The biggest vehicle Mazda’s ever built also gets its first inline six-cylinder engine.
- Mazda moves decidedly upscale with a fully redesigned three-row crossover.
- An all-new 3.3-liter straight-six makes 340 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque, enough to rival some of the sportier entries in the segment.
- The exterior is smooth, while the interior is downright comfy.
Nobody alive remembers Amati, Mazda’s foiled and failed attempt to start its own Lexus/Acura/Infiniti luxury sub-brand in 1991. But it did try once. A recession was the death knell of that noble effort, and Mazda never tried it again. But now Mazda is once again trying to move upscale with the launch of this big, bold, and some could even argue beautiful crossover utility vehicle, the CX-90.
On paper, and also looking at it in the sheetmetal, the all-new CX-90 is promising. The big CUV has several credentials that suggest it might be among the sportier such vehicles in the class:
- A 340-hp 3.3-liter turbocharged straight-six powering all four wheels (with a rear-wheel bias when it comes to torque split)
- An eight-speed automatic where so many other brands are using irritating CVTs
- A double-wishbone front suspension in the space freed up by that straight-six and tuned for “an engaging driving experience”
“We design vehicles and engineer them to a feeling, not just to a specification,” said Mazda North America Operations President and CEO Jeffrey Guyton at the CX-90’s reveal. “And whether that’s in the MX-5 Miata that I’m sure you’re familiar with, or the (best-selling) CX-5, which you’re probably also familiar with, we try to raise the bar in every segment where we compete. And we’re going to do that again today.”
CX-90 comes with your choice of 340-hp 3.3-liter inline-six or 323-hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder. Both make 369 lb-ft of torque.
In the lineup you could say the CX-90 replaces the former heavyweight champion CX-9. It is bigger in almost every measurement inside and out, and more powerful than anything Mazda’s ever made.
The flagship of the line will be powered by a 3.3-liter longitudinally mounted inline six-cylinder making 340 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. That’s thanks to a “large turbo” and a 48-volt mild hybrid system, the so-called M-Hybrid Boost. The M-Hybrid places an electric motor in the drivetrain between the engine and transmission. The big block also has what Mazda is calling an “increased air intake,” without specifying what it’s increased over—you might assume it’s the CX-9, which is powered by a 2.5-liter Skyactiv-G four-cylinder. More details on the inline-six will be available closer to the CX-90’s launch this spring.
It has enough torque to tow a Bowlus trailer!
That 2.5-liter four is the other engine choice in the new CX-90. Through the miracle of hybrid electrics, the smaller-displacement mill manages 323 hp and the exact same 369 lb-ft torque as the six-cylinder. It, too, has an electric motor between the engine and trans, but it’s larger than the one mated to the inline-six. The electric motor draws on a 17.8-kWh lithium-ion battery mounted under the second- and third-row seats.
Both engines are mated to a Mazda-designed and built eight-speed automatic. I actually asked if they considered a CVT. No, they didn’t. This is Mazda, after all. There is no torque converter—that function being taken up by the electric motor. Mazda promises that it “achieves smooth and direct acceleration while improving drivetrain efficiency.”
Interior is downright comfy. Note the stitching.
Inside, the CX-90 can seat six, seven, or eight passengers. The one I saw had seating for six in three rows (just like the Mazda5!). Interior fabrics really stand out, with a nice use of cloth and even a cross stitching you won’t find anywhere else that was inspired by book binding. Believe me, it looks cool.
In the battle of ever-bigger infotainment screens, Mazda has gone lower-profile, with a 12.3-inch center display.
There will be more information available, including prices and EPA mileage figures, closer to the craft’s launch this spring. If it drives as well as it appears it will, the wait will be worth it.
Mark Vaughn Mark Vaughn grew up in a Ford family and spent many hours holding a trouble light over a straight-six miraculously fed by a single-barrel carburetor while his father cursed Ford, all its products and everyone who ever worked there.
Keyword: Mazda Aims for Premium with the Big, Bold, All-New CX-90 Crossover