The 2025 Mazda CX-70 Turbo S Premium 2-Row SUV Looks Like a Winner, but What Did Our Testing Reveal?

The two-row 2025 Mazda CX-70 arrived after Mazda introduced the three-row CX-90 last year. Dimensionally, they are identical, but the CX-70 offers more cargo space and unique styling. You can always fold down a third row, but if a clean-cut, spacious cargo area is more important than extra seats, the CX-70 should be your focus in the Mazda SUV lineup.

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Powertrain

A 3.3-liter straight-six, Mazda's most powerful production engine, is standard equipment in the CX-70 Turbo S Premium we had in for testing. Its single turbo shoves a potent enough air/fuel mixture through the cylinders to crank out 340 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque with premium fuel, and a 48-volt 17-hp electric motor with 113 lb-ft of torque kicks in to assist the engine and save some fuel. (You’ll lose a few ponies burning regular, but the six-banger is designed for both.) Those are impressive figures, but the CX-70 doesn’t always show it. Other vehicles we've tested from Mazda like the CX-30 and the CX-50 Meridian Edition are ready to blast through the gate when you overlap the gas and brake, but the CX-70 barely lets out a yawn. It does have an off-road driving mode, the prerequisite to turn off traction control in Mazda SUVs, but the CX-70 doesn't launch hard enough to risk burning any rubber.

Does anyone care how hard their Mazda SUV launches, though? Outside of the rotary engine and Miata fan clubs, probably not. Its 6.3-second 0–60-mph run flows into a 14.8-second quarter-mile time at 96.7 mph. That’s quick for a 4,862-pound SUV, so if you’re in a hurry, it can be, too. It’s tempting to think the eager personalities of the smaller SUVs are an inconsistency in the lineup, but the tuning differences make those smaller powertrains feel more alive, while the CX-70 Turbo S Premium balances its plentiful power.

And it sounds incredible, thanks to Mazda’s Induction Sound Enhancer (ISE). Instead of pumping fake noises through the 12-speaker Bose stereo—standard on the Turbo S Premium—a tuned pipe directs the intake sound into the cabin. Turn down the stereo, and you’ll hear the valvetrain’s throaty, harmonic symphony when you smash the throttle. Keep it at a normal volume, and the engine note disappears into the background. But nothing is perfect, and when the I-6 hits about 5,500 rpm, the floor vibrates under the driver’s feet and a booming resonance can be heard briefly inside. Shifts under heavier throttle happen between 6,100 and 6,500 rpm, so you’ll hear it often enough. It sounds like an exhaust resonance, but because we know intake noise is being directed inside the cabin, that’s likely the culprit.

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Handling

When you really start to push Mazda's current lineup of SUVs, they all stand out as shockingly good drivers, and the CX-70 is no exception. It hides its weight and size well, evident in our figure-eight testing. With a 26.9-second lap time at a 0.67-g average—a few 10ths better than the CX-90 with the same powertrain—it was quicker than we expected. Acceleration and braking are factored into that average, so the 0.83-g average around the skidpad tells the story even better. In the CX-70’s case, that means it should stay planted during evasive maneuvers, and highway exits and entries at speed.

Stability control is always active in the CX-70, but we had way more fun than most controls would ever allow. Braking late into the turns, momentum rotated the SUV gracefully as we transitioned back to the gas, nudging it to the bleeding edge of grip as the nose tucked in. Turn in a little harder, get on the gas sooner, and the CX-70 would let us carry a shallow drift with little effort, telling us the all-wheel drive and stability controls work expertly enough to make people feel like they’re better drivers than they are. Will drifting ever be relevant for CX-70 buyers? You can save that for the abovementioned fan clubs, but this Mazda proved it can stay under control at the most extreme limits.

The brakes are more than sufficient, with a stopping distance of 111 feet from 60 mph to a halt. The pedal is easy to control, with a moderately stiff response and enough “spring” to feel comfortable during controlled stops. However, suddenly increasing braking effort mid-stop does make them bite more than expected.

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Need a Workout?

The CX-70 has plenty of stopping power, more than enough passing power on the expressway, and it can leave a light faster than you need to, but most of the performance in the figure eight is due to the Mazda's handling. As good as it is, though, the steering needs work. It can feel like a bus at times, not because it's heavy and awkward (it isn’t), but because of the steering ratio: It takes 3.3 turns to steer from one end of the rack to the other, making the Mazda slow to react.

If that number doesn't mean anything to you, closer to two revolutions would make it feel sporty and responsive. Over three turns, and vehicles start to handle like farm equipment. Start turning, and your eyes expect movement in the horizon, but you get a lot of motion from the steering wheel and not much actual turning. Park a boat at a dock, and you’ll understand what navigating around a gas station feels like.

On the highway, this translates to small, controlled movements, so there is a benefit somewhere. You can feel the weighting change when you enter a turn, getting heavier and helping hold the desired position, and lightening up when straightening out again. If you’re OK honing your “wax on, wax off” karate moves, then you’ll adapt at slower speeds and will find highway driving relaxing and effortless.

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On the Road

We've had a lot to say about the eight-speed automatic transmission in our long-term CX-90, and we have to repeat some of it for the CX-70. The former has a plug-in hybrid electric powertrain, but now that we've driven an ICE powertrain connected to the eight-speed, we have more insight into the gearbox. It feels better in the CX-70, but it still can’t make up its mind with any kind of conviction. But put it in Sport mode while leaving the rest of the dynamics comfortable, and the transmission seems to get smarter. That’s an easy fix, but you shouldn’t have to remember to change drive modes every time you get in the car. It’s livable, but there is room for improvement.

What Mazda did nail is the feature set, and that’s the biggest reason to consider the CX-70. Our Turbo S Premium came with standard heated and ventilated front seats, rear heated seats, and a leather heated steering wheel. Power folding heated and auto-dimming side mirrors keep away ice and glare. The second row stows electronically from the rear cargo area, taking 39.6 cubic feet of cargo space to 75.3 cubic feet. Other standard features for the Turbo S Premium include rain-sensing windshield wipers, wireless phone charging, a panoramic moonroof, power tilt and telescoping steering column, second-row window sunshades, and a hands-free liftgate.

The Turbo S Premium is available in black or red Nappa leather seating. Our tester was red—a stunning contrast to the Jet Black Mica exterior. The CX-70 has unique, blacked-out components compared to other Mazda SUVs, so the red leather stands out against the piano black side mirrors, roof rails, rear spoiler, front grille, pillars, and fender badges. Top it all off with 21-inch, two-tone black machined wheels—breaking up the look of very tall and flat doors—and the CX-70 artfully captures modern design trends.

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Look but Can’t Touch

A 12.3-inch center display is standard across CX-70 trims, but the S Premium upgrades the 7.0-inch driver display to a matching 12.3-inch screen with a head-up display (standard for Premium and up). The CX-70 is supposed to have wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but we never got Android Auto to work without a USB cable. On our long-term CX-90, we don’t have trouble with it.

That’s hardly an issue compared to the touchscreen that you can’t reach very easily. It does work as a touchscreen with phone projection, but anyone smaller than average will have a hard time reaching the screen, seemingly positioned to discourage the action anyway. Touchscreens are as common as wheels on today’s cars, so why take them away? Unless the goal was to annoy drivers into using Android Auto and CarPlay for whatever reason, in which case, mission accomplished.

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Take It or Leave It?

All in, our CX-70 Turbo S Premium can be had for $53,905. That’s not a bad deal considering its materials, design, and amenities. It would be the bargain of the year if some of the mechanical bits were more refined. We aren’t talking massive changes here, so we’re hopeful Mazda will continue to work on it. As for the 2025 model, it does what it’s supposed to do very well. If you aren’t looking for the best driving experience on the road, the CX-70 offers great cargo space, easy access to the roomy second row, and it exists as a perfectly functional and comfortable vehicle for the average daily commuter.