Eric's Autos: 2025 Mazda CX-70

The trend has been to install smaller engines in place of larger engines -- and to charge people more for what they're not getting anymore.

It's nice to see Mazda bucking that trend.

Last year, they brought out a new six-cylinder engine -- rather than a new turbocharged four-cylinder engine. And they put it in a new crossover (the CX-90) that didn't come with a luxury-badged crossover's price.

Now comes some more -- and with less.

Just not under the hood.

What It Is

The CX-70 is a new six-cylinder-powered crossover from Mazda that's basically the same as the CX-90 Mazda brought out last year, but with two rather than three rows. It's a way for those who don't need the extra seats -- but who'd still love to have that new six -- to get what they want without getting what they don't need.

Prices start at $40,445 for the Turbo Preferred trim -- which comes with a 280-horsepower version of the new inline 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine, paired up with a mild-hybrid system that cycles the engine off when the vehicle's not moving, coasting or decelerating.

A Turbo S -- which stickers for $52,450 -- gets a more powerful (320-horsepower) version of the same drivetrain.

A plug-in hybrid drivetrain is also available. It replaces the otherwise standard 3.3-liter six with a 2.0-liter four paired up with an electric vehicle-like battery pack and electric motors (driving the rear wheels) that together produce 323 horsepower and 369 foot-pounds of torque. It can be driven about 26 miles on battery power alone -- and you can charge up its battery without driving it. But unlike an EV, you can keep on driving for another couple hundred miles or so after you run out of charge -- because there's an engine there to keep you going.

This version of the CX-70 lists for $54,400 to start.

What's New

The CX-70 is a new model that can also be thought of as a sub-model, as it's basically identical to the same-size CX-90 but without the latter's third row.

What's Good

-- Comes standard with a six.

-- Comes standard with phenomenal range (400-plus miles in city driving, 500-plus miles on the highway).

-- A luxury crossover in all but name. And price.

What's Not So Good

-- Inline six comes standard with mild-hybrid system, which adds significantly to the cost.

-- More expensive than the same-thing CX-90 with the third row.

-- Plug-in hybrid's towing capacity drops down to 3,500 pounds (other CX-70s can tow as much as 5,000 pounds).

Under The Hood

The CX-70's standard six-cylinder engine is available in two variants. The standard one makes 280 horsepower and 332 foot-pounds of torque; the optional version kicks that up to 340 horsepower and 369 foot-pounds of torque. Both are paired with a mild-hybrid system that gives this crossover impressive range.

The CX-70 with the 280-horsepower version of the six can go 444 miles in city driving -- farther than many crossovers can go on the highway -- and 518 miles on the highway. This is diesel-like range, without the cost of diesel fuel.

And without the wait of using electricity as a fuel.

The plug-in hybrid drivetrain consists of a 2.5-liter gas engine and a more powerful battery pack/motors that can move the vehicle at normal road speeds for about 26 miles.

The plug-in hybrid iteration produces 323 horsepower -- and the same 369 foot-pounds of torque made by the 340-horsepower six with the mild-hybrid assist.

However, the plug-in hybrid version of the CX-70 is only rated to tow 3,500 pounds. All other versions -- including those with the standard 280-horsepower version of the six with mild-hybrid assist -- can tow up to 5,000 pounds.

On the Road

The CX-70 may be only a Mazda -- and so not a luxury-badged crossover -- but it feels a lot like one. More finely, it feels like you got something in line with what you paid.

More than people who paid luxury-badged money.

For instance, the $59,500 it takes to get into an Audi Q7 -- and for that sum all you get is a 2.0-liter four (and 261 horsepower). Sure, it's a luxury-badged crossover. If that makes you feel better about it.

The Acura MDX still comes with a six. And a $50,900 base price. The Lexus RX -- which used to come standard with a V6 -- now comes standard with a turbo-hybrid four. And a base price of $48,600. For that you get a 2.4-liter four.

You get a lot more for the just-over-$40,000 that Mazda is asking for the CX-70. Not just the size-appropriateness of the standard six-cylinder engine, either. You get the intangibles -- such as the sound and the feel of the power delivery that a bigger engine delivers.

At the Curb

There are a few minor -- and subtle -- styling differences between the CX-70 and the CX-90, such as the CX-70's blacked-out exterior trim accents and its slightly different lower front end. But the main difference is the absence of that third row -- and the increase in space that takes its place.

Including under the floor -- where the third row isn't. Instead, there's an additional storage area that's also out of sight.

The CX-70 offers 18.5 cubic feet behind the second row and a total of 75.3 cubic feet available with the second row folded. That's about four or five times the space for stuff you'd have in a sedan about the same size. As a point of comparison: The CX-70 is only a few inches longer than a midsize sedan like the 2025 Toyota Crown (the replacement for the Avalon), but the Crown's trunk only holds 15.2 cubic feet of stuff.

Of course, other crossovers are just as practical; some a little more so. And they look it. In italics to make a point of mentioning what many people say about crossovers: they all look alike.

And most do.

Here's one that doesn't.

The Rest

One of the wonderful things about Mazdas -- all of them -- is that none of them comes with automatic stop/start "technology."

Another thing -- about this Mazda -- is that it doesn't make you tap/swipe an LCD touch screen to operate secondary functions. There's a more tactile rotary dial/push-it-to-engage-it interface that you can feel without having to look.

All trims come standard with a 12-speaker Bose audio system and a 1,500-watt power point for accessories. Alexa voice command is also standard.

The Bottom Line

It might not be a luxury-badged crossover, but unlike most of those, Mazda includes as standard features what you don't get standard in many of those.

Like a six-cylinder engine -- rather than a turbocharged four.

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Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.