Mazda's 2026 CX-90 is a value-packed 3-row, AWD SUV with a best-in-class

For 2026, Mazda has revamped their CX-90, the largest size, three-row AWD SUV in their line-up. And it’s a compelling family car with its luxury accommodations and handsome design. 

CX-90 is offered in Turbo Select 3.3, Turbo Preferred 3.3, Turbo Premium Sport 3.3, Turbo Premium Plus 3.3. It’s also offered as a plug-in hybrid.

We were privileged to test the Premium Plus 3.3 and it was an impressive and most affordable family SUV in its class. 

With its smooth, slippery, aerodynamic, exterior styling, the design follows through to its classy interior. CX-90 is equivalent to more expensive, 3-row, AWD SUVs. 

CX-90s interior, with its heated/ventilated Nappa leather seating and 12.3-inch infotainment display which  serves a host of features. It offers rearview/frontal view cameras with overhead 360-degree view, Alexa, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto connectivity, navigation, Sirius radio, Bose audio and much more. 

With its all-encompassing features and drivability, CX-90 will most assuredly satisfy any car buyer.

CX-90’s HVAC controls are easy to view and easy to use and they blend ever so nicely into the console that houses a phone charger and stubby gear selector for its 8-speed automatic transmission. Sharing the console is a Drive Mode toggle switch for Sport, Normal and Off-Road modes. When selecting a mode, it appears on CX-90’s gauge cluster. 

A rotary dial on the console selects the various display functions and it too is easy to use for selections. This control panel sits in front of a nifty clam-shell opening console box. 

Over on the large and vivid gauge cluster, the gauge offers a driver information display and within it and offers features, functions and alerts, aside from drive mode selections. 

Front seats are sumptuously padded and nicely supportive. Their heating/cooling functions includes a heated steering wheel and heated outside mirrors. Incidentally, with the 20-degree weather during my week-long test, the seats heated up quickly as did the steering wheel. Those niceties were most appreciated. 

After an easy 20-inch step-in into the heated rear seats, they’re exceptionally soft and comfy for two adults with good leg and head room. To access the third row, which are mainly for youngsters, the second-row slides well forward. 

Back in the cargo area, with a hands-free liftgate and low 32-inch lift over onto the cargo floor, there’s 14.9 cubic feet of cargo space with the third row upright. It measures a generous 20.5 inches deep, 43.5 wide and 30 high. Flip them and cargo depth increases to 49 inches. When also flipping the second row, load space expands to 60 inches. 

CX-90 gets its grunt from a 3.3-liter turbo six-cylinder with 280-hp and an impressive 332 lb/ft of torque. Coupled to the 8-speed trans, EPA rates the combination at 23 city, 28-highway mpg. Added to that, CX-90 has a 5,000-pound tow capacity. Despite its size and 4,846-pound curb weight, the turbo six moves the CX-90 surprisingly quick and with ease. Switch to sport mode, and acceleration quickens and shift points are held a bit longer as the effect actually pushes the torso into the seatback. 

The CX-90 rides smoothly and quietly and absorbs bumps and rough roads with ease on 21-inch all-season tires. Handling too is exceptionally good with virtually no lean in sharp turns or cloverleafs.

CX-90 Premium Plus comes with an extremely long list of no extra cost options and safety features such as Smart Brake support, rear cross traffic alert, lane keep assist, emergency lane keeping, secondary collision reduction, blind spot monitoring, vehicle exit warning and lane departure warning. This is in addition to such niceties as rain-sensing wipers, Mazda Connected services, cruise control w/traffic support, panoramic sunroof and then some.

The only feature it didn’t have and I’d like to see it on all cars was a front/rear view traffic camera to show police and your insurance company the erratic driving that caused an accident with you. 

On the only extra cost list was $595 for the Premium Plus package, that included a long list of goodies like Nappa leather seating, which took the base price of $50,270 to $52,395 with delivery. An amazing price for this amount of 3-row, AWD SUV.  
​
To its credit, CX-90 came with outstanding government 5-star safety ratings of a full five stars for an overall safety score, four for driver/passenger frontal crash, five for front/rear seat side crash and four for rollover.