Year 2 CX-90 changes?

[Trip CX90]

I was at my dealer this morning for the 25K service on my 2019 CX-9 GT FWD and while there took the opportunity to check out the CX-90 since I'll be in the market for a new car in 2025. Overall it's a lot like the CX-9 in my opinion, but a deal breaker for me is the even more miserly interior storage space. For example the center console is only about 2" deep unless that was just some kind of removable tray I couldn't figure out how to take out and the door pockets are 1/3 smaller.

The CX-9 was behind the competition with interior space and flexible storage options to begin with but our CX-9 worked just fine for us. The most frustrating part of our CX90 is the storage. It literally has half the interior storage that the CX-9 does. And what’s there is frustrating to use.

Some examples….

The way the door pockets are positioned underneath the big, chunky door pull handles, especially on the driver side, make it challenging to easily slip a water bottle in and out of the tiny door pocket.

The door pockets are smaller. And with the shape of the door armrest, it is awkward to access. In the CX-9, reaching down to grab the hanging placard for carpool pick up was transparent. I would drop my arm down, grab it and pick it up. The CX 90, I have to lean sideways and contort my arm to reach down into the door pocket.

The space behind the third row is supposed to be a cubic foot larger but that must come from the height because the space itself is not as deep and not as wide. We can’t even fit a large pizza box behind the third row seat or the hatch will hit it and stop. We have to put the third row down to carry pizza boxes. Or if we have passengers back there, everybody gets to hold a scalding hot pizza box Of course we would not make the kids do that, but this does make us reconsider our dinner plans when we run errands.

Speaking of the cargo area, there is no storage underneath anymore. It was perfect to put eggs, bread, and other soft, packaged groceries. Now we have to use the third row to place groceries and if the kids are back there, they have to hold them until we get home. We can’t always put the third row down because we either have passengers, or with the third row down, now you don’t have a confined space to hold groceries in and keep them from flying around.

The cupholder tray in the second row between the captains chairs is an absolute joke. Not only is it flimsy and does not hold larger water bottles, you can’t reach it if you’re going through a drive-through and need a couple of extra spaces from the driver seat. And it blocks third row access.

When little things, like convenient storage that you access every day, are frustrating to use, it gets annoying.

Edit: typos

 

[jcrout7992]

They should take out the 3rd row and call it a CX-70.

 

[GTEyes]

So the electric folding down option for row 2 I suspect will migrate into the CX90?

Also, the additional safety system if the driver becomes unresponsive (car comes to a stop)

Those are both things from the CX70 which I suspect will come to the 90 in '25.

 

[youri]

I am not sure the electric folding option will migrate. The CX-70 seats are likely to be different from the CX-90 in the sense that they probably don’t have the tilt and slide function (which allows access to the third row) in the CX-90. So in that sense taking the CX-70 folding mechanism would likely not be transferable 1 for 1.

 

[GTEyes]

I am not sure the electric folding option will migrate. The CX-70 seats are likely to be different from the CX-90 in the sense that they probably don’t have the tilt and slide function (which allows access to the third row) in the CX-90. So in that sense taking the CX-70 folding mechanism would likely not be transferable 1 for 1.

Valid point.

Forgot to mention the Amazon Alexa addition as well. I’m sure that’ll show up in the 90.

 

[Trip CX90]

So the electric folding down option for row 2 I suspect will migrate into the CX90?

They should add the power folding bench and call it the never before seen CX-100

 

[VaEagle]

I so thoroughly echo the comments others made about the Captain's chairs. As it so happens, (a) I tend to like upper trim levels and (b) if our adult children are home from college and we are out and about, there are five of us. Five fit perfectly in the vehicle with a bench second row. And if someone has to go in the third row because of Captain's chairs, then suddenly there's not a lot of cargo space.

I really see no benefit to Captain's chairs. Make this an option not the default.

 

[heywardjr]

Yes, it doesn’t make any sense that you get penalized for getting the premium PHEV over the Turbo S. Mazda is already at a severe disadvantage with the CX-90 not qualifying for the US EV credit. You think they would be offering more features on the PHEV, not less.

I got the full $7500 credit in October 2023. I does not show up for 24 yet but lots of cars dropped off because they had not applied to the Federal government in time to get the classification. I would check on that if buying in 24 as it's likely Mazda will fix that.

 

[heywardjr]

What does the CX-90 currently have for ambient lighting? Maybe they could add colour-customizable ambient lighting?

Not much other than the overhead lights. I easily added ambient LED lighting by getting a kit off Amazon. Lots of them out there. It plugs into the USB port in the rear seat area.

 

[heywardjr]

I'm currently looking into a CX-90 for my next purchase. This gap bothers me as well but for a different reason. I have a large dog that travels with me and not have a flat fold down option is almost a no go. I'm looking into aftermarket options for my dog to ride around in comfort. She is super spoiled currently in my RAM which gives her the entire backseat area with the fold up seats.

I have my dogs in the back with the third row down. They don't even try to go between the seats because they are trained and disciplined. In my previous Lincoln Corsair I bought a cabin seperator from Orvis that was fantastic and looked great. Here is what I would suggest:

Tough Trail® Grip-Tight® Windowed Hammock Seat Protector

Our rugged Tough Trail™ Grip-Tight® Windowed Hammock Seat Protector installs easily to keep dog dirt off car upholstery.

www.orvis.com

There are lots of these kinds of options on Amazon as well. Easy problem to fix. Keeps the dogs from coming up front particularly in an accident since there are airbags galore in this vehicle and dogs don't do well with airbags.

 

[heywardjr]

- The matrix LED headlights that are available on the European CX60
- The bench seat spec. issue figured out (not available on upper trims) seems to be deterring folks away from the vehicle. I like the captain chairs but get why others want the bench.
- The transmission issues figured out
- Dark, real wood trim in the tan colour interior option
- Tweak the sunroof design so it opens more
- Make the digital rear view mirror standard in top trim spec. with modest increase in cost of vehicle
- Full touch screen all the time so people would stop complaining about it
- More customizable gauges
- Change in shifter operation so it makes a bit more sense to everyone
- Change the remote start system so it doesn't turn the car off when you first open a door

Some of these are probably easier tweaks than others.

1. Matrix LED headlights just got approved in the US in the Fall of 2023. So, it's going to take US manufacturers to work those into the lineup. I suspect 2025 - 2026 model years.
2. The transmission (for me) was a bit jerky at first but after about 1000 miles, the transmission seems to have adjusted to my driving style and I do not get that anymore.
3. Agree with the PANO roof opening more
4. Yes, the digital mirror should have been included on my PHEV....did not even know it was an option but paying $800 for it now is rediculous
5. Yes, full tough screen but the knob works fine for me...safer too
6. No such things as remote start on the PHEV since it always starts up in EV mode. The PHEV can be easily programmed via options to heat/cool/defroster based on a set leave time. OI use that all the time. It starts up the heat pump and prepares the battery and cabin temp as well as rear and front defroster.

 

[TimelessMazda]

I have my dogs in the back with the third row down. They don't even try to go between the seats because they are trained and disciplined. In my previous Lincoln Corsair I bought a cabin seperator from Orvis that was fantastic and looked great. Here is what I would suggest:

Tough Trail® Grip-Tight® Windowed Hammock Seat Protector

Our rugged Tough Trail™ Grip-Tight® Windowed Hammock Seat Protector installs easily to keep dog dirt off car upholstery.

www.orvis.com

There are lots of these kinds of options on Amazon as well. Easy problem to fix. Keeps the dogs from coming up front particularly in an accident since there are airbags galore in this vehicle and dogs don't do well with airbags.

That would work other than my dog loves to have her head out the window which that would prevent.

I actually wound up going with a Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid Max. (Main reason is Mazda CX-90 PHEV is just so much more sluggish for some reason. Think Mazda needs some time to get it right).

Same issue as it has captain chairs. So I have a protector for the seats and she just sits/stands up on that. Not as nice as a two row setup where it is more flat but works for now.

 

[Muggs1]

I just want them to fix the bugs. The two models have way too many issues, for a platform that was already released for 2yrs now.

 

[TimelessMazda]

I just want them to fix the bugs. The two models have way too many issues, for a platform that was already released for 2yrs now.

I hear ya. Another reason I went with the GHH Max. Toyota appears to be years ahead in this area which makes sense. Mazda is a great company though so they'll get there.

 

[Muggs1]

I hear ya. Another reason I went with the GHH Max. Toyota appears to be years ahead in this area which makes sense. Mazda is a great company though so they'll get there.

I mean they are doing hybrids for a long time, however from a driving dynamics your GHH max is way behind Mazda. People use to compare them but tbh I feel like they are not really competing in the same market.

 

[Tiggs]

The CX-9 was behind the competition with interior space and flexible storage options to begin with but our CX-9 worked just fine for us. The most frustrating part of our CX90 is the storage. It literally has half the interior storage that the CX-9 does. And what’s there is frustrating to use.

Some examples….

The way the door pockets are positioned underneath the big, chunky door pull handles, especially on the driver side, make it challenging to easily slip a water bottle in and out of the tiny door pocket.

The door pockets are smaller. And with the shape of the door armrest, it is awkward to access. In the CX-9, reaching down to grab the hanging placard for carpool pick up was transparent. I would drop my arm down, grab it and pick it up. The CX 90, I have to lean sideways and contort my arm to reach down into the door pocket.

The space behind the third row is supposed to be a cubic foot larger but that must come from the height because the space itself is not as deep and not as wide. We can’t even fit a large pizza box behind the third row seat or the hatch will hit it and stop. We have to put the third row down to carry pizza boxes. Or if we have passengers back there, everybody gets to hold a scalding hot pizza box Of course we would not make the kids do that, but this does make us reconsider our dinner plans when we run errands.

Speaking of the cargo area, there is no storage underneath anymore. It was perfect to put eggs, bread, and other soft, packaged groceries. Now we have to use the third row to place groceries and if the kids are back there, they have to hold them until we get home. We can’t always put the third row down because we either have passengers, or with the third row down, now you don’t have a confined space to hold groceries in and keep them from flying around.

The cupholder tray in the second row between the captains chairs is an absolute joke. Not only is it flimsy and does not hold larger water bottles, you can’t reach it if you’re going through a drive-through and need a couple of extra spaces from the driver seat. And it blocks third row access.

When little things, like convenient storage that you access every day, are frustrating to use, it gets annoying.

Edit: typos

Agree 100% with you.. coming from 3 CX-9s (2011, 2017 and 2021), storage has gotten smaller with each Gen. Literally when I swapped from my CX-9 to the CX-90, 50% of what I had in the storage areas would not fit in the CX-90.. smaller glove box, center console, wireless charger area, under floor storage.. It should have had the under storage of the CX-70 at least.

3rd row cargo seems the same as before.. one thing I also noticed - the front legroom is smaller too - I tried to put in my front huskyliner CX-9 floor mats as a temp solution, and it was 3" too long... so whatever packaging they did, has cramped the space overall.

 

[TimelessMazda]

I mean they are doing hybrids for a long time, however from a driving dynamics your GHH max is way behind Mazda. People use to compare them but tbh I feel like they are not really competing in the same market.

Not sure what you mean by this.

They are direct competitors.

And I can tell you after driving three CX-90 PHEV top of the line models that the interior is nicer but the performance is sluggish compared to the GHH MAX.

 

[youri]

He means handling. The GHH has more power but it handles like a boat. The CX-90 handling and driving dynamics are way better. They are both at the extreme of the range. The Honda Pilot sits in the middle of the two.

The CX-90 needs transmission tweaks however, it really does hurt its acceleration feel.

check out this comparison by Savage Geese, I don’t fully agree with them, but it shows well the difference between the two.

SUVs Compared | Mazda CX-90 vs Honda Pilot vs Grand Highlander

We compare the newest 2024 Mazda CX-90, Toyota Grand Highlander, and Honda Pilot. The test looks at interior and exterior features, including testing audio s...

youtu.be

 

[Muggs1]

He means handling. The GHH has more power but it handles like a boat. The CX-90 handling and driving dynamics are way better. They are both at the extreme of the range. The Honda Pilot sits in the middle of the two.

The CX-90 needs transmission tweaks however, it really does hurt its acceleration feel.

check out this comparison by Savage Geese, I don’t fully agree with them, but it shows well the difference between the two.

SUVs Compared | Mazda CX-90 vs Honda Pilot vs Grand Highlander

We compare the newest 2024 Mazda CX-90, Toyota Grand Highlander, and Honda Pilot. The test looks at interior and exterior features, including testing audio s...

youtu.be

They reviewed the cx90 very early in the release (and they release the review months after because of the issues with the car) and they also did this comparison with a model that wasn t updated. Curious to see they're oppinion after the car updates which fixes the transmission to a certain degree.
Its not going to be significantly faster due to the fact it engages first the electric motor in the transmission but maybe next years will manage to make the transmission and the transition faster.

 

[youri]

I hope so too. Funny thing is the instant torque of the electric motor in the transmission should make it faster in theory, bit it looks like they had a hard time synchronizing it with the rest of the engine power delivery and then made it slow to engage somehow.

I believe they can fix it for the next few model years. Mazda have been listening to reviewers in the past, hopefully they keep that trend.