CX-90 Reviews are out

Well, it is not a truck - making wacky beeping noises would be off-putting.

And for the performance that everyone is complaining about - the 0-60 times are faster than what you would get with a similarly priced ($62K) MDX or a Infiniti QX60 (7.5 and 7.3 respectively). And the passing times (45-65) are close to a second faster than the MDX or QX70 - and almost 2 second faster than a CX-9. In fact it is just 0.3 seconds slower than a Genesis GV70 or Audi SQ5 - both of which are 2 row SUVs. The people saying their CX-9 is faster - on regular gas - are smoking something funny.

Both the inline 6 and PHEV are monster engines. Not the car for everyone, and I would argue not in the same league as a Q7 or X7, but all the whining about the "performance" of the new engines is just silly in my mind.
I guess for me, it has a good amount of hp over the mdx/qx60 so that i expected more. But then again, it weighs more so I guess that is in play (who really expected it to weight the lb it does).

It's actually a minor miracle that it has the dynamics it does, given it's pounds. That is more impressive at this point than the engine IMO.

Once I drive one, prob a good chance i stop fixating on the hp and realize the overall package. I've never actually been about straight line speed, despite mentioning it here a few times. It's why I can so love my CX9, despite it never being the quickest it had the cornering down.
 
I guess for me, it has a good amount of hp over the mdx/qx60 so that i expected more. But then again, it weighs more so I guess that is in play (who really expected it to weight the lb it does).

It's actually a minor miracle that it has the dynamics it does, given it's pounds. That is more impressive at this point than the engine IMO.

Once I drive one, prob a good chance i stop fixating on the hp and realize the overall package. I've never actually been about straight line speed, despite mentioning it here a few times. It's why I can so love my CX9, despite it never being the quickest it had the cornering down.
It is an improvement over the CX-9 in every way. The PHEV feels heavy to me, but drives similar to the CX-9. The others (Turbo and Turbo S) are much nicer. The power from 20-75 MPH is just so nice and strong. There are clearly some cars with jerky transmissions - or things that will trigger a jerky transmission - I think that is obvious - but I have now been in four different CX90's and none did anything weird.

The price to me is the key against the likes of the MDX and QX60. Dollar per dollar, the CX-90 is very competitive against some of what they want it to be competitive against. The MDX type S technically is only about $10K above the CX-90 - with comparable specs. And that might be something to think about. I personally would buy the base Type S over the fully spaced regular MDX.

Also, I have owned two different CX-9's. A 2018 and a 2021. The 2018 was totaled in a crash in January of 2021, and I looked at a bunch of competitors - the MDX, the XC-90 and the Q7 - all certified used. I loved, loved, loved the Q7. The 3.0T engine in that was just amazing and I felt it did everything the CX-9 did but 10-25% better. But I ended up buying the 2021 CX-9, because I was scared of the maintenance cost for the Q7 and felt the CX-9 did 90% of what I liked. The 2021 I have liked. It has more engine noise than the 2018 - I think it is done on purpose - but the 360 camera is a big plus. The bigger screen is nice, but in reality, makes no difference.

Up until 2014, I was a diehard Honda guy. Civics, accords, CRv's and Odyssey mini vans. Since 2014, I have owned (in the family) a 2014 CX-5, a 2017 Mazda 3, a 2018 CX-9, a 2021 CX-5, a 2021 CX-9 and a 2021 Mazda 3 2.5T sedan).

Mazda has partially got me as a customer because I have had nothing major with any of them and I have gotten great gas milage from them. I wish that was true of my Honda's, which always cost more to service, always had more little issues that cost $300 at each visit, and never got good gas mileage. And when driving, there was nothing interesting about them. Zero. When I first drove the 2014 CX-5, it was eyeopening to say the least. The CX-90 continues that trend to me
 
I read the same article and my impression was that they were very careful about not showing this new Mazda in a bad light but conclusion was sort of: new 6 cylinder engine and a new transmission - so finally some people can stop complaining about using 4 cylinder engines in bigger cars. Slightly more leg room and shoulder room in the first row but the rest is pretty much the same like in the CX-9. Except the features and the price - much higher than the previous generation.

I have got a feeling that when all the excitement is going to fade more and more people will start presenting the shortcomings of this new platform. Certainly I am not going to break any sweat about not waiting for the new CX-90. I got my 2022 CX-9 and when comparing just the numbers - trunk space is literally the same (extra 50 L with the 3rd row folded - slightly wider between the rear wheels and bulkier rear end), slightly more space in the 1st row and this is it. CX-90 is much more expensive and actually offers less for the same amount of money at least here in Canada.

It is too bad because I really wanted to see a car that could compete with Kia Telluride or Honda Pilot in terms of space and utilities - maybe not as big but still not that much smaller on the inside.
i thought the inline 6 vs. 4 was for better engine sound and smoothness. maybe i was just assuming though, can't remember...
 
What a horrible BS review of the CX-90. Total speculation on almost all of the mechanics of the car….scare people by saying you will have to pull the engine on a variety of things but did not even bother to remove any of the covers under the car. You know it is total BS when he says when he drove the car it handles poorly while every other review gave it one of best in class for driving and handling. “Look there is no sway bar“ but fails to mention Mazda KPC technology is really in charge and does an awesome job controlling the vehicle.

If he is a Toyota mechanic then he is used to pulling engines to repair, Mazda mechanics are bored by only doing the mundane, regular maintenance.
 
What a horrible BS review of the CX-90. Total speculation on almost all of the mechanics of the car….scare people by saying you will have to pull the engine on a variety of things but did not even bother to remove any of the covers under the car. You know it is total BS when he says when he drove the car it handles poorly while every other review gave it one of best in class for driving and handling. “Look there is no sway bar“ but fails to mention Mazda KPC technology is really in charge and does an awesome job controlling the vehicle.

If he is a Toyota mechanic then he is used to pulling engines to repair, Mazda mechanics are bored by only doing the mundane, regular maintenance.
i didn't watch the review yet, but i'd imagine he's used to conventional 20 year old designs in everything as a toyota mechanic. nothing necessarily wrong with that, but it's not the only way to do things reliably.
 
They do provide a lot for the price, and they're spacious as well. I personally wouldn't consider a Santa Fe or Sorento, but the Telluride and Palisade are pretty nice for the price.

A lot of the feedback has been that the driving experience is great, which is very encouraging. People seem to be saying that the power is "just right" for the CX-90, so when they put it into the CX-70, it should make for a really nice car.
they are nice for the price with the amount of features but for me. its the reliability and parts falling apart. i had a family member that had a 2018 Hyundai with only 60k miles on it that had burning 1qt amount of oil at 5k miles. most of the interior was already wearing while my 2017 mazda at 85k still looks new. i traded it in because someone made an illegal turn and damage my front/fender. the repair didnt match as they couldnt match the soul red and made me more disappointed as it looked weird. they got a new car after it being stolen as they are easy to get access now which is all over tiktok or YouTube.
 
I found this review of the Falken tires on the CX-90.


They are also doing a long-term review of the aftermarket version of the same tires.

 
Car & Driver gives the Turbo S a 9/10

That's a short review! I am very much looking forward to the SavageGeese review tomorrow.

Little disappointing on the non-refined sounds of the engine. I have witnessed this myself as I was beside a CX-90 that started at a dealer and there was a shocking amount of whine that was coming from the engine.
 
Here's another article from C&D, but this one is from a different author. He goes into more details regarding the overall driving experience with the Turbo S (performance, handling, and some gripes with the HVAC controls).

 
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