Is The 2024 Mazda CX-90 Really Big, Bold, And Powerful?

This is the CX-90 from Mazda. So, you've got all the different CXs. You got the 30, 50 in Europe, they've got the 60, the 70. And this is the 90. And what that means is not only is it a big car, we think it's the most powerful Mazda ever. The most powerful gasoline engine. Currently, the one we have is the E Skyactiv-G. So, this is an inline-six, but it's not just an inline-six, it's an inline-six that's been turned, so now it's longitudinally mounted.

Engines That Cruise Seamlessly

What Mazda did was realize the same thing the Germans realized: Mercedes, BMW. They realized that, hey, if we want to make a big car handle well, we have to turn the engine, move it back, and drive the rear wheels first. And that's what they've done. So, this is a rear-biased all-wheel-drive system that then powers the front wheels when needed.

And it's a mild hybrid. So, it's very much like a BMW, the B-58, or the M3, the new M4. It's got that mild hybrid tech, but it's quite powerful. It is. This one, the N96, has 340 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. And then if you get the PIV, which is the plug-in hybrid, which says PEV on the side instead of inline. But it still gets 323 horsepower and the same 369 pound-feet of torque. So, we don't know the price.

Is It Truly A Beauty And The Beast?

We think that the CX-50's design with the shark nose looks sharp and rugged! They know it's cool, sleek, and mystique. You're supposed to feel classy in this car. But they've gone stubby with the lights like this. It looks like a Mazda headlight from like 10 years ago, not a recent one. This looks good in the red color, but in white, it kind of starts to really show that it looks a bit dull.

This is a car made for Artisans because the new color is called Artisan Red. It's a beautiful color for an economy car; under $100,000, we still think it's the best color. This is the newest one, and it is called Artisan Red. It's also multi-layered, which might be a pain in the ass because we know a bunch of Miata people who saw red crystal has been chipped away by stones because it's quite thin, and it's impossible for you to just go to a normal paint shop because it's so complex.

We don't like the door. It's a very boring door. It's just a piece of steel. If it's white, there's no cool reflection like you get with this color. So, there's no mistaking this for a Mazda. We mean, it's still very much Mazda. It's not a complete deviation. But overall, we like the styling. It has the proportions of a rear-wheel-drive car, which is cool. And it's got a line that goes all the way to the back. This is a three-row as well. We're not allowed to open the door on this particular one.

Is It Really A Lux Interior?

The big thing about Mazda moving to the luxury thing, and this definitely happened with the Mazda 3, they obsessed over this lack of visual noise. The interior is very nice. It is very pleasant. It doesn't feel completely next-gen and next-level. There's still Mazda stuff, like the screen that we're sure if we're moving doesn't work when we try to touch it to be safer. But it's actually not pre-production. All the things that are supposed to be buttons and bar buttons. And that is the most important.

The seats behind us are ventilated and heated. They do have their own USB-C cable entrance thing there. The seats behind us, in the middle row, are okay. We also have comfortable headrests. But the actual third row, even if it's hard to get into, it's actually got good headroom. We actually have a lot of headroom, and the legroom is limited.

And the seats inside the cabin are quite comfortable, we find. They are watering on being too narrow. They're so close that the thigh kind of support is stiff, as usual, as per Mazda, and they're kind of hugging our badonkadonks a little bit too. We haven't done a long journey in them. We like what they've done with the steering wheel here. This almost looks like Bentley Bentayga in the way they've done it and where they've chosen to do the stitch. 

Mazda is trying to go head-to-head with Genesis, BMW, and Lexus. This was a very GV80 fighter, it is. It's not quite at the level of a BMW or Audi. It's not quite there, but the price, hopefully, won't be. There are a few things that we're really excited about in the design of the interior. There's, like, this cloth and this falling stitch. Falling stitch, we'll go with that. And then, they're really excited about the wood dent. There was a name that they had for it. It was cool.

Final Thoughts

Mazda's venture into luxury with the Mazda 3 demonstrates a keen attention to detail in design and features. While it competes with established luxury brands, pricing will be crucial. Despite some minor criticisms, the interior comfort and innovative styling show promise, sparking anticipation for Mazda's future endeavors in this segment.