The PHEV seems to use resistive heat for cabin heat. This makes your electric range tank in winter, and it isn’t hard for it to then make driving on the ICE cheaper (heat is free then).
I think the PHEV is an interesting offering, but I don’t think any variant is always better suited for people’s likes.
We have a Turbo 3.3 CX-90, and I really disliked the slow acceleration on EV only power (it felt north of 11-12 sec 0-60), and the 4 cylinder clutch in was pretty rough by modern PHEV standards. The turbo I6 isn’t super quick off the line as it’s a turbo ICE, but it feels much smoother than the I4 ever does and has more midrange torque to my butt dyno.
I also found the piped in 2nd harmonic digital I4 engine noise to be offensive and grating, but some people like it apparently. The I6 turbo sounds and lower digital engine noise volume felt much more pleasant in the I6. I still wish you could turn it off (stupid miss on Mazda’s part.)
We’ve really enjoyed ours so far, and get 24-26 mpg in mixed, mostly city driving.
The PHEV seems to use resistive heat for cabin heat. This makes your electric range tank in winter, and it isn’t hard for it to then make driving on the ICE cheaper (heat is free then).
I think the PHEV is an interesting offering, but I don’t think any variant is always better suited for people’s likes.
We have a Turbo 3.3 CX-90, and I really disliked the slow acceleration on EV only power (it felt north of 11-12 sec 0-60), and the 4 cylinder clutch in was pretty rough by modern PHEV standards. The turbo I6 isn’t super quick off the line as it’s a turbo ICE, but it feels much smoother than the I4 ever does and has more midrange torque to my butt dyno.
I also found the piped in 2nd harmonic digital I4 engine noise to be offensive and grating, but some people like it apparently. The I6 turbo sounds and lower digital engine noise volume felt much more pleasant in the I6. I still wish you could turn it off (stupid miss on Mazda’s part.)
We’ve really enjoyed ours so far, and get 24-26 mpg in mixed, mostly city driving.