The Mazda PHEV improves its fuel efficiency and scores points for practicality over the Christmas break but the rear wiper causes some confusion. By Nat Barnes.

List price (BiK): £40,115 (8%) CO2: 33g/km MPG/ EV range: 188.3mpg / 39 miles Test efficiency: 100mpg

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There is a famous quote which says that no winter lasts forever.

I’m certainly hoping that’s the case for my Mazda CX-60 plug-in hybrid. After the initial cold snap of late November when the EV-only range dropped as low as 26 miles, the milder, if wetter, weather has now seen that rise slightly to 29-30 miles. My occasional commute to the station on chilly mornings, when I’m pounding the heater and heated seats and steering wheel, has meant an essential charge on my return in the evening.

The good news is that that regular charging and lack of any long journeys has seen my average fuel economy rise to 100mpg. The bad news is that the winter weather is making itself felt in other ways.

First, there’s the colour. As I mentioned in my first report, the optional Rhodium White may not have been my first choice, but I thought it worked with the black alloy wheels. Unsurprisingly with all the rain, it hasn’t taken long before the CX-60 has started to look grubbier than Editor Challen’s joke book, but interestingly the dirt seems to have plateaued somewhat. It feels like it’s not getting any grimier, which sounds an odd thing to say, but it seems to be true – or maybe I’m just becoming more accepting of the filth.

And talking of odd things to say, I also need to properly investigate the CX-60’s rear windscreen. When I noticed the rear windscreen washer wasn’t working, further investigation showed a lack of a washer bottle to top up and then, actually, a lack of any washer pipework either. So there’s a rear wiper but, very oddly, no rear wash (or ‘bidet’ as it used to be called in the trade).

So either there isn’t one, which again is annoying in the winter, or I’m being fantastically stupid and need a visit to the opticians… I’ll keep you posted. However, my eyesight wasn’t so bad that it didn’t notice the chiming tyre pressure warning light which also coincided with the colder weather. No single tyre was showing as particularly low, but a quick top-up of all four saw it reset, so that was a thankful easy win.

I was also very grateful for the CX-60’s size with the usual Christmas tree shopping before the festive period, where just quickly lowering the seats left me with plenty of room. Not so grateful though for the car park in Windsor that we visited for a pantomime where the spaces were ridiculously tight – even for the Mazda.

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The poor Mazda CX-60 hasn’t exactly had a warm welcome.

No sooner had it arrived than I’d taken it to North Wales and back, twice, on my continuing stages of Offa’s Dyke (eight down, four to go), meaning more than 300 miles each day and now the winter has well and truly kicked in.

If there’s one thing that a large SUV plug-in hybrid like this doesn’t like, it’s undoubtedly long motorway journeys. To then couple that with sub-zero temperatures is pretty unfair on the CX-60 and the big Mazda’s average fuel economy took a pounding on those long journeys.

While, officially, the electric range is 39 miles, the best we’ve seen is 36 miles and on chillier mornings that has dipped as low as 26 miles. And once that battery power is gone, we’re running a two-tonne SUV with a 2.5-litre petrol engine. With a 50-litre petrol tank, those 300-mile-plus days while heading long distance for walking trips can necessitate a top-up when it’s an unwelcome novelty.

The Mazda too sometimes needs a reminder that it’s a plug-in hybrid too. Frustratingly, the only way to adjust the level of regenerative braking is via the onboard menu – rather than using a simple and quick button – and even the maximum setting could still be stronger. Even when in EV mode, there can sometimes be a slight shunt while driving as the power is delivered, especially on very light throttle, so I’ll keep an eye on that.

Still, our more regular journeys have seen the Mazda trip meter add over 1,000 miles in our ownership and we’re getting used to the CX-60’s foibles. The heated seats and heated steering wheel are a boon in the cold, although we’re missing a heated front windscreen and the steering wheel is only heated in the ‘horns’ at the side, so between 10 and 2 and then between 8 and 4 remains cold, which feels odd.

That said, having stepped out of a Vauxhall Astra, I’m already loving the CX-60’s size and have already used it to transport some longer roof panelling for the roof of our garden office, which simply wouldn’t have been possible in anything smaller. Alongside that, the requisite tools required were easily swallowed into the Mazda’s boot without a problem.

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It probably isn’t unfair to say that, as car companies and new models go, Mazda hasn’t exactly been at the forefront of electrification. The MX-30 isn’t without appeal, but even the most hardened EV fan would admit it has a limited audience – even with the latest rotary-engined, range-extender version.

And then there’s this new CX-60. It takes a brave company to launch a new diesel into the market at the moment, but alongside this plug-in hybrid version, there’s no question that the CX-60 has some appeal. That’s particularly the case with this PHEV’s 2.5-tonne towing capacity.

So can this CX-60 PHEV perform as a late arrival to a fleet market that’s being dominated by full-blown EVs? That’s certainly what I’m hoping to find out. With a 2.5-litre petrol engine allied to a 17.8kWh battery, the Mazda boasts 33g/km emissions and a 39.15-mile EV range – originally giving it a 12% BiK rating, but officially dropped to 8% earlier this year due to rounding, as officially verified by HMRC.

Combined, that gives it an output of 327hp which is enough to drive it from 0 to 60mph in a very swift 5.8 seconds. That’s hardly slothful for what is a 2.1-tonne SUV and certainly it’s not a light car – or a small one. I have, admittedly, just stepped out of six months in a Vauxhall Astra, so I’m having to adjust my mental parameters to that of an SUV as opposed to a hatchback.

Size issues aside, I’m in the mid-range Homura trim CX-60. In Rhodium White (a £750 option) with 20-inch black metallic alloy wheels. I’ll be honest, I’m not usually a big fan of white cars but, like Editor Challen and his fashion ‘sense’, I’m all for challenging conventions. Despite that however, I have to say that I don’t not like the combination with the black alloy wheels. With autumn here and winter approaching though, I do reserve the right to have this statement thrown back in my face at a later date. I could come to regret this choice.

This particular, pre-specced car, has the Convenience Pack, Driver Assistance Pack and the Panoramic Sunroof, which bump this test car’s price up to £52,020, which is no small change, despite the fact that it’s a big car. I’ll go into more details on those packs in due course, but the CX-60 has already had a baptism of fire to Wales and back in a day, which saw the average economy nose-dive and is just recovering with some more local journeys. Watch this space…