Mazda CX-90 D50e GT 2025 Review

Following a recent significant price drop, the Mazda CX-90 range of large-class, seven-seat SUVs starts from $68,800 plus on-road costs (ORCs) for the 3.3-litre turbo-petrol G50e Touring model and extends to $92,570 plus ORC for the G50e Azami flagship.

The 3.3-litre turbo-diesel-engined D50e GT reviewed here is ensconced midway in the CX-90 range at $79,800 plus ORCs. From there it faces potential competitors including the Lexus RX and Volvo XC90.

Here, Mazda’s expertise in presenting nicely put together, quality product is on full display. Almost everything about the CX-90 range speaks premium. From the D50e GT’s roomy, generously leathered and luxury-laden cabin to the active-shadowing LED headlights, oversize 21-inch wheels and panoramic sunroof, there’s little question of the brands with which Mazda is aspiring to mix. Not yet Mercedes-Benz, but not far from, say, Lexus, in terms of style, comfort, and ambience. The CX-90 is described by Mazda as ‘Japanese premium’.

The CX-90 D50e GT also packs in leather-trimmed seats and door trims, seat heating for front as well as second-row outboard passengers, multi-zone climate control, rear side window sunshades, and a power tailgate. As you would expect in a premium SUV, the steering wheel features power adjustment and heating too.

While neither Touring nor GT-spec CX-90s are available with options, the Azami flagship is: the ‘Pure White’ trimmed Takuma pack and the Nappa and suede-finished SP, which comes with twin mid-row captain’s chairs.

The CX-90 is covered by Mazda’s standard five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty with five years of roadside assist.

Servicing is done at 12-month/10,000km intervals, whichever comes first. Quoted costs for the CX-90 D50e GT vary from $490 to $1004 for individual services, totalling $3304 over five years. Mazda offers a conditional Guaranteed Future Value (GFV) deal in which Mazda Finance pays out a pre-agreed figure at the end of the finance contract term.

While still awaiting an ANCAP rating at the time of writing, the Mazda CX-90 D50e GT looks promising as a likely five-star recipient thanks to its full array of safety technology. The Mazda CX-80 and CX-60 are built off the same ‘scalable architecture’ and both have five-star ratings: the former in 2024 and the latter in 2022.

Backed up by 10 airbags, the CX-90’s safety systems include all the usual staples. There’s high- and low-speed autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring with vehicle exit warning, a 360-degree view monitor and what’s described as a secondary collision reduction system – presumably what other brands refer to as post-collision braking and steering.

The CX-90 also has a Driver Personalization System, also seen on the smaller CX-60, which automatically adjusts the driver’s seat via a special camera and by height information entered by the user. The system also remembers, via facial recognition, individual driver seating positions.

Mazda’s avoidance of touchscreens isn’t favoured by everybody but there’s little question that tactile dials and buttons are safer.

The CX-90 is touchscreen free, with the familiar console-mounted rotary dial used to navigate through the systems. The D50e GT uses a bigger 12.3-inch LCD display than the Touring model’s 10.25-inch unit, both supplemented by a large and easily read head-up display on the windscreen and digital readouts located directly ahead of the driver.

As you would expect, there’s wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus a smartphone charger and plenty of USB ports dotted throughout the cabin.

Both inline six-cylinder engines, petrol and diesel, are turbocharged long-strokers (good for torque), displacing 3.3 litres and qualifying as mild hybrids. A 48V lithium-ion battery drives a small electric motor between the engine and gearbox that contributes to both road performance and fuel economy, while also lowering tailpipe emissions – though not to the same extent as a full hybrid.

The D50e diesel version pumps out a brawny 187kW at just 3750rpm, along with an impressive 550Nm of torque between 1500rpm and 2400rpm. The G50e petrol engine makes no less than 254kW, and a slightly lower 500Nm of torque.

Both engines hook up to an in-house-developed single-clutch eight-speed auto gearbox which drives Mazda’s rear-biased multi-mode MI-Drive full-time AWD system. It’s not designed to go seriously off-road but it’s reassuring to have when the roads get slippery.

Mazda says the D50e diesel engine’s weight is “similar to a conventional four-cylinder engine”, which pays dividends in the CX-90’s overall weight distribution and handling alacrity.

Mazda claims a “class-leading” fuel consumption figure of 5.4L/100km for the D50e GT diesel, although Lexus quotes the same figure for the full-hybrid petrol-driven Lexus RX350h. We got reasonably close to the official figure with our review CX-90, which averaged 6.2L/100km over a week of driving in varied circumstances – urban and freeway, usually with three adults on board.

With lots of looming presence on the road – its 3210mm wheelbase helps make it bigger by far than a Lexus LX and comfortably longer than a Volvo XC90 or Land Rover Defender – Mazda’s large-class SUV feels big and heavy on the road. Although once accustomed to the weighty and relatively low-geared steering – 3.3 turns from lock to lock – the driver will find it ultimately responsive and capable of being pointed with accuracy.

The ride is on the taut side of comfy, not as absorbent as, say, a BMW X5, which has a similar on-road footprint and kerb weight. And, despite its long wheelbase, the CX-90 is not entirely free of fore-aft pitch.

With its artificially induced warbling metallic note, the engine barely sounds like a diesel, but it turns on plenty of urgent response, enough to propel it from zero to 100km/h in a swift 6.9 seconds.

The single-clutch, torque-converter-free eight-speed gearbox feels like a cross between a dual-clutch and a conventional auto but suffers an occasional tendency to be less than smooth on upshifts.

One thing that was continually flagged by the CX-90’s driver-monitoring system was the tendency of the driver’s foot to be on the brake and accelerator pedals simultaneously. Maybe they are a bit too close together?

Mazda has worked hard to establish a reputation for finely crafted cabins. The CX-90 D50e GT leans more towards a traditional, Euro-style presentation with its restrained approach to dash presentation and its general ‘air of cool’ class.

And although the flagship Azami takes it all a step further with its Takuma and SP packs, which factor in twin centre-row captain’s chairs, suede, Nappa leather and pure-white trim materials, there’s little that’s not to like about the style, comfort and overall stretching space on offer in this CX-90 D50e GT.

Power seat adjustment and heating for both driver and front passenger – with position-memory settings on the driver’s side – complement generous all-round headroom, a dual-lidded centre-console storage bin, and easy access to large and well-padded third-row seats that, through judicious adjustment of the reclining split-fold centre-row seats, offer adult-size legroom. Meanwhile handy luggage accommodation stretches from 608 litres to 1163L with all seats folded.

All things considered, Mazda is well qualified to take the leap from proletarian to premium. It has undoubtedly put in the work.

The company has been steadily lifting its game for years and, although some believe it has moved maybe a bit too much a bit too soon with the CX-90, there’s really no questioning the new SUV’s capabilities or credentials.

A hard-to-ignore presence in the $80,000 large SUV segment – particularly in Madaza’s signature Soul Red hue – that showcases what could be described as against-the-grain engineering, the CX-90 D50e GT vexes the somewhat weird question of whether it’s revolutionary, evolutionary or stubbornly old guard.

Not necessarily today, but maybe tomorrow, does a Mazda badge have the potential to match the street-cred of a Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi – or even a Lexus? Time will undoubtedly tell.

2025 Mazda CX-90 D50e GT at a glance:
Price: $79,800 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 3.3-litre six-cylinder turbodiesel-electric
Output: 187kW/550Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 5.4L/100km
CO2: 143g/km
Safety rating: Not tested

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