A North Carolina Road Trip with the 2025 Mazda CX-70 PHEV in its Most Luxurious Form

Mazda conscionable broadened the assemblage of its flagship SUV with a marque caller exemplary name. I took the all-new 2025 Mazda CX-70 connected a roadworthy travel from Charleston to Asheville, North Carolina. Unsurprisingly, it punches supra its value successful luxury and performance. But somewhat surprisingly, the differences betwixt it and its three-row counterpart, the CX-90, origin 1 to question the request for an wholly caller name. 

The bully quality is that erstwhile you judge the subtlety of the favoritism betwixt the CX-70 and its forebear, it is simply a fantastic two-row SUV with an interior that holds its ain adjacent to pricier options from Lexus, Jeep, oregon BMW. I drove the PHEV hybrid mentation successful its astir luxury Premium Plus trim level. 500 miles later, aft a travel to the Smoky Mountains and back, I tin safely accidental that if you similar two-row SUV’s, you’ll emotion it. 

DESIGN 

The CX-70 is fundamentally a CX-90 without the 3rd row, and that sums up the substantive differences betwixt the 2 models. There are much trim levels connected the 90, antithetic overgarment colors, wheels, and leather options, and the acheronian exterior trim connected the CX-70 is sportier than the shiny trim connected the CX-90. But the legroom and the cargo abstraction are virtually identical. A fewer tiny features specified arsenic unresponsive operator enactment beryllium connected the CX-70 but not (yet) connected the CX-90, but aft the fig of rows, you've got to excavation into the good people to find differences betwixt the models. 

On the outside, the 21-inch wheels of the Premium Plus are handsomely aggressive, and paired with the acheronian trim, it’s the champion looking full-size Mazda SUV yet. Inside, the leather trim, the infotainment system, and the wide operator and rider acquisition are excellent. I peculiarly liked the panoramic extortion for taking successful the upland views, and the cabin-filling powerfulness of the Bose dependable strategy truthful we could bask my wife's Chappell Roan alternatively of immoderate nonsense was blaring from our kids' iPads. 

EXPERIENCE AND PERFORMANCE

It’s a precise comfy SUV for a roadworthy trip. I personally inactive find the non-PHEV mentation to beryllium much amusive to drive, but determination was plentifulness of powerfulness for the passing lane up the Saluda Grade that took america up 2000 feet from South Carolina into the mountains. It has 323-horsepower (combined electrical and gas) and 369 lb.-ft torque, with a zero-to-sixty clip of nether six seconds––more than capable umph for immoderate ineligible driving connected immoderate roadworthy successful America. 

Fully charged, it has 26 miles of electric-only range. As I was going agelong distance, my acquisition was chiefly with the state broadside of things. If I would've had much entree to chargers, the artillery tin beryllium charged from 20% to 80% successful 90 minutes connected a level 2 charger. Driving it arsenic I did, I got astir 28mpg highway. The handoff betwixt the electrical centrifugal and the state engine, for me, was not arsenic creaseless arsenic different plug-in hybrids I person tested, specified arsenic the Volvo XC60 plug-in. That said, it inactive feels large to drive. 

When we got to our daughter’s summertime camp, determination was plentifulness of country for her campy trunk and gear. Though erstwhile loading up, similar maine you whitethorn scratch your caput erstwhile you spot that contempt the lack of the 3rd row, the third-row cupholders are inactive present.

We spent the nighttime astatine Asheville’s hottest caller luxury boutique hotel, the Flat Iron. Navigating downtown Asheville, the CX-70 handled truthful nimbly you mightiness hide that there’s a three-row mentation with the aforesaid footprint. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Buying the CX-70 implicit the CX-90 is simply a subtle and mostly intelligence decision, due to the fact that determination aren’t that galore applicable reasons to take this implicit the CX-90. But possibly this isn't astir radical who are choosing betwixt these two, but astir radical lone looking astatine two-row SUV's arsenic a category; radical who conscionable don’t deliberation of themselves arsenic three-row people. This caller '70' nomenclature is aimed astatine this group. I accidental some the highest praise and the strongest critique of the CX-70 is that it takes an already large three-row SUV and nudges it into a antithetic hunt criterion for a antithetic radical of buyers––with a sportier-looking trim thrown successful for bully measure. 

As tested successful the PHEV version, pricing starts astatine conscionable nether 60k. As for my destination successful Western North Carolina, Asheville is backmost unfastened for concern present and section businesses are grateful for the support.