Mazda Aims for Premium with the Big, Bold, All-New CX-90 Crossover

• Mazda moves decidedly upscale with a fully redesigned three-row crossover.

• An all-new 3.3-liter straight-six makes 340 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque, enough to rival some of the sportier entries in the segment.

• The exterior is smooth, while the interior is downright comfy.

Nobody alive remembers Amati, Mazda’s foiled and failed attempt to start its own Lexus/Acura/Infiniti luxury sub-brand in 1991. But it did try once. A recession was the death knell of that noble effort, and Mazda never tried it again. But now Mazda is once again trying to move upscale with the launch of this big, bold, and some could even argue beautiful crossover utility vehicle, the CX-90.

On paper, and also looking at it in the sheetmetal, the all-new CX-90 is promising. The big CUV has several credentials that suggest it might be among the sportier such vehicles in the class:

• A 340-hp 3.3-liter turbocharged straight-six powering all four wheels (with a rear-wheel bias when it comes to torque split)

• An eight-speed automatic where so many other brands are using irritating CVTs

• A double-wishbone front suspension in the space freed up by that straight-six and tuned for “an engaging driving experience”

“We design vehicles and engineer them to a feeling, not just to a specification,” said Mazda North America Operations President and CEO Jeffrey Guyton at the CX-90’s reveal. “And whether that’s in the MX-5 Miata that I’m sure you’re familiar with, or the (best-selling) CX-5, which you’re probably also familiar with, we try to raise the bar in every segment where we compete. And we’re going to do that again today.”

In the lineup you could say the CX-90 replaces the former heavyweight champion CX-9. It is bigger in almost every measurement inside and out, and more powerful than anything Mazda’s ever made.