Call me biased, but its a strong consideration for me personally. I, like most others, REALLY wanted the CX-60 with the inline six drivetrain. Since my wife works for our company also and our office is walking distance from our home, neither of us commute so I sold my Wrangler 392 a few months ago and we've just been using my ND Miata and her S3, which lease ends in about a year and a half. We want to replace the S3 with something family friendly as we are planning for kids soon and have a shortlist of the CX70, X5, Defender and Grand Cherokee.
X5 is a flawless SUV choice, but pricey even with our discounts. It won't be what I consider special, but I had an M340i in the past and BMW does build a quality, but expensive, product. The Defenders are just special, we have had two, both the 4cyl and 6cyl (the 4cyl is honestly enough engine for that car, but the 6 is nice and effortless). The Defender is $$$ and our A/C went out in like 2 months on the first one we got lol, but its just special esp with the air suspension. The Grand Cherokee is a safe bet, its got Chrysler quality
but has nice touch points, looks good and will satisfy our needs, its just not special and is really only a consideration due to us having a major CDJR relationship in FL not far from me where I can pretty much write my own deal (got 10% off my 392 plus some rebates on top).
That leaves the CX-70, and after letting the disappointment settle of their launch, it has really really grown on me. I don't want or need a 3rd row, but the extra space doesn't hurt and we've had larger vehicles like the Defender. Call it silly, but without the CX60 in play, the value proposition of the CX70 is just massive compared to these other options and I think that was Mazdas intention. For me personally, I think the CX-90 is a tad too "lux" or "family car" looking for my taste, but the CX-70 body upgrades for the sportier curb appeal make a big difference, the rest is just noise. The CX-90 is a great car, so the CX-70 will also be a great car - I think if Mazda called it the CX-90 M-Edition or some sort of sport version instead of the CX-70 the reception would have been much more positive.
Now the downside is, I love red interiors - my wife wants a white interior, neither of us want Black interior again - CX-70 is Black or Red only, unless you get tan on the top trim which neither of us like
tl;dr Pretend its a CX-90 Sport Edition and if you're shopping it against an X5 or similar, you'll find the CX-70 is a solid value option worth considering. 90% of the quality, drive and performance for 75% of the price (Probably half the payment on a lease).
