Mazda CX-60 - long term review

Uh oh! There appears to be a glitch in the matrix. Recently I was getting all giddy with this version of the CX-60, but then the following day a problem occurred.

If, like me, you have children that are sport mad, you’ll know that the summer season is all about tournaments. Which in turn means a lot of driving to random sports fields for competitions. After the latest event, the family all piled into the Mazda to leave, but when I started the CX-60 a warning sign appeared on the dash: 'Hybrid Battery Malfunction – Stop the Vehicle in a Safe Location.'

I figured I was safe in the tournament’s car park and hoped if I deployed a longstanding technical solution - turning it off and on again - it would reset. Only this time it wouldn’t start at all. Cue all the other cars exiting around me, leaving me stranded in the middle of a field. You’re probably also thinking “I thought this was a diesel” and you’d be right, but it has a mild hybrid boost system that is regenerated from braking, and the car can’t operate without it, apparently.

I phoned Mazda roadside assist who arrived in only 30 minutes. The mechanic assessed the car and initially thought it was the regular 12V battery that needed some charge (which was very hard to get at), but sadly this didn’t work. So he plugged in his matrix computer to find a list of fault codes, but couldn’t clear them. I suggested trying to completely disconnect the battery (a proper reboot) which he figured was worth a go.

And guess what? It started. Having read up about the mild hybrid boost, it may malfunction if it receives an impact of a certain level in a collision. I certainly hadn’t collided, but I did wonder if the very bouncy ride mixed with my local bobbly fenland roads may have fooled it in to thinking I had. It was a long day, but thankfully it’s not happened again.

Oh, and if you're wondering, my son’s team did win the tournament!