Considering a CX-90 to replace my CX-9

[g81]

I currently have a 2014 CX-9, which has done really well over the past 5 years that I've owned it. However I'm starting to think about replacing it, especially so because it averages 14 l/100km in fuel consumption and here in Canada I expect the government (especially if the current administration remains in power) to keep jacking up the cost of fuel over the coming years. I was quite excited by the CX-90 when it came out, but there are a couple of questions that have come up since reading professional and owner reviews. I'd love to get some honest feedback from new owners.

My biggest concern is the iStop. is this feature annoying? Maybe a better question would be, if I found it annoying in other vehicles would I get irritated by it in the CX90? Does it also turn off the a/c compressor and start pumping less-cool air into the cabin like on other cars I've driven?

Secondly, are there any driving aids or tech features that can't be turned off, that you wish you could?

Also considering a Highlander Hybrid (and am already on the wait list because they take up to 2 years - but can pull out at any time if I want). It won't be as exciting as a CX90 but it is surprisingly smooth and I have a lot of confidence in the durability of the vehicle.

 

[Longreach]

High fuel taxes in Canada certainly are an incentive to move on from a CX-9, much more so than in the US where the final discounted CX-9 units are a bargain.

But the CX-90 does not seem to move the economy needle forward enough. The city mileage is usefully better, but highway only 2mpg better. The PHEV is particularly disappointing, especially compared to some of the Toyota hybrids.

Mazda overall seems to be having trouble with delivering higher fuel economy these days. The only real quantum leap on the horizon appears to be the CX-50 with the Toyota sourced hybrid.

I too am considering moving from a CX-9 to a CX-90, but it won’t be for the fuel economy.

 

[RhodiumRay]

Mazda is only 30 days into delivery of their CX90 platform and the verdict is still out. Early owner feedback is the CX90 is delivering higher than expected fuel economy with new their inline 6 drivetrain and beats their competitors easily in most cases. The value that Mazda offers really shines above many in its class.

Is Mazda Really The New Toyota In 2023?

While the demand for Toyotas remains strong, a myriad of challenges and hurdles for the Japanese brand, present a massive opportunity for Mazda

www.topspeed.com

 

[Longreach]

Mazda is only 30 days into delivery of their CX90 platform and the verdict is still out. Early owner feedback is the CX90 is delivering higher than expected fuel economy with new their inline 6 drivetrain and beats their competitors easily in most cases. The value that Mazda offers really shines above many in its class.

Is Mazda Really The New Toyota In 2023?

While the demand for Toyotas remains strong, a myriad of challenges and hurdles for the Japanese brand, present a massive opportunity for Mazda

www.topspeed.com

I’m sure we all agree on why Mazdas are great, but the reality is Mazda volume is a fraction of Toyota volume. And the auto industry is all about volume, something not covered in that puff piece article.

Mazda only moves about a million units a year globally, which makes them one of the smallest manufacturers, along with Subaru. Both have insufficient resources to navigate the brutal transition to electric, so both are now joined at the hip with Toyota. I suspect they will need to be even closer to Toyota than they were with Ford to ensure survival.

I do hope the CX-90 does as well as the CX-5, which has basically kept the boat afloat for the past few years. I need them to survive to feed my Miata habit!

 

[RhodiumRay]

I’m sure we all agree on why Mazdas are great, but the reality is Mazda volume is a fraction of Toyota volume. And the auto industry is all about volume, something not covered in that puff piece article.

Mazda only moves about a million units a year globally, which makes them one of the smallest manufacturers, along with Subaru. Both have insufficient resources to navigate the brutal transition to electric, so both are now joined at the hip with Toyota. I suspect they will need to be even closer to Toyota than they were with Ford to ensure survival.

I do hope the CX-90 does as well as the CX-5, which has basically kept the boat afloat for the past few years. I need them to survive to feed my Miata habit!

My habit as well with the CX90 being my 4th Mazda in the past decade.

 

[potownrob]

reminds me of the subaru-toyota collaboration. was (kind of) excited when they brought out a crosstrek hybrid...til i saw the numbers. that had me wondering how much toyota collab was involved on that drivetrain...

 

[sm1ke]

Someone here at the office brought what appears to be a CX-90 loaner in today. Shame on the dealer for applying that tacky, misaligned HYBRID decal

I don't think the CX-90 will replace my current CX-9. The front and rear end just aren't growing on me as much as I thought they might. I'd much rather just get another CX-9. IMO the CX-9's front and rear are proud and prominent. The CX-90's look smushed in a bit, at least to me.

 

[cx5boo333]

Someone here at the office brought what appears to be a CX-90 loaner in today. Shame on the dealer for applying that tacky, misaligned HYBRID decal

View attachment 321520

I don't think the CX-90 will replace my current CX-9. The front and rear end just aren't growing on me as much as I thought they might. I'd much rather just get another CX-9. IMO the CX-9's front and rear are proud and prominent. The CX-90's look smushed in a bit, at least to me.

View attachment 321522
View attachment 321523

That decal is quite... ugly. But that's a cool comparison shot of the front side profiles! The CX-90 doesn't look bad per say.. but I agree it looks squashed, whereas the lines of your CX-9 are aggressive, but swooshy and elegant. The two, in the grey in these pictures especially remind me of sea-creature noses:
CX-9

vs CX-90

I know it's an odd comparison but...

 

[RhodiumRay]

I’m not a fan of the Select trim that is pictured above without the chrome trim that comes on the next trim up. The lower chrome trim along all sides on the upper trims bring out the best of the design for the car.

 

[sm1ke]

I’m not a fan of the Select trim that is pictured above without the chrome trim that comes on the next trim up. The lower chrome trim along all sides on the upper trims bring out the best of the design for the car.

This is true, it would have been a much closer comparison if the CX-90 had the bright chrome treatment in the lower bumper. I think that for me, the reason it looks smushed is because of the headlight shape and the shape of the bumper/trim (in comparison to the CX-9). The front emblem also doesn't push forward as much as the CX-9, and the grille appears to be flatter as a result.

Despite all this, the design changes do make a lot of sense for a RWD-based platform to reduce the front overhang.

 

[AceNinja]

I have never owned a CX-9 but did owned a CX-5 2017 which I have traded in for the CX-90. I thought about getting it at the time but couldn't find the need for it.
The i-stop isn't bad and it doesn't disactivate anything besides the wireless charger. Also the I-stop wont engage if other things doesn't meet it's requirements. I would recommend taking it for a drive with all the settings needed to have it activate to get a feel for it as it is a lot better than other car because of quick response. I like it for cruising downhill because you wouldn't even notice at all.

 

[Antoine]

Very interesting comparison, @sm1ke! I see what you're saying, those smaller wheels and that decal are definitely not helping...lol...That said, love the the 5/9 front-end but I think Mazda nailed the front-end design on the upmarket 00 models, especially for a first attempt! It is flatter and fuller, but at the same time bolder and more muscular...My favorite part are those headlights, there's something magical in their design because they always catch my eyes...Reminds me of a Jaguar or Cheetah's eyes.

In the end, you can't go wrong with either!

 

[GTA-CX9]

Not sure OP is still looking, but if on a long shot he still is and is in Canada, rates on short 3 or 4 yr terms (4.65 and 5.30%) are pretty solid right now for Mazda. Not just for CX90s, but for that one, can be a good 2% below the competition. Nothing ground breaking, but not insignificant either.

Don't know how or why they offer this in Canada, seems to be a money loser. Worries me a bit if it's because they need to juice sales. I guess other manufacturers might just offer cash discounts with their higher rates so it all ends up the same, but all things equal borrowing now in the 5ish range is pretty rare.

 

[g81]

So I got to test drive the CX-90 GT (340bhp) the other week while getting my Mazda3 serviced.

Pros
- Interior is beautiful
- Engine sound is smooth and pleasing on the ear
- Doing a 0-60 is kind of fun
- i-Stop didn't seem as bad as I expected. It didn't seem to make the air conditioning lukewarm. It wasn't super hot that day so I'd love to understand if it does blow warm air when the engine stops.

Cons
- The powertrain: At low speeds there's the well documented twitchy/jerky operation. In other vehicles (e.g. my CX-9 V6 or the Toyota Highlander Hybrid) the transmission fades into the background and the experience is relaxing in city traffic. When on the highway I didn't get the hang of getting the right level of power, didn't seem to do much until my foot went to the floor when the car woke up, kicked down and lurched forward. I think using the paddle shifters might help perhaps..but the old 6 speed and V6 on the CX-9 seems easier and intuitive to manage
- When i-Stop turns the engine on when it's at a standstill, there's a slightly disconcerting clunk occasionally.


So I'm now trying to figure out if I run my CX-9 into the ground, go for the CX-90, wait for CX-90 TSB to fix the jerks in the next model year, or get a less exciting, arguably more reliable and more easy to live with Highlander...

 

[Silly Wabbit]

Considering cx-90 is a new platform and new drivetrain from the ground up, it's understandable to have bugs. I would wait for the refresh or the second year at minimum to flush these complaints out

 

[curvesahead]

Traded my 2021 CX9 Carbon edition for an CX-90 Premium Deep Crystal Blue, so far minus a few mentioned quirks, it's a very nice upgrade and more than a worthy successor...Got sunshine all week and gonna shine it up!

 

[kenbuff1]

Replaced My CX-9 2019 for the CX-90 PHEV - Do Not buy the first Gen. I have had nothing but issues since I purchased it in August 2023. These issues have been as follows; AWD sent to dealer 3 times before they replaced the Transfer System. That seemed to fix that issue, then the next day not charging fully to 26 Miles, never had this issue prior. Then they seemed to correct it with the two Recalls that just came out. Now I have a Hybrid Charging trouble. My vehicle has been at the dealership more (months) than in my possession.

Otherwise to me its a beautiful driving and looking SUV with Amenities, when everything above functions.

 

[mrplt]

I test drove a CX-90 MHEV Signature today. I really wanted to look at the tan interior in person but they didn't have one at the dealership. I did the test drive right after testing a Lexus RX350.

The car is just beautiful inside and out. Obviously the Lexus felt more premium, but not by that much. Material quality is better than my CX-5, especially around the steering wheel area. HVAC buttons and the overhead sunglass holder area were two places where it fell behind Lexus. Also the steering wheel is still only heated on the sides... why? I also noticed the wheel takes its time to warm up.

The infotainment screen is nice, both in terms of size and resolution. Aside from wireless CarPlay/AA with touch support, it's similar to the system on my CX-5.

The driver seating position adjustment system (forgot its actual name) sounds like a gimmick but it worked well for me. Haven't tried the facial recognition system. I like that everything (seat, mirrors, steering wheel position) is stored in memory. Perhaps the CX-50 does this too. Seats were completely fine for me, I know some people say they're too narrow and/or hard... no complaints here.

Onto the driving part. I like the sound of the engine, I mean it's an inline-6 after all. It definitely keeps it calm in normal mode... way too calm. Once you get it in sport mode doing a 0-100kph or 80-120kph run is fun.

My CX-5 will shift between the 6th and 5th regularly on the highway as I need more/less power. The CX-90 obviously doesn't do this but I did feel like it could sometimes benefit from a downshift. Don't get me wrong, it can definitely pull from 2000rpm but a downshift would make that quicker. I eventually got the hang of it and things got better.
Engine braking on the 90 is much smoother than it is on the CX-5 (I guess because of the larger displacement)

The transmission is fine, an improvement over the old 6-speed but honestly not by that much. It shifts faster than the 6-speed, but it's definitely not as fast as some DCTs on the market. I haven't experienced any jerks/weird behaviors. Paddle shifters work well... but again there is a delay. The engine was still rather cold when I was doing the test drive, this might have had an effect. i-stop never kicked in most probably because of the engine/outside temp. (It was about -10C)
Despite those quirks, the drivetrain is way more refined than my CX-5 or a Highlander.

The steering... oh it's heavy. I didn't initially believe Throttle House when they said it has no place in a 3-row SUV, but they were mostly right. To me, it feels fantastic especially on the highway, but I was shocked as I drove it off the parking lot. There is definitely a learning curve, I'll usually let go of the steering wheel at the end of a turn and let it straighten itself. I did it on 3 occasions during the test drive and I had to intervene all the 3 times as it wasn't straightening fast enough.
All that being said, it's genuinely fun on the highway and/or around curves. To me it's a plus, but for sure not for my partner.

The brakes are way too sensitive. They feel a lot like the brakes on a Toyota. I guess sales reps get this a lot as this was the first thing the rep told me as I was pulling off the lot. I like the way the brakes feel on the CX-5, but I admit they scare me sometimes when I have to apply full brakes.

In Canada lane centering is only available on the 340hp MHEV models. At this price point, it's a must for me, so PHEV as well as lower trim MHEVs aren't a possibility for me.

I'm waiting for the dealership to finalize their offer (for the CX-90 as well as the CX-5 that I'll be trading in) to see what to do next.

Edit: So apparently it doesn't have a dual clutch transmission? When I saw that it doesn't have a torque converter I assumed it would be a DCT.

 

[heywardjr]

High fuel taxes in Canada certainly are an incentive to move on from a CX-9, much more so than in the US where the final discounted CX-9 units are a bargain.

But the CX-90 does not seem to move the economy needle forward enough. The city mileage is usefully better, but highway only 2mpg better. The PHEV is particularly disappointing, especially compared to some of the Toyota hybrids.

Mazda overall seems to be having trouble with delivering higher fuel economy these days. The only real quantum leap on the horizon appears to be the CX-50 with the Toyota sourced hybrid.

I too am considering moving from a CX-9 to a CX-90, but it won’t be for the fuel economy.

I have to advise that I am averaging 68 MPG on my 24 CX-90 PHEV. Not sure if Toyota betas that or not on their PHEV. I do understand that Toyota owns 10%+ of Mazda so they share a lot of hybrid technology.

 

[Tiggs]

Biggest thing coming off a CX-9 is the lack of equal storage space on the CX-90. I'd say 50% of what I had in the storage areas could not fit back inside the CX-90. I LOVED my 2021 CX-9 GT - but my lease was up (extended it another 3 months), and the deal I got for leasing the PHEV was phenomenal ($7500 lease cash + $4k back on my lease return).

But the powertrain and power is excellent (save some jerkiness at low speeds), the interior is so vibrant (white leather interior and pano roof make is really bright in the day).. ride is sporty firm, but drives well. But note that the PHEV is 500lb heavier than the Turbo S version..

It's been solid since I've had it since Nov 2023...