The Mazda CX-90 Is A Good CUV, But Here's Why I'm Not Completely Sold On The Pricier Versions
When Mazda launched the CX-90 a couple of years ago, it was met with great praise. Many expressed appreciation for its ability to take its predecessor's formula, the CX-9, and raise the bar even further by pushing it even more upmarket into more luxurious territory. But how far is too far?
Over the years, automakers have been able to inject unprecedented value by making their cars drive and feel more expensive than ever before while keeping them affordable. Whether it be from styling their cars with fancier aesthetics, adding more standard equipment and gear, and upping their overall appearance and ambiance. Your average mainstream car today is exponentially nicer and more accommodating than any of its predecessors ever dreamed of being.
Mazda has been one of several automakers who proved how high the bar on value and upscale appeal could go with a mainstream brand. So much, in fact, Mazda even admitted over the years that it aspires to become a premium and even near-luxury brand, similar to Acura, Infiniti, and Lexus. Over the last decade, many recognized Mazda's effort in its quest. But as they became nicer, their asking prices became less nice. Case in point: a fully-loaded CX-90 is now more than $10,000 than the previous CX-9's top-spec equivalent. That's a huge ask, and well, there's also the idea of spending $61,000 on a Mazda. Is the world ready for such a bold proposal?
2025-Mazda-CX-90-Turbo-S-Premium-Plus-Review
2025 Mazda CX-90 Turbo S Premium Plus Review: Is The World Ready For A $60,000+ Mazda?
The CX-90 succeeds the CX-9 as Mazda's next midsize CUV chapter and moves even further upmarket. Just be ready to pay for it.
Here's What I Liked About The Mazda CX-90
2025 Mazda CX-90 In Motion (14)
After spending a nice, comprehensive week getting acquainted with the CX-90, I, by and large, mostly agree with many of my industry colleagues. The CX-90 is a really darn good crossover SUV that offers a third row of seating for occasional use and leans on the side of luxury. It's certainly elevated Mazda's flagship SUV experience over the CX-9. But while I was living with the CX-90 like it was mine, I couldn't help but think about how the old CX-9 was just so much better value.
Before I get to that, let me go over what I really liked about the CX-90.
Like: The Performance And Handling
Me, a car and driving enthusiast, favoring the Mazda's on-road behavior shouldn't come to a surprise. This is the Yokohama-based automaker with the "zoom-zoom" mantra. It's the brand that also gave us some of the best-handling cars on the planet like the RX sports cars and still gives us the Miata. With that sort of resume, not much more needs to be said.
Chris Chin | TopSpeed
The CX-90 certainly drives and feels like how a Mazda SUV should drive. It's sophisticated, composed, and ready to hustle when one's willing to pick up the pace. That comes down to Mazda's expertise in the chassis and suspension departments. It vividly shows with the CX-90's signature Kinematic Posture Control, or basically Mazda's speak for its clever suspension geometry and tuning, bundled with brake-based torque vectoring control.
Chris Chin | TopSpeed
Also, seeing Mazda produce an all-new turbocharged inline-six in-house grants even more brand kudos. Especially since it's such a small automaker when compared to the competition. I really appreciated the more powerful CX-90 Turbo S's 3.3-liter straight-six and its 340 horses and 369 torques. However, I was surprised that Mazda's inline-six isn't as smooth and refined as some of the other straight-sixes available on the market.
Like: The Interior Ambiance, Fit And Finish
Chris Chin | TopSpeed
Without mucking about, the CX-90's insides are hands the nicest Mazda interior ever. Which should be expected for the top-of-the-line $60,000+ Turbo S Premium Plus model. More on the price later. But the Premium Plus gains some very lovely touches, like Nappa leather and Alcantara-wrapped seats, soft leather finishes on the dashboards and door cards, and even some Alcantara on the headliner.
Chris Chin | TopSpeed
It's also quieter than a church inside. Add all these lovely attributes together, and it's easy to see how well Mazda achieved the premium and even near-luxury theme with the CX-90. Even the plastics are of high quality and feel very sturdy. From the switchgear, to the interior panels, and even those less frequented by touch. There's an obvious feeling of quality and attention to detail inside the CX-90, and it matches its sticker price very well.
Mostly Like: The Exterior Design
2025 Mazda CX-90 Exterior (2)-1
I always appreciated the previous CX-9 because I thought it was an excellent-looking and very handsome crossover SUV. I think it, along with the last Mazda6 sedan, best epitomized Mazda's iconic KODO "Soul of Motion" design language. The new CX-90 continues the KODO theme, but in an evolved form.
When examining the CX-90's exterior design, one can very easily see the resemblance to the old CX-9 and the rest of Mazda's company-wide motif. It's best described as an evolution of the old model. Start charting the differences, and you'll see the CX-90 is more upright and SUV-like, with its flatter nose and higher roofline.
Chris Chin | TopSpeed
The CX-90 is not a bad-looking SUV by any stretch or means. However, I honestly preferred the looks of the previous CX-9, which looked more like an elongated, lifted wagon, or a high-riding Mazda6 sedan, with a more slickback profile and low-slung roof. Sleeker, is the simplest way to describe the old CX-9 when compared to the new CX-90.
Neutral: The Ride Quality
Chris Chin | TopSpeed
Mazdas might be known for their handling prowess. But they're also known for achieving that goal at the expense of ride quality. Anyone who's driven or owned an old Mazdaspeed3 knows what I'm on about. While they're capable of making some of the best-handling cars, your back would be broken or teeth shattered after a few hours of driving some of them.
Throughout the evolution of its vehicles, Mazda's engineers have done well to develop and mature their suspension and chassis techniques to better balance handling and comfort. One of the most glaring drawbacks I noticed about the CX-90, however, was its stiff-legged ride.
Chris Chin | TopSpeed
Overall, the CX-90 returned an acceptably smooth drive over most surfaces. That is, until the road became anything but, like on some of the Swiss cheese-like pothole-ridden roads of New Jersey. Or if the roads included a lot of dips or shoddy patchwork. The CX-90 started to show its weak points. Anytime the road became rough, it made me yearn for better damping and more suspension travel. Especially for a crossover SUV with premium aspirations.
Why I'm Not Completely Sold On The CX-90
Chris Chin | TopSpeed
Okay. So, the elephant in the room. My top-of-the-line CX-90 Turbo S Premium Plus evaluation mule stamped its invoice at $61,920 including Mazda's $1,375 destination fee. Either I'm still in sticker shock from today's inflation, or that's one damn expensive Mazda. To put that into perspective, that's a whopping $12,545 more than the old fully-loaded CX-9 Signature. With the CX-90, you do get quite a bit more car, such as a rear-wheel-drive-based platform with all-wheel drive, a brand-spankin' new inline-six with 48-volt mild-hybrid assist, and an eight-speed auto. On paper, the price hike sort of makes sense from a technical standpoint.
Trying To Summon The Eunos Legacy
But are you really getting near $13,000 worth more of car? Such pricing begins competing with some serious premium and luxury big dogs like the Infiniti QX60, Acura MDX, the Lexus TX, and loaded versions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, just to name a few. But the biggest argument against higher trims of the CX-90 is the fact that a class-leading Genesis GV80 starts at $58,200 without destination. That's almost three-grand cheaper than my CX-90 tester.
Chris Chin | TopSpeed
And that's even before you begin to consider that it's even within reach of an Audi Q7, which isn't that much more of a stretch, starting at $60,500 without destination. I understand Mazda's trying to see if its aspirations to be a premium automaker can become a reality. Particularly, when Mazda attempted an upscale sub-brand called Eunos in the early 1990s.
When you start rubbing shoulders against some of these greats, especially at this price point, the allowance for nitpicking becomes even greater. And there was a lot to nitpick from the scope of scrutinizing it as a premium or luxury automobile. The other tell-tale sign was the number of jaws that dropped to the floor when I told inquiring minds how much the CX-90 Turbo S Premium Plus stamped its Monroney for.
Thus, it really begs the question. Is the world ready for such an expensive Mazda? This comes from the brand known for affordability and value. The base CX-90 Turbo Select starts at under $40,000, specifically $37,845, with the less powerful six-cylinder, while a loaded Premium Plus with the same engine is $49,945. These still offer incredible amounts of premium-like value that Mazda's known for.
But once you start stepping past the $50,000 mark, value really isn't the play or appeal as you're treading well into luxury territory. Even at or in the $50,000 mark, the CX-90s direct competitors in some cases, offer more value for the money, while still coming across as a value-oriented proposition. As a result, it reveals one of the biggest problems with the CX-90's upper trims and move upmarket, and that's brand perception.
Chris Chin | TopSpeed
Other companies, like Hyundai, realized that in order to compete in such spaces, it had to branch off a luxury subsidiary, resulting in Genesis. In today's age of highly scrutinized financial risk, spinning off Genesis was a huge undertaking from Hyundai's perspective. But the brand proved it had what it takes by building and selling cars that truly elevated themselves to such levels. It took them almost a decade and they're still not reaping the success like Toyota did with Lexus back in the 1990s. And establishing a new car brand is far more difficult today than it was 20 years ago.
Mazda seems to be killing it with sales, and the CX-90 is helping somewhat. But with such a big ask at the higher end of the spectrum, despite the aspirations to big, I just don't think Mazda is quite there yet. Because at the end of the day, you're going to be left answering the question: "you spent how much on a Mazda?!"
