonderfully relaxing car to drive on long journeys and early-morning dashes to the airport. The diesel is returning up to 50mph on those longer drives, and the interior is so quiet, comfortable and cosseting. The high-up infotainment screen isn’t distracting, and it’s easy to turn off the bings and bongs for the speed limit warning as there’s a big ‘off’ switch on the dashboard.
My only slight annoyance is the mild-hybrid system, as although it does a great job at ironing out the diesel’s inherent gruffness, it can sometimes switch into electric mode at the most inopportune moments, such just before I perform an overtaking manoeuvre on the motorway. This sudden cut-off feels like the engine has died, and it’s quite a disconcerting feeling. The solution is to turn off the function, called ‘i-stop’, but it kind of undermines the whole point of the system.
As I’ve been racking up the miles in the CX-80 so much of late, it’s due its 14,000-mile service soon. This will be a chance for the CX-80 to have a bit of R&R after a busy few months.
- Model as tested: Mazda CX-80 3.3D 254ps AWD Takumi Plus
- Price as tested: £61,795
- Engine: 3.3-litre, six-cylinder, mild-hybrid diesel
- Power: 251bhp
- Torque: 550Nm
- Max speed: 136mph
- 0-62mph: 8.4 seconds
- MPG: 48.7
- Mileage: 13,245