Mazda CX-6e review

The Mazda CX-6e scores big points here, priced and styled like a large, premium SUV yet priced much lower. The base Takumi starts at £43k and offers 19in wheels, the pano roof and all the cameras and tech you could ever feasibly need.

The Takumi Plus cost £45k and ups the alloys to the full 21s while introducing those side cameras alongside plusher interior trim and heated rear seats. You can fit the larger wheels to the lower spec car for £1,000.

It does well on charging and efficiency, too. While a 200kW DC charging rate doesn’t lead its class (far from it, since BMW’s Neue Klasse launched), you can still top up from 30 to 80 per cent in 15 minutes, or 10 to 80 per cent in around 25. A complete AC charge on your home wall box should take around eight hours.

Its sole 78kWh battery option claims 300 miles of range on the WLTP cycle, while Mazda reckons you’ll score 3.3 mi/kWh on the 19in wheels or 3.2mi/kWh on the larger 21s. Our touchscreen was trumpeting around 3.7 mi/kWh, however, and that despite the bigger wheels and some repeated lunges to its 115mph limiter on rapid German motorway. Those delightful looking aero flourishes harbour real functionality.