The Mazda CX-6e marks a radically different new look for the Japanese brand – and the firm's Europe design boss, Jo Stenuit, says the tech-heavy cabin showcases the direction in which the car maker wants to take its interiors.
The SUV, unveiled at the Brussels motor show on Friday, also introduces a number of firsts for Mazda, such as a 26in infotainment screen, camera wing 'mirrors', Bluetooth speakers in the front headrests, and the deletion of any sort of instrument cluster in favour of an enlarged head-up display.
The CX-6e is scheduled to arrive in the UK by the end of 2026, around six months after it goes on sale in mainland Europe. When it does reach the UK, it will be one of just two electric cars Mazda sells here, alongside the mechanically identical 6e saloon.
As the name suggests, the CX-6e is positioned as an electric alternative to the CX-60, although at 4850mm long, 1935mm wide and 1670mm tall, it is slighter longer, wider and lower than its combustion counterpart.
The SUV is described as “living art” by Stenuit, whose Frankfurt-based team took the lead on its design.
However, the decision to move to a screen-dominated interior was made by the car maker’s team in Japan, said Stenuit, and is part of an effort to “explore” where to take the brand’s cabin designs in the future.
Stenuit said this car needed to be positioned to “work globally” and screens, rather than buttons and switches, are the best way to do that. While admitting he isn’t a massive fan of bigger screens, he defended the move because it offers "precise and clear” information and therefore "a bigger screen helps”.
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What a shame Mazda sees itself forced into this kind of joint venture. The reason it has this massive screen is because of the car its based on.
This independent Japanese company used to choose its own path.
A 16" touchscreen? It's just hideous! It's surprising how Mazda-branded EVs designed in China by Changang, despite their pleasing styling, are ergonomically polar opposites to the rest of the Hiroshima-based manufacturer's lineup. I sincerely hope this isn't the future of Mazda interiors. It would be a shame if one of the few carmakers that has consistently promoted healthy driver-machine interaction were to shift toward a heavily touchscreen-based design just as other manufacturers are abandoning it due to negative user feedback.
As per usual Mazda's timing is awful, they get round to removing buttons just when the sensible people, except Volvo, have started putting them back.