If you need a traditionalist SUV with lots of room and a conventional layout, you’d be wise to add a stop at your local Mazda dealer to your shopping trip. Mazda is just rolling out its 2024 CX-90 premium SUVs, with three rows of seats, and riding on an all-new platform that packages a front engine with rear-drive bias into the CX-90. The Performance Oriented Platform, as it’s called, is a new base for present and future rear-drive vehicles at Mazda, whether they incorporate petroleum fuel, a hybrid powertrain or full EV operation.
While the CX-90’s hybrid driveline is based around the familiar Mazda 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, buyers who insist on traditional gasoline-fueled performance will not feel abandoned. The CX-90 can be specified with the e-Skyactiv G 3.3-liter turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine, which is rated by the manufacturer at 323 horsepower when premium fuel is used. This powertrain is equipped with a mild-hybrid driveline evolution that places an electric motor between the engind and transmission, offering both gas-burning go and a strong measure of efficiency. All CX-90 powertrains are mated to a new Mazda eight-speed automatic transmission. To accomodate the longitudinal electric-boosted powertrain, the transmission does away with the conventional torque converter.
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