The 2024 Mazda CX-90.Doug Firby/The Globe and Mail
Some superlatives for Mazda’s new crossover SUV are undeniable. The 2024 CX-90 is Mazda’s biggest, roomiest, most powerful and most luxurious crossover in the company’s history. It is also carrying a lot of Mazda’s future fortunes on its shoulders.
The three-row, eight-passenger SUV, unveiled Tuesday in Los Angeles as Mazda’s flagship replacement for the CX-9, is also reaching deep into the luxury segment, putting itself up against the likes of the Acura MDX and Volvo XC90.
“We have ambitious goals,” David Klan, chief executive officer of Mazda Canada Inc., said of the CX series in an interview with The Globe and Mail. “It is arguably the most important vehicle in our history.”
The eight-passenger CX-90 is the first of the company’s new premium Large Product Group to reach North American shores. (The line debuted internationally in March 2022 with the CX-60 compact crossover.)
The move upscale is underscored by the fact that, until recently, the company sold more of its Mazda 3 compact cars in Canada than anything else. Executives deliberately chose to elevate the main brand into premium territory, rather than create a new sub-brand, as its Japanese counterparts at Honda, Toyota and Nissan did with Acura, Lexus and Infiniti decades ago, Klan said. Noting customers consistently choose higher trim levels in Mazdas, he said drivers consider even its less-expensive vehicles to be of high quality.
No doubt, an all-new platform is a roll of the dice for a relatively small manufacturer with fewer resources than the likes of Toyota, which outsells Mazda worldwide by a ratio of nine to one. But that didn’t stop Mazda from making some bold decisions.
The three-row, eight-passenger SUV will be available with a gas engine or the brand's first PHEV powertrain.Doug Firby/The Globe and Mail
The biggest is challenging the orthodoxy of the sideways-mounted V6, front-wheel-drive setup found in most mass-market SUVs. V6s became popular because they can be squeezed into smaller engine compartments but they are heavier and more complex to build.
In a remarkable Back-to-the-Future moment, the CX-90 has a powertrain configuration last widely seen in the 1970s: an engine that faces forward and is tied to rear-wheel drive. Today, that setup is confined mostly to performance vehicles. (Canadian versions of the CX-90 will have “rear-biased” all-wheel drive.) Buyers can choose between the mild-hybrid gasoline-fueled 3.3-litre engine and the brand’s first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) powertrain mated to a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine.
The new 3.3-litre engine, which Mazda calls e-SkyActive, is six-cylinder, turbocharged and boosted by a 48-volt hybrid system. Rated at 340 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque when run with premium fuel, it’s the most output ever from a production Mazda engine. The PHEV’s combined four-cylinder engine and electric boost is rated at 322 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque. With its 17.8 kilowatt-hour battery, the all-electric driving range is estimated at up to 55 kilometres.
Mitsuru Wakiie, CX-90 program manager, said through an interpreter that the move to an inline six was hotly debated within the company, but chosen for its weight and efficiency benefits and to allow for the optimum placement of the hybrid’s electric motor – between the engine and transmission.
The SUV is the first of Mazda’s new premium Large Product Group to reach North American shores.Doug Firby/The Globe and Mail
Mazda also hopes to retain its fun-to-drive image by incorporating the Kinematic Posture Control system, or KPC, which was first seen on the MX-5 Miata. KPC applies slight braking to the inner rear wheel during high-speed cornering, which suppresses body roll and makes steering response feel more linear through tight corners, according to Mazda.
The CX-90′s exterior is aggressive in its stance and polished in its finish, with a chrome-accent badge on the fender just behind the front wheel well, and tasteful chrome trim on the lower door panels. The 21-inch “diamond-cut” alloy wheels with black finish add to the substantial look.
Mazda notes the Artisanal red exterior is unique to the CX-90 and changes colour with varying light conditions. (The full range of colour choices has not been released.)
The interior of the CX-90 is distinctly upscale for Mazda. Interior designer Ian Hedge said the Irvine, Calif.-based team worked with designers in Japan to achieve an expansive interior feel. Details include a 12.2-inch centre display, real burled Maple wood trim on the doors and a spacious centre console and Nappa leather front seats (on the display model). A subtle Japanese inflection was added through the use of a delicate-looking “hanging stitch” on the horizontally oriented dash inspired by the Japanese weaving technique of Kumihimo.
Interior designer Ian Hedge said the team worked with designers in Japan to achieve an interior that is distinctly upscale for Mazda.Doug Firby/The Globe and Mail
Tech features include frontal smart brake support, blind-spot monitoring, radar cruise control and USB-C outlets in the third row. To enhance the sense of roominess, seats are mounted further outward than the CX-9. Trim levels and pricing have not been announced, but Klan predicted the range in Canada will be from the mid-$40,000s to low-$60,000s.
Canadian drivers have historically favoured Mazdas over their United States counterparts by a per-capita ratio of 2:1. Klan said Mazda has a 7-per-cent market share overall in Canada and holds 10-per-cent share in Quebec and British Columbia. He said the premium vehicle should elevate share, particularly in Ontario.
Is Mazda’s biggest family vehicle also its best? That superlative will have to wait for the test drives. The CX-90 is expected to arrive at Canada’s 163 retail outlets by the end of March, Klan said, and the smaller CX-70, will appear in Canada this fall.
The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.
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