The New Mazda CX-70 Sure Looks Familiar

Mazda made a bold step up market last year with a memorable three-row SUV called the CX-90. This year, Mazda is making a less bold step just below that spot on the market with a familiar two-row SUV called the CX-70. Essentially, what Mazda revealed on Tuesday is a CX-90 with one fewer row.

That is good news, because the CX-90 is an excellent crossover. Making the car's two-row variant a completely different model is a strange choice, but one that gives Mazda a competitive mid-sized entry without having to either bring over Europe's CX-60 or design an entirely new car for the American market. Additional black accents on the CX-70 differentiate it from the CX-90, but the untrained eye will have trouble spotting the differences between Mazda's two biggest crossover offerings.

Three powertrain options are available, headlined by a 3.3-liter turbocharged inline-6 setup producing 340 horsepower with the help of a 48-volt hybrid system. The CX-70 can also be had with a 280-hp version of the 3.3-liter hybrid system and a plug-in hybrid producing 323 hp with the help of a 2.5-liter engine. All three are available only with an eight-speed automatic delivering power to all wheels.

Like the CX-90, the interior is notably luxurious for a product on the affordable side. Available red leather is a highlight, one that Mazda claims is inspired by the 100th-anniversary MX-5 variants sold in 2020.

The CX-70 will go on sale in spring of this year. If you cannot wait a few months to get your hands on a Mazda that looks almost exactly like this, the CX-90 has been on sale since last year.

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