Mazda CX-90 PHEV coming in 2024, EV unlikely
Plug-in hybrid version of new Mazda flagship here next year; EV option for all-new large SUV possible but unlikelyThe 2023 Mazda CX-90 will arrive later this year with a pair of 3.3-litre turbocharged inline six-cylinder engines – a 245kW/500Nm petrol and a 187kW/550Nm diesel, both with mild-hybrid assistance – but a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) will join the range in 2024 once it’s completed ADR approvals.
The program manager of Mazda’s new seven-seat flagship, Matsuru Wakiie, confirmed to carsales that the CX-90 PHEV’s powertrain will be the same as the one in the smaller CX-60 five-seat medium SUV, which arrives in June with the same straight-six petrol and diesel engines plus PHEV power to challenge the top-selling Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.
In the CX-60, the PHEV system combines a 241kW/500Nm 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor and 17.8kWh battery to allow for up to 76km of pure-electric driving.
It also delivers claimed 0-100km/h performance of 5.9sec and combined fuel consumption of just 2.1L/100km, though the latter is not an accurate figure in the real world due to the vagaries of the test regime.
Regardless, expect the larger, heavier CX-90 PHEV – which in turn will rival large electrified SUVs like the Toyota Kluger Hybrid and Kia Sorento Hybrid – to be slightly slower and thirstier and not have quite the same EV range.
It’ll also be pricey. While pricing and specifications haven’t yet been announced for the Australian market, with the CX-60 Azami PHEV topping out at $87,252 plus on-road costs there’s every chance the highest grade CX-90 PHEV will nudge the $100,000 mark, making it Mazda’s most expensive model since the final RX-7s.
Asked if a pure-electric version of the CX-90 is possible, Wakiie responded: “Technically yes, you can have a pure EV with this platform but this platform is not ideal for electric vehicles. Mazda has made an announcement that we are going to develop an EV-oriented scalable platform.”
Full pricing and specification for the Mazda CX-90 is expected in around a month’s time with the first vehicles arriving in Q3 2023.
Related: 2024 Mazda CX-90 and CX-9 to co-exist – for now
Related: 2024 Mazda CX-90 revealed
Related: New Mazda CX-60 priced at a premium
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