The new family-oriented Mazda CX-8 was officially unveiled on Tuesday at the Mazda Kulim Plant in Kedah

The CX-8 will be locally assembled at the plant alongside its CX-5 sibling and will be distributed to both Malaysian and Asean markets, such as Thailand.

Mazda’s new SUV will be available in four variants, three of which will be powered by their trademark 2.5-litre Skyactiv-G four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine and another by the 2.2-litre Skyactiv-G turbo-diesel engine

Although prices are yet to be announced, the estimated figure is reportedly 15 to 20 per cent higher than the price of a Mazda CX-5.

The petrol-powered variants offer 7.9 litres per 100 km, while the diesel-powered variant promises up to 6 litres per 100 km.

The CX-8, which sits between the CX-5 and CX-9 on the size scale, will come in six different colours choices which are Sour Red Crystal, Machine Gray, Snowflake White Pearl, Deep Crystal Blue, Sonic Silver and Jet Black.

In terms of configuration, the 2.5-litre base variant comes with a 7-seater configuration across 3 rows (2-3-2), the next 2.5-litre variant comes in 6-seater with Captain Seats and a walk-through feature that allows passengers to move between the second and third rows.

The other 2.5-litre and 2.2-litre variants are also 6-seaters with a centre row console.

Performance
During a media drive from the Mazda Kulim Plant to Butterworth, Penang and back, members of the media got the chance to test out just how “family-friendly” the new CX-8 actually is.

On slightly rougher terrains and bouncy roads, the car handles like a dream, effortlessly gliding with reduced “float” and smooth handling.

The car also handles comfortably on corners and making sharp turns, as it employs a new mechanism in the car’s damper and spring coil system to ensure that the car does not lean, minimising driver “head-swinging” when cornering.

All variants come with Mazda’s Skyactiv-Drive with 6-Speed automatic transmission with manual shift mode to power the front wheels (2WD) while the 2.2-litre variant comes with an all-wheel-drive (AWD).

Design
The CX-8 is designed based on Mazda’s signature “Kodo — Soul of Motion” design and is created to look both timeless and edgy, with a beautiful premium feel.

On the exterior, the CX-8 pairs its powerful road presence with sleek horizontal lines on the front face, emphasising its spread of signature wings with newly adopted horizontal silver bars on the front grille.

Mazda’s designs are based on a human-centred philosophy, which incorporates many features that allow each occupant, of any size, to sit comfortably and adopt a natural posture.

The seats come in black fabric and Nappa leather (high variants), with power adjustable seats on the driver side.

All three rows of seats come with ample legroom with Mazda focusing on accommodating the position of passengers’ feet, so they can find a natural and comfortable seating position.

The rear doors are able to open up to an 80° angle, which makes it easier to enter and exit from the third row and also for convenience when loading or unloading large items, like a child seat.

While the boot space isn’t very roomy, the car’s third row of seats can be pushed down to create added space for the boot, which can easily fit two to three golf bags.

Another feature that Mazda added is a quiet cabin environment that enables occupants to enjoy stress-free conversation without having to raise their voices.

Mazda implemented new measures to reduce road and wind noise, by using vibration-dampening materials in the rear fender panels, to suppress noise in the third row.

The car also comes with adjustable climate control for rear passengers, with added vents under the second-row seats to keep third-row passengers cool.

Safety
For safety, the CX-8 comes with Mazda’s full set of safety features which include six airbags, ABS, electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), emergency brake assist (EBA), traction control system (TCS), dynamic stability control (DSC), Hill-Launch Assist (HLA), impact-absorbing bonnet and ISOFIX child seat anchors.

Apart from the base 7-seater variant, the CX-8’s come with Mazda’s flagship i-ACTIVSENSE safety technology features, which include blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, smart city brake support, driver attention alert and lane departure warning.

These features alert the driver on a holographic visual image on the windscreen, which depicts the speed of the vehicle and alerts the driver when other vehicles and objects are too close and when the car is veering into another lane.

The car will also softly pull the steering wheel when switching lanes if the driver does not use the signal indicator.

The blind-spot monitoring system is also a handy feature as LED lights on the top corner of the side view mirrors will illuminate when another vehicle is in the driver’s blind-spot.