Luxury is a matter of choices. There are the small luxuries, like the billions of shows and movies now pouring out of our TVs, a fountain of choice most wondrous to people of a certain age who can remember having just two channels, both of them awful, and possibly even presented in black and white.

Then there are the bigger luxuries bestowed upon the rich and wildly fortunate, who have the choice never to cook, clean anything or fly in over-stuffed planes full of ordinary people because they have a choice of private jets.

Clearly, choice is something that enriches our lives and when it comes to buying a new car, we’ve never had more options. While you might assume that the biggest countries with the largest populations are offered the most - due to economies of scale - there are some cases where living in Australia, already a luxury bestowed on us by birth, can provide choice and variation not seen anywhere else.

 

 

Mazda recently unveiled its complete range of new CX models in a world exclusive, showing off the CX-60, CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90 in the fittingly fabulous setting of the Australian National Gallery in Canberra.

The occasion was the launch of a spectacular new exhibition - Gauguin’s World: Tona Iho, Tona Ao’ - which brings the French master’s works together in a way never before seen in this country (Mazda has been a proud supporter of Art Exhibitions Australia, which helped to create this art happening, for 30 years).

 

 

The four high-end and high-class SUVs, parked outside the gallery, had never been seen together anywhere in the world before, and by the end of this year Australia will be the only global market where you can walk into a Mazda showroom and have a choice of all four of these SUVs, built on what’s called Mazda’s Large Architecture.

The slightly narrower two-row CX-60 and three-row CX-80 are the only options if you live in markets like Europe and Japan, while in the US, with its vastly wider open spaces - not to mention car parks and freeway lanes - they choose to offer only the wide-bodied two-row CX-70 and three-row CX-90.

All four share a bold visual style that made them the perfect metallic canvases for a projection of some of Gauguin’s artworks at the launch event, a stunning example of “Colour in Motion”, as Ashlin Moore, Mazda’s National Brand Manager, explained.

 

 

“Just as Gauguin used vivid colour to bring life to his canvas, Mazda's KODO: Soul of Motion philosophy breathes life into our vehicles” Ashlin Moore, Mazda’s National Brand Manager

“Every line, every curve is meticulously crafted to bring colour and light together, evoking a sense of movement, even when standing still." she said. “In Hiroshima, Mazda’s master craftsmen, or ‘Takumi’, begin the design of all our vehicles with a human touch. Crafting shapes they find exciting or pleasing, long before they take a car-like shape.

“This exploratory nature is what has always given Mazda vehicles a cohesive and organic beauty. Every stitch, curve and colour of our vehicles is meticulously pored over, much like an artist looking over their canvas.”

 

 

The newly expanded CX range brings the choice of SUV options for spoiled Australian customers to seven, with a price range starting below $30,000 and rising to the most premium CX-90 options closer to $100,000.

And within those options, buyers have around 40 individual model grade choices, proving that there truly is a Mazda for every customer, as the company’s Marketing Director, Alastair Doak, explains.

“As other brands rationalise their range and streamline nameplates, our commitment has and always will be to continually maintain an expansive scope of products that enrich life in motion for those we serve,” he said.

“With a Mazda repurchase rate among Australian buyers as strong as 50 per cent in recent years, it’s easy to see why.”

 

 

It’s worth pausing to consider that figure for a moment - one of the best in the business. Each time someone decides to move up, down or sideways in terms of car size or configuration, particularly in Australia, they have a lot of options - our car market is one of the most crowded in the world, with several more new marques launching this year.

But half of all Mazda owners, faced with that luxury of choice, choose to go for another Mazda. Clearly the company is impressing the customers it has, as well as continuing to grow its numbers.

The recent expansion of the Mazda brand into bigger and more premium, luxury-focused vehicles like the CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90, has really allowed the brand to “expand the battlefield”, as car executives put it. Years ago, the German brands did the same thing by pushing down into more affordable segments - think of Mercedes-Benz with its A-Class or BMW with the 1-Series and the Mini - but Mazda is going the other way, and taking on the European brands at the very highest end of the market.

Once a buyer has decided on which size CX they like, and how many seats they need, there are more choices to luxuriate over, starting with diverse and fully equipped trim grades, and then extending to powertrains.

In the case of the CX-60, that means three different engines; a diesel or petrol 3.3-litre turbocharged six-cylinder engine with mild-hybrid assistance, or  a 2.5-litre four-cylinder plug-in hybrid.

The CX-70 buyer can choose between the two incredibly impressive and powerful 3.3-litre, straight-six engines, diesel or petrol, while the CX-80 customers will have the full range of three powertrains at their disposal, including the supremely economical plug-in hybrid.

 

 

At the very top of the range, the CX-90 is powered by either the 3.3-litre, mild-hybrid petrol engine, making a whopping 254kW and 500Nm or the straight-six diesel, which we chose to take for a tour of the Canberra region the day after our feast of art, which offers a very torque-thick 550Nm and 187kW. (A PHEV option is in the works for the CX-90 as well - watch this space.)

Canberra is often purloined for its huge number of roundabouts and the fact that a visit there literally involves driving around in circles (and quite often feeling completely lost, because so much of it looks exactly the same - shopping centre, lake, forest of gum trees, repeat).

The trick to the ACT, particularly in a car as enjoyable as the CX-90, is to leave town as fast as possible and get to the truly delectable country roads that ring its edges.

Starting in the south, Tidbinbilla Road takes you through lush countryside, often with snow-capped mountains in the distance, and past the staggeringly large satellite dishes of the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex (complete with NASA branding). While the views are nice, it’s the winding, rising and falling road - all perfectly surfaced - that is the highlight for any enthusiastic driver.

Indeed, in driving terms it comes close to being a work of art, as it turns into Paddys River Road and then the Cotter Road, which leads you back to the same-same suburbs.

 

 

Out here, typically with not another vehicle in sight on this wintry weekday, the CX-90 really shines. It feels plush and lush inside, and despite the acres of space in the rear it really shrinks around you once you start to drive it with some zest.

The engineers have also performed some wizardry by making the diesel sound impressive and expressive, with properly sporty revviness when it’s asked to push on.

The way this big, bold machine carves through long, fast corners is a particular highlight, while the steering makes the whole experience feel effortless.

The CX-90 is a premium family hauler, not a sports car, but typically for Mazda, that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be able to deliver driving joy and involvement should its owner seek it out - particularly on a day like this, when you’ve got the car, and the roads, to yourself.

Really, it’s about choice. What do you want from a car, and why can’t you have all of it in one package? That is true luxury.