CX-90 PHEV Premium Plus first impressions…

[Trip CX90]

I picked up a CX90 PHEV premium plus almost 3 weeks ago and have about 550 miles on the odometer. Here are some of my initial observations. I’m not gonna go into too much detail here because I’m sure my initial impressions will change but if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

Likes…

• Overall an awesome vehicle with a premium feel
• Handling for a vehicle this size is amazing, it really does drive much smaller than it’s size
• The exterior body lines really make the machine gray pop with entire sections that light up in bright silver bordered by dark gray shadows
• The seats are leaps and bounds way more comfortable than my CX9
• The Bose sound system to my ears sounds significantly better. I can pick up on nuances I could not quite catch in the CX9. Mid range is clear, highs are not brassy, and the bass is so smooth, defined and punchy. The door mounted tweeters help pull the soundstage off the windshield which was one of my biggest complaints with the previous system.
• The PHEV drivetrain!! In sport mode it hustles. EV mode is really cool. 550 miles and barely used 1/2 tank of dino juice. The small electric range is more than enough for our daily errands.

“Dislike” might be too strong of a word. Let’s just say a little annoying …

• The way Mazda packaged some of the features. it’s the top level trim. Where are the reverse tilting mirrors, tied to memory? Adaptive headlights?
• Speaking of packaging, while we don’t need tons of interior storage space, holy Ant-man… Every door pocket and cubby is either half the size of a CX9 or is missing completely. Yes, I bought the vehicle for its handling, aesthetics, and PHEV, but a vehicle this big it shouldn’t be difficult to find a place to literally put some Chapstick.
• The rear mounted cupholder tray is kind of cheap and in a terrible position. Not only does it block the aisle when it‘s up but it’s too far back to reach from the front seat. I went through a drive-through and out of habit turned around to set the kid’s drinks in the center consule mounted cupholders… Nope. And I couldn’t reach the stupid tray.
• The rear lights above the door are positioned perfectly to burn out the passengers retinas. The lights should be moved forward about a foot.
• Storage behind the third row is supposed to be a cubic foot or so larger but that must come from the height. The rear floormat I have for my CX9 hangs off the back a little bit so it’s not as deep and not quite as usable.
• I hate that you cannot turn off radar cruise from the steering wheel
• Speaking of the steering wheel, I wish Mazda would heat the entire thing. Turning a corner on a cold day… Hot, cold, hot, cold…
• Some minor quality, or maybe lack of attention to detail items …. The roof liner flexes quite a bit when using the sunglass holder. There was a slight rattle in the roof liner. I killed two birds with one stone. I rolled a small towel and tucked it up there, which stopped the flexing and the noise. Underneath the window switches, you can feel a gap where the plastic was cut short.

A few miscellaneous neutral observations…

• The ride is FIRM. I prioritize and appreciate the great handling but a little bit softer would’ve been nice
• I usually adjust the headlights up a degree or two because the cut offs are super low but apparently now you need a scan tool to set the auto leveling
• The window switches on the drivers door for me are positioned a bit awkwardly. I have to pull my arm back a bit to reach them. In the CX9 they were further forward on the door and more comfortable to access

Also, I have all weather floor mats coming from a company I’ve never heard of, but they got great reviews. I’ll post pictures and some comments in a separate thread.

 

[Tiggs]

I agree mostly with your comments, I too have a Gray PP PHEV...

-With the likes, I disagree about the seats - they are way harder and firmer than my CX9 GT.

* I agree with the rest - the looks inside and outside are outstanding, and get a lotta comments about it. It *feels* bigger outside..

*Panoroof allows so much light but hate how it opens so small...

*Touch screen is great with AA or CP, but when the car is in motion, it's non-touch again

-With the dislikes, I agree - where are the adaptive headlights we had in the CX-9 or the fog lights?

* Storage went down - I couldn't fit 50% of the items I pulled out of CX-9 - glove compartment, center console are way smaller... there is little storage under the cargo area, where the CX-9 has a decent amount of space.

Also the front floor is about 2-3" shorter than the CX-9 as the floor mats couldn't move over either... I dunno where they says its larger interior than CX-9

* Rear maps lights are totally blinding the rear passengers

* Wish I could have a bench seat in the PP trim, hate Captain Chairs

*Cold temps (Boston area) greatly affects the Battery range, most likely b.c running the heat, rear defrost or heated seats

*XM Radio lost the ability to rewind missed songs

Overall, enjoying the CX-90 and the charging/BEV experience.. i'll post my blog notes at some point

 

[cs97jb]

I agree mostly with your comments, I too have a Gray PP PHEV...

-With the likes, I disagree about the seats - they are way harder and firmer than my CX9 GT.

* I agree with the rest - the looks inside and outside are outstanding, and get a lotta comments about it. It *feels* bigger outside..

*Panoroof allows so much light but hate how it opens so small...

*Touch screen is great with AA or CP, but when the car is in motion, it's non-touch again

-With the dislikes, I agree - where are the adaptive headlights we had in the CX-9 or the fog lights?

* Storage went down - I couldn't fit 50% of the items I pulled out of CX-9 - glove compartment, center console are way smaller... there is little storage under the cargo area, where the CX-9 has a decent amount of space.

Also the front floor is about 2-3" shorter than the CX-9 as the floor mats couldn't move over either... I dunno where they says its larger interior than CX-9

* Rear maps lights are totally blinding the rear passengers

* Wish I could have a bench seat in the PP trim, hate Captain Chairs

*Cold temps (Boston area) greatly affects the Battery range, most likely b.c running the heat, rear defrost or heated seats

*XM Radio lost the ability to rewind missed songs

Overall, enjoying the CX-90 and the charging/BEV experience.. i'll post my blog notes at some point

Can you elaborate on the battery comment? I'm from Boston too so trying to understand how much of a hit one would take during the colder months.

 

[Trip CX90]

FWIW, I live in NC. The first week or so I had ours, the temperatures were in the 80s. Round-trip to the school is 7 miles and battery range would decrease approximately 7 miles. This past week or so the temperatures have been in the 40s and the battery range indicates I’ve used 9 or 10 miles so it definitely depletes a little faster. The car is garage kept so I haven’t needed the heated seats but the heater has kicked on pretty strong. Not sure if the difference is because of the batteries behavior due to cold weather or that there is more draw on the battery because of add additional accessories.

 

[Tiggs]

So the colder it gets, the battery range gets affected. I may drive 5 miles EV, but the EV range drops 7 miles. Its also affected by the AC/Heat. If I just use the seat warmers, it doesn't deplete as fast .

BTW - the seat warmers are very strong, I usually keep on Low...

I have 3 new issues at the moment:

1. When I drive slow and turn to the right, I hear a soft scraping of the suspension - can't tell where it is exactly.

2. Occasionally when I close the rear hatch, it stops about 6 in from closing for no reason - nothing is in the way or blocking it. I have to manually push it closed. It's when the car is on.

3. This may be normal - but the vehicle makes several delayed noised once it's turned of. I think the first is the parking brakes engaging as it sounds mechanical.
Then after a few minutes, I hear clicking/electrical sounds, as if the car is finally turning the power off.
Occasionally the Digital Gauge Cluster powers on with the wave animation (no CX-90), with a electrical hum.

I haven't found anywhere in the manual explaining post shutdown noises or behaviour...

 

[Trip CX90]

So the colder it gets, the battery range gets affected. I may drive 5 miles EV, but the EV range drops 7 miles. Its also affected by the AC/Heat. If I just use the seat warmers, it doesn't deplete as fast .

BTW - the seat warmers are very strong, I usually keep on Low...

I have 3 new issues at the moment:

1. When I drive slow and turn to the right, I hear a soft scraping of the suspension - can't tell where it is exactly.

2. Occasionally when I close the rear hatch, it stops about 6 in from closing for no reason - nothing is in the way or blocking it. I have to manually push it closed. It's when the car is on.

3. This may be normal - but the vehicle makes several delayed noised once it's turned of. I think the first is the parking brakes engaging as it sounds mechanical.
Then after a few minutes, I hear clicking/electrical sounds, as if the car is finally turning the power off.
Occasionally the Digital Gauge Cluster powers on with the wave animation (no CX-90), with a electrical hum.

I haven't found anywhere in the manual explaining post shutdown noises or behaviour...

I haven’t experienced the first 2 issues but I can relate to #3. I have no idea what the buzzing, clicking, whizzing sounds are. Sometimes I hear them, sometimes I don’t. But the temps here have varied. I‘ve driven it hard and not so much. So far the car has been performing flawlessly so I’ve chalked it up to PHEV doing its thing.

 

[sangs]

I agree mostly with your comments, I too have a Gray PP PHEV...

-With the likes, I disagree about the seats - they are way harder and firmer than my CX9 GT.

* I agree with the rest - the looks inside and outside are outstanding, and get a lotta comments about it. It *feels* bigger outside..

*Panoroof allows so much light but hate how it opens so small...

*Touch screen is great with AA or CP, but when the car is in motion, it's non-touch again

-With the dislikes, I agree - where are the adaptive headlights we had in the CX-9 or the fog lights?

* Storage went down - I couldn't fit 50% of the items I pulled out of CX-9 - glove compartment, center console are way smaller... there is little storage under the cargo area, where the CX-9 has a decent amount of space.

Also the front floor is about 2-3" shorter than the CX-9 as the floor mats couldn't move over either... I dunno where they says its larger interior than CX-9

* Rear maps lights are totally blinding the rear passengers

* Wish I could have a bench seat in the PP trim, hate Captain Chairs

*Cold temps (Boston area) greatly affects the Battery range, most likely b.c running the heat, rear defrost or heated seats

*XM Radio lost the ability to rewind missed songs

Overall, enjoying the CX-90 and the charging/BEV experience.. i'll post my blog notes at some point

@Tiggs Regarding >> Rear maps lights are totally blinding the rear passengers

Could you please elaborate on this. I want to check this…Thanks.

 

[Trip CX90]

@Tiggs Regarding >> Rear maps lights are totally blinding the rear passengers

Could you please elaborate on this. I want to check this…Thanks.

The second row lights are mounted above the rear doors and are positioned so that the light is literally RIGHT THERE in the passenger‘s face. They’re not usable as a reading light. They’re aimed too high and will blind you. They need to be moved forward about a foot and aimed down better.