2024 Mazda CX-90 Debuts With 340-HP Inline-Six, Banned F1 Tech, and High Levels of Comfort

Kinematic Posture Control works in a pretty similar fashion to McLaren’s brake-steer contraption. The gist of it comes in the form of braking one rear tire - the inside rear tire - during a corner to reduce understeer. Mika Hakkinen cut nearly half a second per lap at Silverstone thanks to this clever piece of technology, which got banned for pretty obvious reasons.

KPC, however, is governed by software. Similar to brake steer, Kinematic Posture Control brakes the inside rear wheel during a corner. Body roll is suppressed, and steering response is made a little more linear. In case of accelerating in the corner, the system is programmed to apply stronger braking to come out of the corner that much better. SUVs are often anything but sporting vehicles. But by integrating KPC in the CX-90, the Japanese automaker showed that it cares a lot about driving enjoyment.

Clearly not your usual sport utility vehicle, this fellow also excels in the oily bits department. Rear-biased AWD comes standard across the board, and in terms of engines, the 340-horsepower sixer takes the cake. The most powerful series-production engine offered by the Hiroshima-based automaker boasts 369 pound-feet (500 Nm). Turbo’d and mild hybrid to boot, it’s connected to an eight-speed automatic that should feel much slicker in every scenario compared to the six-speed unit of the CX-9.

Rather than a torque-converter automatic, the CX-90 uses a multi-speed unit. Mazda promises smooth and direct acceleration while improving efficiency, but we can’t vouch for that for the time being. On the other hand, the multi-speed automatic in the CX-60 is a darn good gearbox.

The small electric drive unit is mounted between the inline-six lump and tranny. Designed to assist the engine at low speeds and low revs, this electric drive unit pales in comparison to what Mazda has prepared for the plug-in hybrid. Marketed as e-Skyactiv PHEV, the more frugal setup cranks out 323 horsepower and the same kind of torque in hybrid mode. A more powerful electric motor is juiced up by a 17.8-kWh battery pack.

Mazda hasn’t provided an estimate for all-electric range, nor do we currently know the miles per gallon for the combined test cycle. Under the WLTP, the CX-60 offers 63 kilometers (39 miles) in zero-emission mode and 1.5 liters per 100 kilometers (156.8 miles per gallon) in hybrid mode. The latter estimate shouldn’t be taken seriously, given that the WLTP still has plenty of things to rectify in order to produce more accurate results.

Blurring the line between volume and premium SUV, the CX-90 sports a modern-looking cabin with a landscape-oriented touchscreen, a digital instrument cluster, yada yada and all that jazz. What really matters - and what prospective customers are most likely interested in - is the quality.

In a nutshell, this Mazda punches above its weight. From the front seats into the third row, the real leather upholstery, wood trim, metal bits and pieces, and tone-on-tone fabrics make the CX-90 a fine SUV to be in.

The dashboard fabric on the dashboard stands out with the help of hanging stitches, inspired by a Japanese weaving technique and the art of bookbinding by hand. If the CX-90 has made the shortlist for your next family-oriented SUV, bear in mind that pricing isn’t available right now. Mazda expects the newcomer to become available this coming spring, which means that it is going to arrive in your garage as a 2024 model.

In regard to competitors, the most obvious of the bunch is the Ford Explorer. Plenty of midsizers are currently on sale in this part of the world, but the Explorer seems to be the most obvious competitor, given its popularity and rear-wheel-drive platform. Twinned with the much plusher Lincoln Aviator, the Explorer can be yours from $37,760 sans freight.