2025 Mazda CX-70 PHEV First Test: This Won’t Come as a Surprise
Turns out removing a few seats from an SUV doesn’t do much for performance or driving experience.
Pros
- Looks rather pretty
- Good range and driving manners in EV mode
- Potentially a better SUV than CX-90
Cons
- Suspect shifter controls an unrefined transmission
- Ride is on the firm side
- Might poke you in the leg
Welcome to our First Test of the 2025 Mazda CX-90 PHEV. Wait, hang on, what SUV is this? It’s not a CX-90? But it looks exactly the same and has identical performance. Hold up, doesn’t the CX-90 have three rows of seats? Because this one only has two rows. Ah, that’s right—let's start again. Welcome to our First Test of the 2025 Mazda CX-70 PHEV.
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Mazda launched the CX-70 for 2025, one year after the CX-90. The two SUVs are nearly indistinguishable, differentiated only by minor aesthetic details and what’s behind the second row. Otherwise, the CX-70 and CX-90 share features, technology, design, dynamics, and powertrains, the available plug-in hybrid version of which is assessed here. We hope you’ll read this review of the CX-70 PHEV, but if you already know about the CX-90 PHEV, well, there’s not much more for you to discover.
Mazda’s Version of That Spider Man Meme
Are the CX-70 and CX-90 really so alike? Yes. Every body panel between them is shared; only the bumpers, wheels, and available interior and exterior colors are different. This isn’t to suggest that visual appeal is lacking—rather, our CX-70 PHEV test vehicle looked ravishing in its exclusive Melting Copper Metallic paint.
Functionally, the key distinction between the CX-70 and CX-90 is a third row, which only the CX-90 has. In place of that, the CX-70 has a larger cargo area—yet the presence of vestigial third-row cupholders in the CX-70 indicate Mazda’s slapdash approach in creating this decidedly two-row SUV.
Trim levels offered and a single safety feature in the CX-70 that’ll likely soon arrive in the CX-90 are other subtle distinguishing features. Mechanically, the two are identical.
Advantages or Flukes?
In both SUVs, the plug-in hybrid powertrain is centered around a 2.5-liter I-4 engine that combines with an electric motor inside the Mazda-developed eight-speed automatic transmission. It produces a total of 323 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque and can provide up to 26 miles of all-electric driving range. That output hits the ground through a rear-drive-biased all-wheel-drive system.
Perhaps it’s not perfectly accurate to state that the CX-70 PHEV and CX-90 PHEV have identical performance. Each SUV eked out advantages in different tests. But the results are so close that we must attribute them to variables such as surface conditions at the California track where we tested the CX-70 and the Michigan location where we ran the CX-90. The CX-70's slightly lower weight is a potential factor, too. Wherever you might drive, though, you’ll be unable to feel a difference. You can skip to the next section if you don’t want to read the numbers, but they drive home the point.
In 0–60-mph acceleration, the CX-70 PHEV hit the mark in 6.0 seconds, 0.2 quicker than the CX-90 PHEV. In the quarter mile, the CX-70 PHEV’s 14.4-second pass at 97.1 mph is a blink ahead of the CX-90's 14.6-second, 95.8-mph result. Achieving a strong launch is a matter of simply matting the accelerator, and the four-pot emits an enjoyably burly sound throughout.
Falken Ziex all-season tires measuring 275/45R21 are used on both, so those don’t account for the CX-70 PHEV’s 124-foot 60–0-mph stopping distance, a full 10 feet behind the CX-90 PHEV. Instead, the unique properties of the California track where we assessed the CX-70 slightly differ from those of the Michigan track where the CX-90 was tested; a different, heavier CX-90 PHEV tested in California stopped in 129 feet and accelerated a tenth slower.
Both SUVs are quite sporty for their category, pleasing our drivers in handling tests. The CX-70 PHEV gripped the skidpad at 0.80 g average, about the same as the CX-90 PHEV’s 0.79 g average result. Similarly, the two-row vehicle’s 26.9-second, 0.66 g average figure-eight lap is the exact same time but only 0.02 g average above the best we’ve achieved in the three-row.
Quick note: The lighter 3.3-liter turbocharged I-6 powertrain offered in the CX-70 and CX-90 makes slightly more power than the PHEV system and equal torque. It yields test results slightly slower than those of the electrified powertrain.
Sporty Isn’t Enough
From our earliest drives of the CX-90, we’ve praised the SUV’s poised and driver-oriented personality. Those dynamics transmute to the CX-70, though a firm suspension tune is applied to keep it propped up in corners. In EV mode, both remain steadfastly dedicated to keeping the engine off; there’s enough pep available from the motor alone to get around when the battery is charged. Similarities persist in their shared refinement foibles and ergonomic oddities.
Most of our complaints relate to the transmission. It was a target of ire in our CX-90 PHEV long-term review vehicle, prone to stutters, shudders, and hesitations through varied driving conditions, particularly at low speeds. We experienced these in this CX-70 PHEV, too.
Relatedly, the shift lever’s unusual action has left some MotorTrend editors with the opinion that it’s dangerous. It doesn’t return to park automatically; for example, you can be in reverse, turn the engine off, and see in the gauge cluster that the transmission goes to park, but the shifter itself physically remains in reverse. You must push the shifter into park before the engine starts again, but the potential for confusion about what position the transmission is in is too high.
Design and materials in the cabin support Mazda’s upmarket aims. The presence of abundant physical buttons for climate controls is appreciated. However, the infotainment system has strange functionality, not least of which being that it's only a touchscreen at certain times in certain functions. For all the thoughtful details inside, we remain baffled by the design team’s oversight of how the outermost dashboard air vents turn into spikes revealed when the front doors are opened. Long-limbed drivers are advised to watch their knees as they climb inside.
Speaking of climbing inside, the CX-70 avoids a shortcoming of the CX-90 in that it doesn’t have a third-row seat. The CX-90's third row is too small and tricky to access to be useful, so the CX-70 gains appeal by presenting an impressively capacious cargo area behind the second row in lieu of extra seating—this vehicle makes more sense as a two-row rather than a three-row. It would’ve been nice if Mazda had repositioned the CX-70's second-row bench seat to provide more legroom since that wouldn’t squeeze any passengers behind, but like the leftover cupholders, such a change seems to have been outside of the automaker’s budget.
CX-70 PHEV vs. CX-90 PHEV: Either or Neither?
That notion generally encompasses our disenchantment with these SUVs. Both look good, offer useful EV range, and drive nicely enough. But when the CX-90 effectively becomes a CX-70 by simply folding down its third row, we question why Mazda endeavored to create a dedicated two-row version. The CX-70 deserved more meaningful differentiation, whether in design, performance, or feel from behind the wheel.
Alex's earliest memory is of a teal 1993 Ford Aspire, the car that sparked his automotive obsession. He's never driven that tiny hatchback—at six feet, 10 inches tall, he likely wouldn't fit—but has assessed hundreds of other vehicles, sharing his insights on MotorTrend as a writer and video host.
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