CX-90 ‘feels like a premium product’
James Bond’s Aston-martin DB5. The original BMW M5. The world-beating Nissan Skyline GT-R.
These are just some of the historically significant cars to be powered by an inline-six engine. Now you can get one in a three-row Mazda crossover. No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to drive… the kids to school.
In truth, if you’re a car enthusiast, the very existence of Mazda’s all-new CX-90 is a bit of a let down (though not the driving experience — we’ll get to that in a moment).
In 2017, Mazda showed off the Vision concept, an ultrasleek sedan that frankly made most modern Aston-martins look like they were wearing Roger Moore’s girdle.
Could this be the nextgeneration Mazda6, powered by a promised turbocharged inline-six engine, and a return to rear-wheel-drive?
Well, no. We got a crossover. Because Mazda is a company that needs to actually sell vehicles to actual customers, and not just please people who might only download a gorgeous Mazda concept car on Gran Turismo. Which, by the way, you can do.
However, if the CX-90 is not a low-slung four-door of dubious practicality, neither does it wear cargo pants as evening wear. It’s largely as practical as anything else in this class, but the styling is clean-lined and well-executed.
The front end in particular is more Maserati than Mazda, the chrome trim is restrained throughout, and even the “Inline-6” side badging doesn’t spoil the effect.
A pat on the back for the exterior styling department, but I hope Mazda management gave the interior team a bunch of fat bonuses and a free MX-5, because it is jawdropping.
Anyone cross-shopping the CX-90 with the usual Honda and Hyundai fare will be surprised by how far Mazda has come in terms of materials and layout. The Windsor Tan leather interior of this tester (assuming Mazda is naming this for U.K. Royals rather than South Detroit Ontario) is particularly sumptuous, stretching the width of the dash in suede.
The slight drawback, especially with the middlerow captain’s chairs, is that the CX-90 is not quite as I-need-a-minivan-but-don’twant-to-be-seen-driving-one practical as some mainstream rivals.
As with the CX-9 it replaces, the third-row of seats is a bit Hobbit-spec on legroom. The cabin is also not what you’d call airy, but has more of a cockpit feel to it.
The 12.3” screen has touchscreen functionality, but is just as easy to navigate with Mazda’s rotary controller. It’s easy to get used to the latter after only a few days behind the wheel, and in an actual ownership experience it would be second nature. It’s both easier to no-look control, keeping driver’s eyes on the road, and also keeps fingerprint smudges off the screen.
Also at your fingertips, a row of proper physical buttons for heating and cooling controls. The volume knob for the stereo is tucked between the seats, right where you would rest your arm on the centre console. If you need to switch off lane-keeping assist, that too is a simple button. As cars grow ever more complex, Mazda keeps its controls simple.
The CX-90 is a big machine — the largest-ever Mazda. At 5.1 metres long and tipping the scales at over 2,220 kg, it has a physical presence big enough to dwarf those 21” wheels. If Mazda’s oft-touted jinba ittai horse and rider as one philosophy is to be believed, then this thing’s a Clydesdale.
But all that engineering that was supposed to get tucked underneath the concept sport sedan has been put to good use here. This is Mazda’s all new Large Platform (I hope the engineer who named it enjoyed taking the rest of the afternoon off), and it is built around a rear-wheel-drive bias with the engine mounted longitudinally.
Yes, the CX-90 has standard all-wheel-drive, but it possesses the physical layout of some of the best combustion-engined sport coupes and sedans.
A plug-in hybrid is also available, but the inline-six is only a mild hybrid setup, much the same as found in several Mercedes-benz models.
A 48V electric motor that also performs alternator functions is sandwiched between the combustion engine and the eight-speed automatic transmission.
The electric motor is only good for about 17 hp, but it adds a little over 110 lb-ft of torque down low, which disguises any lag from the single turbocharger.
Let’s talk a bit about why inline-six engines are favoured by luxury and performance marques. Lining six cylinders up in a row means that each piston is twinned with another that’s always in opposite position.
The engine is always in perfect balance, as opposed to a four-cylinder or V6, where counterweights are needed. The only way you can improve on an I6 is by doubling it to make a V12, which is why there’s a V12 in the Rolls-royce Cullinan and not some turbocharged V8.
The CX-90 is not quite a budget Rolls, but it offers wonderfully smooth power delivery. Power peaks at 340 hp on premium fuel and 319 hp on 87 octane, cresting at 5,000 rpm and holding flat to redline at 6,000 rpm. Max torque remains the same no matter the fuel used, a 369 lb-ft plateau from 2,000-4,500 rpm.
In heavy traffic, or just cruising on the highway, the CX-90 drives as polished as its styling is. On long downhill sections, the engine will sometimes shut off at highway speeds to save a bit of fuel, but it sparks back to life so smoothly you might not notice it. The all-wheel-drive system will also switch seamlessly to rear-drive to reduce parasitic losses.
Official ratings for fuel economy are 10.3 L/100 km in the city and 8.3 L/100 km on the highway. Those figures are within spitting distance of a Mazda3 hatchback with the 2.5L four-cylinder turbo. In reality, observed mileage was just under the city rating even after a long highway drive — but still, that’s impressive performance for a full-size crossover.
Especially because the CX-90 is, while comfortable, not just a laid-back cruiser. The harder you push it, the better it responds and the more it shrinks around you. It’s no sport sedan, as the curb weight and height can’t entirely be disguised with good suspension tuning, but from behind the wheel you can tell just what a phenomenal job Mazda would do on such a project.
There’s a dash of MX-5 in the recipe too, with Mazda’s brake-based Kinematic Posture Control slightly slowing an inner rear wheel to rotate the vehicle and control body roll.
It’s less the best-driving mainstream three-row crossover out there, and more a budget BMW.
Actually, never mind budget, if Lexus was conceived of as Japan’s rival to Mercedesbenz, then here Mazda has basically taken over the job of being Japan’s BMW. There is a cost in doing so.
South of the border, the nearest comparison trim to this Signature costs US$61,235, the equivalent of $83,000 in Canadian Viola Desmonds.
At $63,950 with options, this Signature is perhaps a bargain. It’s at least priced to just undercut a Honda Pilot (though a less-feisty Toyota Highlander Hybrid is thousands less).
At the Mazda3 end of the market, Mazda’s foray into providing a premium experience is perhaps a bit of a harder sell.
In full-size crossover market, shoppers are usually already well past the $45,500 average new car price in Canada.
The CX-90 really does feel like a premium product, and it doesn’t need a Lexus or Acura badge on the nose to do so.
A proper sports sedan or — dare to dream — a reborn RX-7 sports coupe executed this well would be wonderful. But, as a vehicle that Mazda dealers can actually sell, marrying the special feel of an inline-six, rear-wheel-drive platform with crossover sales appeal does make for a potential winner.
Mazda enthusiasts will have to take a quantum of solace in that.