First there was the CX-60 and now comes the CX-90 – Mazda’s first two salvos in its bid to push upmarket.
Of the four new SUVs coming – including the yet-to-be-seen CX-70 and CX-80 – the 90 is the biggest and the most expensive. In fact at its top end, it is very close to $100k.
Mazda isn’t out to become the next Mercedes-Benz or BMW. Rather, it wants to offer its loyal customers something fancy to move up into when they are at a stage of life where they can afford something nicer than a CX-5. It’s a strategy to keep buyers in the Mazda family.
But while Hyundai rolled the dice on a new brand for its premium play – Genesis – Mazda is hoping people will accept it as a semi-premium brand that also sells mainstream cars.
Only time will tell if the plan works, but until then, we had some time behind the wheel of a left-hand-drive prototype version of the CX-90 – the only one in Australia – at Holden’s former proving ground at Lang Lang south of Melbourne for a brief pre-launch drive to see if Mazda has the right ingredients to take on Lexus and the like.
Keyword: Mazda CX-90 2023 review - prototype drive