2025 Mazda CX-90 Review

SUV shoppers seeking style and safety should like the 2025 CX-90.

Christian Wardlaw | 

Sep 23, 2025 | 8 min read

Christian Wardlaw

The CX-90 arrived in Mazda showrooms for the 2024 model year, so the changes for 2025 are minimal. Mazda equips several versions of the SUV with additional standard features, offers more seating configurations to better meet customer needs, and adds new Premium Sport trim levels to the lineup. In other words, there is not much that is different.

That's OK. The CX-90 is an undeniably likeable and family-friendly SUV, especially if your plans include plenty of on-roading and not much off-roading. However, my test vehicle displayed a glaring lack of powertrain refinement and sophistication compared with expectations set by the company's other cars and SUVs. Also, the infotainment system and safety features were regular sources of annoyance.

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About the 2025 Mazda CX-90 3.3 Turbo Review Vehicle

There are three versions of the CX-90 available: the 3.3 Turbo, the 3.3 Turbo S, and the PHEV. Base prices range from the high $30,000s to the high $50,000s, including the destination charge to ship the SUV to a dealership from the Hofu, Japan, assembly plant. This review pertains to the CX-90 3.3 Turbo, which comes in Select, Preferred, new-for-2025 Premium Sport, and Premium Plus trim levels.

For this CX-90 review, I test-drove the 3.3 Turbo Premium Plus in Southern California. The only option was Soul Red paint, which raised the manufacturer's suggested retail price to $51,725, including the destination charge. Mazda provided the vehicle for this review of the CX-90.

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Upscale Design With a Few Quirks

The CX-90's styling is elegant, and that elegance continues inside, where it looks and feels more like a luxury vehicle, albeit an entry-level one. There are a few stumbles here and there, but the overall impression is one of refinement and sophistication.

Controls emphasize tradition, featuring physical buttons that are easy to find and use. There are some quirks, such as a piano-key-style climate system heat adjuster with a red arrow pointing up, which, illogically, requires you to push it down. The electronic shifter was fussy and made me wish for a traditional PRNDL design, and the Mazda Connect infotainment system was not intuitive.

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With Premium Plus trim, the CX-90 3.3 Turbo features power-adjustable front seats with heating and ventilation. They're comfortable, but I would have appreciated an adjustable thigh bolster and a more effective climate system. The black leather, combined with the summer heat, made for sticky situations. Storage space up front is limited, partly because Mazda dedicates a significant portion of the center-console real estate to decorative trim and the infotainment controls.

My test vehicle had standard second-row captain's chairs, which limited its passenger capacity to seven. They sit high and there isn't much room to spare, but they're comfortable. The CX-90's rear doors are excessively long, so loading passengers can be challenging in tight parking situations.

People in the second row must slide forward to accommodate adults in the third row. It's comfortable enough back there for shorter trips, but it isn't a place a grown-up will want to spend much time. Better to fold it when unused, expanding the cargo space from 14.9 cubic-feet to 40 cubes. Fold the second row, and the CX-90 can carry 74.2 cu-ft of cargo, which is less than many of Mazda's three-row crossover rivals.

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Mazda Provides Essential Tech, but the CX-90 Lags Rivals

Mazda pairs a 12.3-inch digital driver display with a 12.3-inch infotainment display. The lovely gauge panel is a model of clarity, and the infotainment system looks great, as well. But, unless you're using the wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connectivity, it lacks touchscreen operation. Instead, you must use the controls on the center console. If you're new to Mazda, the interface takes some getting used to.

This approach wouldn't be so bad if the CX-90 had a conversational digital voice assistant. But it doesn't. To its credit, however, when I told the voice recognition system I needed to go to a hospital — one of my standard queries when testing new cars — it provided a list of choices, and all of them were hospitals, without veterinary facilities, cosmetic surgery centers, and other nonsense sprinkled into the results.

My test vehicle had a 12-speaker Bose audio system that sounded good. It also featured one of my favorite head-up display designs because it shows when other cars are in the SUV's blind spots.

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In addition to a blind-spot warning system, the CX-90 includes the typical advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) that you expect in a modern family-size SUV. Not only that, but it also earns a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a distinction it shares with just five other midsize three-row SUVs.

Overall, the ADAS works as expected, but the blind-spot warning system provides an extra margin of error, so you'll hear from it often. The test vehicle's Cruising and Traffic Support (CTS) system pairs adaptive cruise control with lane-centering assistance, the latter of which is available only at speeds of 35 mph or less. It reactively reduces speed in some curves by too much, making the tech unpleasant to use on anything but a straight interstate. Overall, the CTS system is not a competitive technology in a segment where alternatives offer hands-free driving systems.

Furthermore, in addition to frequently hearing from the blind-spot warning system, I thought there were too many dings, dongs, chirps, and chimes from the CX-90 safety systems. It got old fast.

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Needs Refinement in Daily Driving Situations

Three powertrains are available in the 2025 CX-90. My test vehicle was equipped with the standard turbocharged 3.3-liter inline-six-cylinder engine that produces 280 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. An eight-speed automatic transmission powers all four wheels through a standard all-wheel-drive system, and the CX-90 offers 8 inches of ground clearance.

A 48-volt mild-hybrid system helps maximize efficiency, contributing to a fuel-economy rating of 25 mpg in combined city and highway driving. I averaged 21.3 mpg on my evaluation loop.

Mazda equips the CX-90 with its Kinematic Posture Control system, which enhances the ride and handling. Undoubtedly, this SUV drives with impressive athleticism, but I think Mazda needs to pay similar attention to other details.

For example, when driving on Los Angeles freeways, a resonance from the road caused the second-row head restraints to vibrate, and it was clearly visible in the rearview mirror each time I checked traffic behind the SUV. Generally, the CX-90 allowed too much wind roar, road noise, and, on bumps, occasional metallic clanging from the suspension components to enter the cabin.

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But the most surprising thing is the drivetrain's lack of refinement. I expected the turbocharged straight-six to feel and sound as creamy and smooth as French butter, but its sound and sensation were far from it. Furthermore, when the engine was cold, the powertrain demonstrated uneven response to accelerator inputs and clunky transmission shifts.

These traits are unexpected in a Mazda, and because I've noticed them in other CX-70 and CX-90 models, I don't believe they're anomalies restricted to the test vehicle. Otherwise, the CX-90 is delightful to drive. On the mountain-road portion of my testing loop, it even delivered on Mazda's "jinba ittai" (horse and rider as one) dynamic promise. Well, to the extent a family-sized three-row SUV can.

Overall, I like the CX-90 significantly more than I did its predecessor, the CX-9.

Christian Wardlaw

Is the 2025 Mazda CX-90 a Good SUV?

In my opinion, Mazda needs to improve the CX-90. While the sheer number of audible warnings issued by the safety systems is irritating and the native infotainment system interface is aggravating, you can adjust the former by altering the settings and work around the latter by using the wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto technology. You can even get used to some of the quirky controls in this SUV.

Resolving the noise, vibration, and harshness issues, as well as the dissatisfying drivetrain sounds and sensations, will require engineering work. Nevertheless, I like the 2025 Mazda CX-90 as it is. It looks great, rides and handles well, is comfortable, and, above all, is safe in the event of a collision. Not only that, but a plug-in hybrid version is also available, offering 26 miles of electric-only range and 25 mpg in combined driving when using the gas engine.

Christian Wardlaw

Chris says his first word was "car." For as long as he can remember, he's been obsessed with them. The design. The engineering. The performance. And the purpose. He is a car enthusiast who loves to drive, but is most passionate about the cars, trucks, and SUVs that people actually buy. He began his career as the editor-in-chief of Edmunds.com in the 1990s, and for more than 30 years has created automotive content for CarGurus, J.D. Power, Kelley Blue Book, the New York Daily News, and others. Chris owns Speedy Daddy Media, has been contributing to Capital One Auto Navigator since 2019, and lives in California with his wife, kids, dog, and 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata.