After a fairly quiet 2022, Mazda is moving on. The brand confirmed late last year that a new full-size three-row SUV is coming in 2023 called the CX-90. The full reveal is a few weeks away on January 31, but Mazda has made an effort to drop little bits of information. On the new CX-90 ahead of its big reveal. Today the brand announced what will be powering its new SUV, and it’s not a battery.
As we suspected, the 2024 CX-90 will be powered by a new turbocharged 3.3-liter inline six-cylinder engine. It will make 340 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, and the engine is mated to the brand’s larger platform. It will deliver its power to the road through a rear-biased all-wheel-drive system. There’s no word on whether Mazda has decided to (finally) ditch the six-speed automatic used in nearly all of its cars for this generation of products, but we’re hoping the new engine will be in line with the new… With transmission comes more and more. six gears.
The engine is branded the E-SkyActiv Turbo Engine, and the “E-” designation comes thanks to a new mild hybrid system that will be mated to the inline-six. According to Mazda, the mild hybrid setup will help increase efficiency without costing the car performance. It also helps smoothen out the powertrain and makes features like automatic engine stop-start feel more seamless. Mazda also notes that Kinematic Posture Control, a feature that is essentially a brake-actuated torque vectoring system first launched on the 2022 Miata, will come standard on the CX-90 as well. We’ll know even more about the new CX-90 at the end of the month, so stay tuned for the big Mazda’s full reveal.