Mazda details new 3.3-liter turbocharged diesel straight-six

Mazda has introduced its long-promised turbodiesel straight-six engine. Called e-Skyactiv D, the 3.3-liter six-cylinder was developed for markets outside of America, and it’s presented as one of the cleanest-burning diesel engines in the world thanks to clever technology.

The company explained that it designed the e-Skyactiv D engine “to meet the needs of customers who want an efficient, long-distance driving car with great towing capacity.” At launch, the straight-six will be offered in two states of tune: 200 horsepower with rear-wheel-drive and 254 horsepower with all-wheel-drive. Its torque output checks in at up to 407 pound-feet, and it works with a 48-volt mild hybrid system.

Mazda notes that the new turbodiesel features a technology called Distribution-Controlled Partially Premixed Compression Ignition (DCPCI) that helps it achieve a thermal efficiency of over 40%, which is higher than average. In turn, this improves fuel economy and increases the driving range, which we’re told is “outstanding.” The rest of the figures quoted by the manufacturer are equally impressive: the 200-horse six-cylinder’s average fuel economy is rated at 48 mpg using the European testing cycle, while the more powerful version returns 44 mpg. The latter gives the CX-60 a usable 5,500-pound towing capacity, yet it’s about as light as the 2.2-liter four-cylinder diesel offered in the CX-5.

Deliveries of the diesel-powered CX-60 are scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2023, though nothing suggests we’ll see the engine in the United States. Mazda stopped selling diesels here in 2021, and the upmarket CX-60 will not be offered on our shores. However, Mazda said the rear-wheel-drive platform that underpins the crossover will later spawn a pair of crossovers called CX-70 and CX-90, respectively, that are being developed specifically for the North American market. The odds of seeing either with a turbodiesel straight-six are low, though.