Mazda CX-90 PHEV plug-in hybrid OWNERS REVIEW. A $42,000 8 passenger AWD SUV that gets 50+ mpg

[@victormoreno2767]

Wow, I have never seen this perspective with any of the other reviewers, you really differentiate yourself as a reviewer. Congrats!

[@NRNaylor]

I appreciate that!

[@robertwilliam9558]

It's nice to see a real world review on KZbin. Thank You

[@Pleezel23]

the algorithm brought me here, and despite the vertical orientation, this was a thorough and well shot review which has convinced me to take a test drive. The sticker price is just bananas low for wha it looks your got there. Hoping the ‘25 is just as nice.

[@NRNaylor]

Update: just crossed 16k miles and one year of ownership. At dealer now getting inspection and a recall done (I think the 3rd, although I’ve had no drivability issues etc). Dealer is 22 miles away. Started w/full charge saying 29miles of range. Got here on all EV with 9 miles left on range (implying I could have gone 31). 72 degrees this am so no HVAC use and mostly two lane roads. Either way just sharing that after a year of significant use battery range is as good as it was new.

[@kevinW826]

According to Mazdas website it needs premium gas. Can you confirm that?

[@NRNaylor]

@ recommended, not required. Loses a few HP supposedly on regular gas. We use regular gas.

[@kevinW826]

@NRNaylor thanks I just wanted to confirm because the base model 6 cylinder uses regular gas but the top trims use premium and the phev on Mazda Canadas website says required premium last time I checked

[@1089S]

I have a cx90 and so far i have 1000 miles on it. I have installed a level 2 charger and it is much faster than level 1. So far, i have used less than 1/4 tank of gas! We have set our Air Condition at home in such way that our total electric bill is now less than what we use to pay. That is, the saving from AC is enough to charge the car!

[@edwardwu564]

The gap in front of the engine was the size difference between the 2.5T and 3.3T engine, another 3.3 inline 6 engine fill that gap nicely

[@ccntwc]

Nice review from an owner’s POV

[@a6250mafm]

Great review and thank you for sharing.

[@Collingwoodharbour]

Excellent video. We've had the CX-90 PHEV for about 3 months now in Canada. We purchased the top of the line model here called the "GT" for the equivalent of $48,337 US (not including rebates). We only got a $2,500 Cdn rebate on the price since it just gets 42 km of electric only driving. It if was over 50 km we'd have gotten a $5,000 Cdn $ rebate. Most of my driving (small town on Georgian Bay) is local so most of it is electric. It can get very cold here (not this year yet) but since we have underground parking it never gets below about 8 Deg C. We also decided to lease the vehicle (first time ever) since it is new technology for Mazda and things are changing very quickly. As long as the return on our investments at least match the interest rate on the lease then it isn't really costing any extra for the lease.

[@awsstvawsstv2809]

Hi there, how is it doing in cold weather range wise? Hope you can share some info. Also does it have heat pump. Do you find it useful in the cold. Thanks

[@wattheheck6010]

I'm taking a serious look at the 70 vs 90. Your video helped considerably. Thanks.

[@Holyheart1]

What difference did you see any between the two? Seems the 70 is more expensive

[@wattheheck6010]

@@Holyheart1 I ended up not buying the PHEV model primarily because neither the 70 & 90 use fast DC charging stations. I did buy the CX70 3.3 Turbo S Premium Plus (non-PHEV) with no regrets. My dealer in Gulfport, MS met my second counter offer at what I thought was a fair price (lower than the cost of the CX90). The third row didn't interest me as I wanted more storage area instead of a folded seat I'd never use. MSRP for the CX90 Premium Plus is $57,950 vs $57,450 for the PHEV CX70. Hope that helps you.

[@Holyheart1]

@@wattheheck6010 yes that helps so you don't mind the 25mpg ? Just curious.

[@Holyheart1]

@ so I'm not to up To date on electric car stuff what is the DC charging station mean ? Like at stores and places like that

[@wattheheck6010]

@@Holyheart1 Nope. 25 mpg is higher than what I was getting in my pickup. Typically, I keep a vehicle about 3-5 years.

[@susansammy5448]

I also leased a PP PHEV, coming off a CX-9 GT, the big reason was the $7500 lease cash + $500 loyalty cash, and additional discounts... that dropped the price from $58.9k to $47k... my monthly is $603/mo.. only initial fees.. never put any down-payment on a lease

[@Bonzi_Buddy]

How does this work? This is a lease not a purchase? Well… no thanks at that price.

[@samsonlee8493]

Yes a lease.. different terms, but u rather lease than buy...

[@djkenny1202]

Why Lease? That’s a LOT to “borrow”.

[@Holyheart1]

If you keep it how much will it cost you ?

[@sostareci]

Beautiful car

[@Holyheart1]

Great video I'm going to look today at CX 50 70 90 we'll see Thanks

[@RatishKP]

Thank you for this video! I loved the Premium & Premium plus trim but since we need to put a car seat and needed a bench, the only option is Preferred which has a smaller sun roof and no navigation. I was looking for a video about Preferred and this suddenly popped on my feed! How is the car without the navigation? going for a test drive this week for Preferred!

[@NRNaylor]

Our reasons were the same-needed that middle bench. I don’t miss navigation at all we use Apple CarPlay & it works perfectly

[@anthonyf7169]

I had a 2014 Accord hybrid in North Dakota (-30F winter). The accord ran on gas for about 30 mins to warm engine and cabin at that extreme. So engineers are factoring in battery limitations during very cold weather. At the same time I still have a BMW x5 plug in hybrid. It is similar engineering. The bmw will not even let EV mode be forced when super cold out. Notably the accord used engine core heat during the cold while the bmw wouldn’t start the engine solely for cabin heating. The both would start the ice sooner the colder it got when demanding more acceleration. I don’t know if the bmw has a heat pump or not. Currently considering the cx90 and 45e to replace my 40e.

[@willylai2798]

This is a good unique take on the CX-90 from the financial perspective. Good insights. $7500 off the cost of car is not insignificant.

[@NRNaylor]

Thanks. That’s what I was trying to do, tell the ownership story including bottom line which most car reviewers don’t cover in depth

[@colusa5]

Great video! We've had our Premium Plus for a week now and loving it so far. To your point about the cold stops, that's definitely a concern of mine especially since we're still breaking it in. Did you guys try to do mostly gaa during that break in period?

[@NRNaylor]

We’ve really used electric as much as possible from the start. We did take a couple longer road trips which put miles on the gas motor and hopefully got us through a proper “break in”. I also figure that since we drive more than 50% on electric, then maybe when the vehicle has 100k on it, the gas motor has

[@PrestonHon]

Leasing the same exact vehicle as you (the quartz 2024 Mazda CX-90 PHEV). We've had ours for about a month and a half. Our MPG is 24 and our EV range is about 22 miles (but we are in Arizona during summer). We do a lot of highway and freeway so that could be why. Have you had any bad experiences with your car since you made this video? I know some people have had some transmission issues and other first model year issues. We came from a 2016 CX-9 Signature. We lost out on a few features like the backup sensors, heads up display, and Bose speakers but gained others like the 8 seating, usb c ports, better Carplay/Android Auto integration, better A/C with vents in the back, and of course the PHEV tech. Overall we have loved it so far. It can handle off-roading just fine (we went hunting as well) and we have loaded the crossbars on top of the car with a lot of stuff and it handles it just fine.

[@NRNaylor]

Yeah I would assume you'll see better mileage once the weather cools. We get 26-30 in our normal driving when the battery runs out, but we have a good amount of semi-rural two lane driving which is good for mpg. No bad experiences...we did have a few recalls and had a squeaky front suspension until one recall resolved that. So we've been to the dealer a couple times but it was generally at scheduled service time anyways and the recall service was quick. We've got 15k miles on it now. We really do love it, it is a true jack of all trades master of none vehicle, but that's ok, it's a family car for us and we need something that can do it all modestly, which this does better than anything else IMO

[@rajkaur9829]

Thankyou for your video, very helpful.

[@studio4life1]

Great video! How’s your charging experience esp when you charge it outside of garage in snow storm or during freezing weather??? I can’t find any videos on that. I live in east coast where winter last for 8 months😢 and don’t have garage. Thank you

[@NRNaylor]

We originally had a cord running under the garage door and plugged into a 120V outlet in the garage. That circuit would trip sometimes because it was on the same circuit as a freezer, a lot of other charging power tools, etc. So we had an electrician put in an additional breaker dedicated to this and run to an outside box. So we plug in outside now, have had zero issues all through the winter. Some subfreezing temps here in Virginia, but a LOT of rain. No issues.

[@willlee1338]

Many people don’t seem to realize that pure ev mode on cx90 is actually more expensive. 17.8 kWh is almost $5 of electricity which only gives you 20 to 25 miles of range. One gallon of premium gas is around $4.2 in my area, which likely will provide more than 25 miles. So I don’t understand why people would want to use this vehicle as a pure ev.

[@rock-itsurf]

That’s not right…it’s 33% cheaper for me to run on electricity. I pay $.13 per kWh so $2.31 to fill battery to run 26 miles. A gallon of gas covers same distance and runs me $3.45 right now here. National average kWh is $.14 so most people will see savings if gas stays where it is or increases in price.

[@ausafansari3489]

Wow. Gas is so expensive there. In Toronto , off peak hours , electricity is $0.09 kwh plus premium gas would be 5.25 USD per gallon for premium

[@bobbypaluga4346]

@@rock-itsurf I’m in Phoenix we pay .0950 per kilowatt hour so it costs me $1.80 to charge the CX90 battery gas is $3.49 a gallon.

[@Holyheart1]

Great video I'm going to look today at CX 50 70 90 we'll see died the car require premium gas? Thanks

[@NRNaylor]

they say "premium gas recommended" but we just put regular 87 in it. My understanding is not using premium decreases horsepower a bit but does no harm otherwise

[@bobbypaluga4346]

@@Holyheart1 I just use regular unleaded in the CX90 PHEV and very little at that

[@Holyheart1]

@ so I would imagine you plug in every night ? Have you seen a big increase in electric bill ? Thank

[@NRNaylor]

@@Holyheart1yes we plug in most every night and electric bill does go up. The battery is 17kwh so say we charge from empty 20x per month. Our electric rate is $0.13/kwh. That means electric bill raises $44/mo which is inline with what we’ve seen

[@Holyheart1]

@@NRNaylor great info thanks we looked at the cx90 yesterday like it just alot of $ Thanks

[@glennclarke9442]

THAnk YOU. We are the same height so I WAS wondering how someone our height would fit.

[@k-loud2115]

Thanks for extremely useful video, this review is very unique and I was looking for it long time, I’m a father of 5 member family, with 3 kids it’s very tricky to decide what to select when it’s come to 3 row suv. I had Mazda cx-9 previously and I love that suv. But with increasing demands for kids legs space I leased 2023 Nissan pathfinder and it will end in 2025 beginning. I awaiting to go for CX-90 Plug in hybrid model. I have one question for you, how was fuel efficiency in city the driving?

[@xiongpaolee]

Very insightful, thanks for sharing!

[@skanderchida9174]

Best review so far. Kudos. I wonder if the electric motor is a custom proprietary and patented technology from Mazda, which consists of the adaptation of the rotary motor, that they turned into an electric motor.

[@ervlichterman4714]

The rotary Mazdas were very reliable. 7 consecutive IMSA racing championships. First Japanese car to win the 24 Hours of LeMans.

[@FRauf-n4r]

Great review, how much difference you feel in the drive , ride and handling between this and online 6 turbo? Did you also drive the grand highlander ?

[@NRNaylor]

you do feel some difference in the throttle feel as it transitions between electric and gas, so the inline 6 is more consistently smooth. Ride and handling seem the same, and the acceleration/power of the PHEV is every bit as good, or at least feels like you're not missing out on power. I did not drive the Grand Highlander, although I have sat in one. It's definitely roomier, feels more comfortable, etc. I just find the CX-90 to be much more interesting, upscale looking, fun to drive, and the value proposition with the lease credit is strong.

[@therealstablemacaw521]

Amazing video. Thank you!! Did you trade in your minivan? Could you tell me how trading in affects lease prices/ monthly payments?

[@NRNaylor]

No, we sold the minivan privately. We did put $5500 down which essentially just goes towards lowering lease payments.

[@anandajothimuttayane6042]

I am planning to get one,Will you not pay the remaining lease amount + residual value when you buy out early? Can you please explain

[@hukmai]

Definitely competitive pricing, kinda interesting how mazda made the cx90 twins very similar just augmented for use case, where the phev is basically a 2.5L with a "free half gallon tank" at 17.8kwh. With 33kwh equaling apprx 1 gallon of gas. I'm pretty sure the number mazda gives for 17.8kwh battery is the actual usable amount with an additional 1kwh as buffer, 18.8/33= 57 mpge

[@HoaLe-ez1qw]

Thanks for the practical review. Btw, was the tax/fee taken on the original price 50k or after rebate price 42k?

[@NRNaylor]

That is correct; taxes/DMV fees are state-specific. Here in Virginia they came to around $2000

[@NRNaylor]

...also...based on original price before credit

[@HoaLe-ez1qw]

@@NRNaylor thanks, I’m interested in either this or the grand high lander hybrid. I’m sure this cx90 drive much nicer, and the price with rebate is quite attractive.

[@phillipmaloney5364]

Thanks for the review. How quick is it in EV mode? I'm coming from a Mach e GT because I need a 3rd row, and plan to drive in EV mode as much as possible but nervous that it's going to be painfully slow in pure electric.

[@NRNaylor]

The CX-90 in full electric mode will likely disappoint you. It does have good pickup when you keep it in normal mode and the full hybrid effect is on. But in pure electric mode it does not rocket off the line like a Mach E or Tesla does.

[@djkenny1202]

If it can be purchased under $40,000 starting, we make look at them. The Mitsubishi is on my short list because they tend to be very negotiable on price, some $8000 below MSRP. More open to one since we might be adding Solar. We want to purchase and not Lease. We keep our cars 12 years or longer average. I like what Mazda did with these.

[@bobbypaluga4346]

That drivers side vent is a knee killer, I’ve got a huge bruise as a result. It is shaped like an arrow maximizing the hurt. I have the same car it’s captains seats and the pretty blue exterior. I put a down payment on a Toyota Highlander but walked away from it after I saw the CX90.

[@Holyheart1]

I'm going to look at highlander toddy what changed your mind ?

[@bobbypaluga4346]

@ First the leather interior secondly I can run 25 miles per charge before I use any gas. I can run all my errands in 25 miles. It has more kick to the driving and I found the 245 hp Toyota engine to be lacking compared with the Mazda and thirdly you can deal with Mazda dealers while Toyota adds fees to pump up the prices along with dealer added extras you don’t want. The Mazda was $58,000 I paid $53,000 out the door. The Highlander was $54,000 and they wouldn’t take a cent off because I had to wait 3 months to have it built and shipped and if I didn’t complete the transaction they knew they could sell it in 10 minutes having none on the lot.m

[@jeffpabilonia]

if you never plug in, and run in standard mode, what mileage does it get and does it keep the battery fully charged? so if you drove at steady highway speeds, what mileage and range per tankful of gas ?

[@NRNaylor]

The EPA rating has been accurate for us, meaning we get a pretty consistent 26mpg once the EV mode expires. Easy way to think about it is you get about 26 miles on pure electric on a full charge, then after than 26mpg running on gas. The vehicle runs in hybrid mode so switches to electric in low speed situations sometimes, especially stoplights, etc. But for the most part engine is running. It doesn't charge the battery up much, maybe you get a couple miles of range back for pure EV after some drives, but if you want to run on pure EV mode you'll want to plug in again. I've done some rural drives around 55mph constant and gotten low 30's mpg. There's a drive monitor that tracks your mpg per drive which is handy IMO.

[@robertf3340]

Really comprehensive review sir. I appreciate the information and am considering all kinds of SUVs currently, including this one. By the way, and I apologize if I missed it, but have you had any issues or need to return it to the dealer for ANY warranty concerns?

[@NRNaylor]

We've had a couple of recalls addressed at the dealer and had squeaky bushings under the front end that were fixed. About 14K miles so far and all is well

[@AntonLebedev]

Are the roof rails Oem or stock? Curious about thst and the hitch adapter, did that come stock as well?

[@NRNaylor]

@@AntonLebedev they are Mazda accessories we ordered both

[@richardallen1816]

Where do you live, and how cold does it get there?

[@samjam6989]

Did you buy this due to bigger size compared to Rav 4 prime which is very fast and has 40 miles electric range?

[@NRNaylor]

RAV4 too small for us. Grand Highlander is the Toyota equivalent (and no PHEV currently). We need a 3rd row, some towing capacity, and like the RWD bias of the Mazda.

[@carlacaracciolo2052]

how do you run the electric adapter

[@NRNaylor]

it's a standard 120v household plug; nothing special. We were originally running it under the garage door and plugging it into an outlet in the garage. That outlet was on the same circuit as a garage freezer, power tools, etc. and was only 15A. The circuit breaker flipped a couple of times over the past few months when too much voltage was being pulled from all items. So we instead did a small electrical job of a dedicated circuit to an outdoor plug that we now plug into which has been great. If you have outdoor outlets all on a singular circuit that aren't heavily used for other items they would be fine.

[@MrAlvaradodan]

Helpful, thanks

[@stevenziegler2523]

R u still happy with it, any issues? I am interested in this car but have seen many customers who have had steering, bushing and battery issues. TIA

[@rock-itsurf]

Yes, after 12,000 miles we still really like the vehicle. There have been a couple recalls to address a worm gear in the steering and the bushings. We never had any steering issues, but we did have a squeaky front suspension, which was resolved with the bushing fix. We’ve had no battery issues. Still averaging about 60 miles per gallon all in the way we drive and 25+ miles of pure electric on a charge. Really enjoy driving it. I do wish the front seats were more comfortable-our Nissan Quest previously had great seats. That’s the only thing over time that has revealed itself to me.

[@pacificswimmingclub5104]

I've been considering the Mazda CX-90, but after diving into customer reviews, it seems many people have issues with it. It is not as reliable as CX-5.

[@jstrig]

What kind of fuel economy are you getting on the highway/interstate when the battery is depleted and the vehicle is running on the gas engine only?

[@rock-itsurf]

25/26 seems right. Near 30mpg on gas motor only on rural two lanes going ~60mph

[@userchia]

which model is that PHEV? I am in Canada There's no 3 seats on second row. It's pretty frustrating.

[@NRNaylor]

This is the PHEV Preferred model. It's the only model available with the second row bench, which was a requirement for us downsizing from a minivan.

[@userchia]

@@NRNaylor Which trim of the PHEV for this model.?

[@NRNaylor]

@@userchia Preferred (base model)

[@minghanxu7199]

is Touch Screen only offered at higher trim? Is the mazda infotainment easy to use?

[@NRNaylor]

The infotainment is not touch screen. There’s plenty of complaints online about that but honestly I don’t mind. The dial is pretty intuitive and easy to operate

[@susansammy5448]

Have to get the Premium Plus trim to get the 12.25 in screen and touch screen, wireless Android Auto and Car Play

[@eleanormassaro5195]

@@susansammy5448 I think you get it in the premium trim too, don’t you?

[@rustykilt]

I would like to see reviews on vehicles that have done some REAL mileage. It seems if a car does more than 10000 K's without an issue that its an achievement.

[@NRNaylor]

We’ve got 9k miles / 15k km on ours now. Still too early to make any real assumptions…I would think you want 10x more miles to make a real judgement. There’s been a couple of recalls and we had a squeak on the suspension they had to grease. One recall involved the HVAC system that was just a software update. There is a new recall for a steering spring that we have to take the car in for. We have not experienced any driveability issues tied to these recalls.

[@peterkoe5044]

Holy crap ! This guy shit s himself at 5:01 !!!😂😂😂😂😂

[@Rockybalboa541]

the person behind the camera went "hmmm" relax dude

[@peterkoe5044]

@@Rockybalboa541 Nice try.. every person I know that has reviewed this thinks tbe same. Lol.........

[@Rockybalboa541]

@@peterkoe5044 you both should get your ears checked

[@peterkoe5044]

Not both. 10 different people about 5 different TV and surround sound systems. Very high fidelity. Unmistakeable.....Ha ! Bose, Infinity, and JBL.......that nasty old fart.

[@Rockybalboa541]

@@peterkoe5044 i just showed about 30 people and they all agree you have hearing problems

[@truevine336]

How much down payment did you place towards the vehicle to get the payment low?

[@NRNaylor]

We put $5500 down + the $7500 credit and our lease payment came in under $500/mo.

[@therealstablemacaw521]

How long is the duration of the lease and miles/year? What would be the total price to buy it out?

[@NRNaylor]

@@therealstablemacaw521 36 months and 10k miles/year. Buyout price right now is ~$40k, end of lease term we can purchase vehicle for just under $32k. So if we go through the entire lease and then buy it out, we'll pay about $47k for the vehicle. If we just buy it out this year we'll save that $7k difference (but, of course, if we get a loan elsewhere we'll have interest payments that will make that difference less).

[@MIKEVFIT]

I see there is a small moonroof and not a panoramic sunroof ??

[@rock-itsurf]

correct; the Preferred Plus model is essentially the base model PHEV and doesn't have the panoramic sunroof. We chose this model because it's the only one you can get the middle bench seat with (all higher end models have captains chairs 2nd row) so would allow us to transport the family of 5 and fold the 3rd row for maximum capacity. Despite it being a "base" model, we find it pretty well appointed. Heated leather seats, moonroof, etc. I realize the higher trim models have nicer interior finishes, but the interior on this is still very nice, especially in Greige. Plus, with kids, the materials will wear better than the suede/velour stuff used in higher trims. I do wish I had the nicer wheels and a heated steering wheel...those are the only options I personally miss out on.

[@highpeaks6542]

So one can only tow 3500 pounds compared to 5000 on the inline 6. So pretty useless if you have to use it for a camper

[@NRNaylor]

Correct, you can't use this to tow anything serious. My boat is under 3500lbs and I don't tow it over any distance. I've rented a utility trailer before to tow sporting goods and furniture etc. it's fine for that

[@highpeaks6542]

Prob 3500 would be the limit anyways as the payload is only 1100-1209 pounds. Tongue weight of 350 plus passengers approx. 500 one can’t carry much. Hitch weight around 100 pounds leaves 200 pounds. Folks need to look at payload and not max towing only. It’s deceptive. I like the Mazda a lot. But I can’t use it for what I need with any engine combo. Too bad!

[@NamasteBean]

42k shit what you do to get that low

[@NRNaylor]

Ha well it's explained in the video but basically we leased a lower end trim ($50k MSRP) which is still well appointed (leather, sunroof, AWD, etc.), Mazda applied a $7500 tax credit which then makes basis ~$42500 so if you buy out the lease that's what you pay. Turns out to be an incredible value at that price. Crazy to me that so many reviews talk of the CX-90 being too pricey because they're all testing top of the line versions with MSRP's at $60k and if not the PHEV then no tax credit. Only PHEV or full electrics get the tax credit and that is what really separates the value proposition--which by the way you can't get AWD PHEV SUV from Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Kia or anything else similar sized and priced so the CX-90 PHEV is a unique value.

[@anandajothimuttayane6042]

I am planning to get one,Will you not pay the remaining lease amount + residual value when you buy out early? Can you please explain?

[@arisyn]

all I can hear is the breathing of whoever is holding the camera

[@allenparks8706]

CX-90 PHEV 😏

[@phogettaboutyu]

All I hear is someone breathing really hard ahhaha

[@Arctic5fox]

If you have nothing positive to say, stay quiet!

[@imager09tube]

Are you charging? cause the car should lock when charging!