The 2024 Mazda CX-90: A Luxury SUV That Won't Break the Bank

Are you interested in a three-row SUV? Well, how about this Mazda CX-90? It's all new, it's got a touch of performance, and it's extremely luxurious. And on top of that, it doesn't come with a luxury price tag. What's it like? Let's go for a drive. I'm your host, Brian Maxx, racing driver, lover of driving fast fun things, and on this channel you get reviews for drivers from drivers. Now this is really important because if you're familiar with this channel, we talk about driving all the time, and we know that Mazda builds cars for drivers. This being an all-new Mazda, the question is whether they've done that with this CX-90. So before we get into what it's like to drive, let's have a look at this in a little more depth. The CX-90 is meant to replace the CX-9, and replaces it certainly does. This is all new from the ground up, and the most important thing is that this uses rear-wheel-drive-based architecture, not front-wheel-drive like the CX-9, and that changes the game completely for a three-row SUV from Mazda. Starting at the front, there's an inline-six, and it's mounted longitudinally because this is rear-wheel-drive. It's a 3.3 liter with a turbo, and it is a mild hybrid. It's a 48-volt mild hybrid electric motor, makes about 17 horsepower. It's actually there to torque fill power output before that turbo spools up and is fully contributing to power output. It also smooths out the stop-start function as well as allowing coasting and quick refiring of the gasoline motor. Anyway, in terms of power output, 340 horsepower from 5,000 to 6,000 rpm on premium fuel, 319 horsepower from 5,500 to 6,000 rpm on regular fuel, and 369 pounds of torque at 2,500 rpm. The transmission's an eight-speed automatic that uses a wet multi-plate clutch instead of a torque converter. Very cool. All-wheel drive is electronically controlled, also with a multi-plate clutch. Suspension, here's the thing, double wishbones at the front, multi-link at the rear. This does have kinematic posture control, some very cool driver-oriented tech that debuted on the MX-5 last year. Check that link here or in the description below. Steering's variable assist. It is electrically assisted, of course. And what Mazda has done with this rear-wheel drive architecture is given themselves some more room for those front wheels to articulate, so this has an incredibly short turning radius. Four-wheel disc brakes, of course. Wheels and tires at this top trim level are 21s. Towing capacity is maximum 5,000 pounds, and curb weight is about 4,900 pounds. The first thing I noticed when I sat in the seat was the steering wheel, and it's because it's inspired by Bentley with its two-tone finish. The shape, the size. Other than the buttons, you could take this, put it into Bentley, and you really wouldn't know. This is an incredibly impressive situation with the two-tone on the wheel, the way it's finished. Plus, it's the right shape and the right size because this is a Mazda and they know how to build cars for drivers. This will be a theme throughout this episode. The rest of the driver interface is pretty good. Lots of reach in the steering wheel. The interface of the pedals is spot-on. There's a nice solid dead pedal to support you. The seat is comfortable, supportive. It is on the the firm side, as it should be for something like this. If you're going to spend a lot of time in the driver's seat of this CX-90, you're going to want a seat that's a little on the firmer side. The bolstering is not that aggressive, which is fine. This is not a sports car. If you want one of those, get an MX-5. But otherwise, I really dig the seat, except for one thing, and that's I'd like a little bit more thigh support. With something as luxurious as this, I'd like to have an adjustable thigh support at the front of the seat. Other than that, I have no complaints. I'm seated perfectly, great visibility, and of course Mazda's ergonomics are spot-on for drivers like us. Speaking of ergonomics, everything is laid out simply and oriented towards the driver. The only unusual bit of ergonomics is the temperature controls. There are two buttons here, and they both work in downward direction. So if you want to raise the temperature, you actually have to push down, which is a little bit illogical. Mazda's infotainment controller, whatever they call this, has been refined, as has the infotainment system itself. Even though it is more complex, I find it a little easier to navigate, and the refinement in the selector also helps. Otherwise, there's not much to complain about here. Everything is oriented towards the driver. Yeah, this electronic shifter is a little bit odd. It doesn't take long to get used to it, and once you're accustomed to this, this is a very easy-to-live-with SUV. In terms of spaciousness, there's not an abundance of legroom in that second row, but I can fit behind myself quite comfortably in this seating position. The third row definitely reserved for smaller humans, and what I do appreciate, they've somehow figured out how to arrange the space so that there is some room under the hatch when the rear seats are in their upright position, so you don't have to fold them to fit larger objects or multiple objects. Right now, I've got a bunch of stuff back there, and the seats are in their upright position. Really well done in terms of managing the space inside this CX-90. This is the top trim level CX-90, so it's got every possible feature, option, and function, and there's nothing else I really want here. It's got every possible feature I could ever want. You could get a little nerdy and maybe do a rear camera mirror, but it's really not necessary. There's great visibility here, and the cameras that this does have definitely sort out parking situations, but otherwise, there's nothing else I really could desire for the CX-90. It's extremely luxurious and extremely fully featured. Acceleration's a breeze, and that's from a dead stop or when you're rolling. Zero to 60 is about six seconds, which is very respectable, and I'm very impressed with the way that this motor develops power, but what's more impressive is how smoothly it operates, and on top of that, there is that electric motor that's in there. It's mild hybrid, as you know, and that just smooths out all of the stop-start operations, and that very low-speed torque fill that that electric motor does just smooths everything out. There's no problem accelerating anytime, anywhere. The eight-speed automatic is also a bit of a gem. It does rev matching. The way that they've programmed that clutch to work instead of it being a torque is just brilliant. It works flawlessly here. I've never really found that I had to use manual shifting with this transmission. It's always doing what I want because one of the things that Mazda does is when they do a sport mode, it's really a sport mode. When it's in sport mode, the throttle mapping and the transmission mapping does exactly what I want them to do. It's spot on for me. Funny thing is, it's been perfectly dry while I've been testing the CX-90, so I've never really tried it in low-grip conditions, but putting down power, no trouble at all. Even exiting corners, it does all of the right things, so I think the way that they've sorted this all-wheel-drive system seems to be quite good. I'd love to try it in the snow, and I think this being rear-wheel-drive architecture, we'd probably end up with more torque going to the rear axle, and we could slide this around a little bit. Here, we're under a little bit of load, and the sound of that motor is actually satisfying. Inline 6s are just a joy, just as V12s are, but this Inline 6 is a joy to drive. I'm very impressed with it, the way it develops power and torque. It makes this driving experience an absolute pleasure. Given that this is all new and it's a 2024 model, of course, there's advanced driver assist, and it worked quite well. Very reliable, very trustworthy system, but of course, it does leave an abundance of following distance to the vehicle you're following, and in this busy city, what that means is people jump in front of you all the time when you're using that system in traffic, but on longer drives, it just works flawlessly. Very impressed and very reliable. There are very few SUVs that I've driven where I sing the praises of the steering, but this is one of them, and it's for several reasons. One, the way I can point this and make sure that it's tracking through corners the way I want it to, yet no problem, and I guess I was kind of expecting that from Mazda because they know how to do that, but also, this has an incredibly short turning radius. The first time I parked this, I'm like, how was I able to put this big three-row SUV in that space accurately, and that's because they allow for more steering articulation. That's one of the things they did take advantage of this rear-wheel-drive architecture, so the front wheels can articulate a little bit more, and this has an incredibly short turning radius, making it very maneuverable and very easy to park, and that's a major complaint from a lot of people who drive big three-row SUVs. They're not that maneuverable. Well, that additional articulation in the steering makes this extremely maneuverable. I just blew my mind. I'm very impressed, but in day-to-day driving, I can point this exactly where I want it to go. If I'm enjoying this through the corners, absolutely, it tracks exactly where I want it to. I'm just incredibly impressed with the steering system in this big three-row SUV. If anybody could do it, of course, it's going to be Mazda. Also, the steering has pretty strong on-center feel. That is fantastic, and I find this perfectly weighted for me. Maybe some drivers would like a little bit more assist, but this is perfect for me. Very, very happy with the way this steers, and in terms of braking, again, it's also very satisfying. You've got a lot of confidence with that brake pedal. The way the brakes actuate, the control modulation, the feel that you have through this brake pedal is very, very impressive. It's the kind of brake pedal that I want to experience in something like this because braking is your first line of defense if you need to avoid a collision, usually, and I want to be confident on that brake pedal, and that's exactly what this does. But also, I can control this big three-row SUV in the corners. If I'm throwing it around and enjoying myself, I can use that brake pedal to transfer some weight when I'm entering a corner and have it do exactly what I want it to do. It's almost sports car-like in its responsiveness. What isn't sports car-like, of course, is having a very high center of gravity, and that's unavoidable for a big three-row SUV like this, but for a big three-row SUV, it actually corners fairly flat. There's not an abundance of body roll. Yes, there is some body roll, but what is most impressive about the way this handles is the suspension. They've done a fantastic job with this. The double wishbones up front and a multi-link setup at the rear is the right thing to do no matter what you're doing, and that gives the engineers the ability to fine-tune all of its dynamics, and from a driving satisfaction standpoint, it's absolutely enjoyable. It just does exactly what I want it to do. Damping a spot on spring rate or maybe on the firm side, some people may complain that this ride is a little bit firm, but with this SUV's ability to carve corners, this is exactly the setup that I'm looking for. It's very satisfying to drive, and its firmness does not bother me. It's actually not that harsh, but more importantly, body and wheel control, even on rougher surfaces, is well done, and these aren't adaptive dampers. These are just standard dampers, and they've clearly put a lot of care into developing the suspension, and all of this very careful engineering comes together to make this CX-90 a three-row SUV for drivers, drivers like you and me. How do you spec yours? Well, it's fairly easy because there are no performance-specific options beyond the most powerful drivetrain, which this one has. What you're looking at in the United States is called the Turbo S Premium Plus, which sounds like something Porsche would sell you. Here in Canada, this is simply called the Signature. This paint is Mazda's latest in their special range of paint. This is gorgeous in person. It's called Artisan Red. The interior in the U.S. is called Tan Napa. Here, they call it Windsor. In the U.S., this is priced at $59,950 plus $595 for the paint, which gives you a total of $60,545 before freight and local taxes. In Canada, this starts at $63,300, $200 for Windsor Tan, $450 for the paint. As tested here in Canada, that's $63,750 before freight and local taxes, and at these prices both here in Canada, it's absolutely a bargain. Now, in terms of speccing yours, I can't argue with this one. This paint is exquisite. It's exactly what I would choose, and I like that interior as well. But fundamentally, it's a matter of taste. I do like this top trim level because it has all the luxury features you could ever imagine. So in terms of speccing yours, get the top trim, choose your colors, and be very, very happy with your CX-90. My verdict? Well, I'm going to keep it short and sweet, and that's because I'm out of superlatives. Anyway, just kidding about that. I have very few complaints about this CX-90. This punches above its weight. It can go toe-to-toe with SUVs that cost tens of thousands of dollars more, and that's in terms of features and performance, and that's partly because Mazda builds cars for drivers, and this CX-90 is absolutely true to form. They've taken advantage of this new platform, and they've built a three-row SUV for drivers. If you are looking for a three-row SUV, you owe it to yourself to have a look at one of these and take one for a drive. It's a complete game changer, and in this segment, this is absolutely the best value and certainly the best driving three-row SUV you can buy today. Thanks for hanging out with me today and having a look at this all-new 2024 Mazda CX-90. Hope you liked this episode, and if you did, well, you're not new to YouTube. You know what to do. Smash the subscribe button, turn on your notifications, like this video, and as always, sharing is caring, so please share this with your friends, especially on Reddit, because on Reddit, they really need to see reviews for drivers from drivers. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comments below. I'll get back to you as soon as I can, and if you want to support the channel, please hit up our merch store. Links here, links below. Lots of great stuff for driving enthusiasts like us, including our very popular line of Save the Manuals merch, and Mazda still builds manuals. Anyway, thanks again for watching. We'll see you again next time, and remember, cars don't understeer by themselves, not even Mazda CX-90s.