2025 Mazda CX-70 PHEV: Test Drive Review

[@bryguymb]

Correction - There is actually a temporary spare tire underneath the storage floor, hence the tools provided on the left.

[@marcjalbert4139]

Nice review - very accurate. I have the 2024 CX-90 PHEV and it's truly an amazing car in so many ways. Having driven mostly Audis for the past 30 years, it's refreshing to go "all in" with Mazda. Yes, I've had other Mazdas - all GREAT cars in their own time/space. No regrets with this purchase.

[@jgs1564]

That’s a beautiful vehicle, both inside and out. I’m so glad to see Mazda didn’t use any gloss black trim on the interior.

[@K03sport]

much better cargo area over the '90...no gaps in the floor or btwn the seats. Closet thing to a true wagon w/o actually being a wagon...this or the Ascent Onyx; tough call...a jack and tools, but no spare? 🤔 so I can do my own tire rotations, yet still forced to call roadside assistance

[@68rules]

Great review, will be looking at getting one of these in about 6 months!

[@willf2896]

Had our 2025 PHEV for about 2 months and 1500 miles now. Fantastic vehicle! Only complaint is when the gas engine kicks in while on the freeway. There is a small, but noticeable nudge when the clutch engages. Also, wish there was a Hybrid drive mode vice and EV drive mode, the reason why is it defaults to EV while in Normal mode anyway. Would rather have the option to remain in hybrid mode, then if I want EV mode, I would select the normal mode, which would default to EV. Kinda confusing, but it makes sense when you drive it for a couple of weeks.

[@abcde29204]

I actually prefer the dial controlled infotainment system. I don't want the touchscreen only. Reason is reliability and performance in the cold winter months in Canada. The touchsceeen is very glitchy and non responsive to touch in cold climate. That's why I am purposely searching for a vehicle that has the manual controls. And I am buying this car for this reason. Thank you Mazda!

[@reddevilunited77]

The pong segment killed me 😂😅😊😂

[@toronado455]

That was very high production value!

[@mmedia2678]

I watched many of these types of reviews before buying a CX-70 PHEV Premium Plus and regrettably, instead of finding new things to enjoy about the car, I'm finding new things to dislike. Here is my real life dislike list that may help someone who is shopping. 1.) High beam headlights casts a weird shadow in the field of view. 2.) If a navigation in app like Waze via Android Auto is cancelled, the last direction remains in the HUD. 3.) The battery gets used in every drive mode except when "prioritize charge mode" is engaged. In Pri. Charge Mode, the engine revs/idles high and feels rough, supposedly because its ready to charge the battery. 4.) It's super easy to loose something small between the seat and center console & really difficult to retrieve it. 5.) The moonroof is the weirdest ever... partially opens and lots of wind noise when normal driving. Plus, the tilt feature is not really a tilt 😯. 6.) The Daytime running lights means the "headlights" stay on during the day and not just the LEDs in the grille like every other new car design. This does not look cool. 7.) There is a dummy light section in the headlights for the PHEV Premium Plus which is an actual LED beam in other CX70 trims. 8.) The tail light section on the PHEV rear hatch does not light up as it does in other CX70 trims. (you have to buy & replace them yourself to have working lights ~ $500 & couple hours of DIY effort. 9.) Keep your hand off the shifter while driving, its super easy to nudge the transmission into "N". Reviews are ok, but they don't mention these fine points. If these are things you don't care about then you should be otherwise happy. BTW, there is already a recall/TSB on the car software to fix an issue where the car can suddenly go completely dead.

[@DeeEllEff]

Thanks for this review. I took delivery of my CX-70 PHEV Premium 10 days ago. I had ordered mine from Japan, for the seemingly simple reason that I didn’t want an all-black interior. And I say “seemingly” because almost every single CX-70 allocated by a US dealer in the Western region had a black (or a soft Nappa in the Premium Plus) leather interior. I was initially going with the Soul Red Crystal Metallic exterior, but when I came into my dealer to order it, they had an example of the new-for-2025, CX-70 exclusive of Melting Copper Metallic color, which I went with immediately, mated with Greige (GREy+beIGE) leather interior. Question: you listed your review unit as “Premium Plus,” but it had gloss black plastic/rubber trim, whereas the Premium Plus models have the color-matched to-the-body trim pieces. WTF?!

[@gordonpequegnat6969]

@@DeeEllEff are you in Canada? If so, we get the colored matched trim. If not, I don't know.

[@willf2896]

@@gordonpequegnat6969 Our premium + in white does not have color matched trim, it is matte black along the wheel arches and rockers.

[@RaymondCuradeau-p3v]

6 inline GT-P for me

[@brucehaughton1791]

The infotainment is the main thing why I have such a hard time buying Mazda… leasing prices are GREAT! But that screen and 2012 BMW nob turns me off

[@stvkrenim]

Those tiny headlights look weird. The CX-9 was more attractive up front. I am not a fan of Mazda's infotainment system, either. I also don't like the omission of a spare tire. It's a shame, as this is a good-looking SUV for the most part that offers up a PHEV variant.

[@DeeEllEff]

My beef with a couple of parts of an otherwise excellent review I like all-LED lighting all round, so smaller headlights are fine. And going on and on about the Infotainment system gets old. If I felt I needed a touchscreen tablet as my main (or only, q.v. Tesla) automotive interface, I probably wouldn’t be shopping at all for a Mazda, known for its drivers’ cars, not video games. Mazda explains its native UI not being touch-enabled thusly: If you’re using your Android Auto or Apple iPhone (CarPlay) for its entertainment, we do support touch. But our screen is further away like a legitimate computer, and so the control knob (what is sometimes referred to as a “puck”) is like a Mac/PC mouse, less distracting and potentially more flexible and powerful, just as full computers are to iPads. Mazda says it’s safer to operate

[@GreatLook76]

Hi sir: can you review the Mitsubishi Outlander phev 2025 & Toyota Rav4 phev 2025!!! thanks

[@TestDrivenTV]

We have a review on an older Toyota RAV4 Prime in our library. It's identical to present.

[@jimgauth]

Touch screens while you drive are not even legal where I live. It's called distracted driving.

[@TestDrivenTV]

Where is that? Touchscreens in all of the cars sold in the US meet federal regulations.

[@ItsAlive111]

Pay the same or more for two less seats than the CX90

[@ItsAlive111]

11:25 wait what? Heavier than a F-150?!?

[@kenmorgan316]

$60 G's 😮😮😮!

[@FurrKnight]

It checks a lot of boxes until we get to the infotainment system... such a shame. Thank you for the excellent review.

[@alb0zfinest]

@@FurrKnight What's wrong with the infotainment? It allows a touch option now while driving (can be adjusted in settings).

[@K03sport]

nothing wrong with the infotainment...do you change sources often? AA or ACP should be just fine and the steering wheel controls do most of the work...

[@bobreno4042]

@@FurrKnight infotainment system is excellent, allows you to use touch screen, or controller. I have been converted to preferring the controller, safe and efficient and no more screen finger tip smudges.