2024 Mazda CX-90 long-term update: CX-70 playdate edition
In our review of the 2025 Mazda CX-70, West Coast Editor James Riswick plainly referred to it as a two-door CX-90. Now, we love a little hyperbole around here — a little grandiosity seems appropriate from time to time — but in this particular instance, I’m here to confirm that in this case, it’s the literal truth. And I don’t mean that in the millennial way, but rather the old Merriam-Webster way. Apart from the seating arrangements, the 2024 Mazda CX-90 and CX-70 are identical. Not within an inch or two or even a millimeter, but exactly the same. But hey, don’t take my word for it. Let me show you.
Sure, angles can be deceiving, but there’s no need for deception here. That’s our long-term CX-90 to the left and the CX-70 on the right. No, we didn’t ask for a CX-70 in white, but apparently whoever is in charge of Mazda’s fleet has either an incredibly strict sense of order or a completely haywire sense of humor. Either way, this certainly helps our argument. Let’s get them side-by-side and compare.
The CX-90 (foreground) didn’t look grungy until it was lined up next to the CX-70. Oops. But as we can see here, they match up perfectly. Our CX-70 loaner was better equipped than our long-term CX-90, hence the blacked out mirror caps, but I think I prefer the wheels on our CX-90. The additional brightwork on the CX-70’s doesn’t work as well against the white car, in my opinion. But now that we’ve covered the obvious overlap, let’s take a look at what differentiates them.
I’ve kept the CX-90 on the left for convenience’s sake. Note the quilted leather in the CX-70 loaner. It feels as good as it looks, too. None of the leather in my old Mazdas felt this nice, that’s for sure. As you can see, the CX-70 has a cargo shade running behind the second row and has storage cubbies rather than cupholders flanking the space where the third-row bench would go in a CX-90. The second- and first-row seats are in the same positions in both cars.
As you can see, the CX-90’s (still left!) cargo area is tiny compared to the 70’s. You can see the groove for the cargo shade is molded into the cargo area side-plastic on both cars. Both have 12- and 120-volt power outlets on the right side of the cargo area too.
Since the third-row seats are within easy reach, our CX-90 has simple manual pull releases for the two halves of the bench. Since the same is not true of the CX-70, Mazda threw owners a bone with a pair of buttons. In our long-term CX-90, these two releases are replaced by a 1,500-watt power outlet and a switch to turn it on or off.
Of the three “cons” we list in our review of the 2024 CX-70, the most obvious is this one: “Otherwise the identical three-row CX-90 is more versatile.” I think these pics say it all. There are those out there for whom the larger cargo area of the CX-70 may make more sense, but for the vast majority of buyers shopping for something this size, the CX-90 is the better bet. (The positions are reversed in this final image; CX-90 is now on the right. Just seeing if you’re paying attention.)
