2026 Mazda CX-90 PHEV Review
Our automotive expert shares opinions and new photos of the 2026 CX-90 PHEV.
Tim Stevens
Pros: Great style inside and out, plus enjoyable driving dynamics, make for an SUV with a premium look and feel.
Cons: A dated tech experience and cramped third row disappoint.
The Takeaway: Mazda's latest CX-90 PHEV isn't perfect across the board, but it fares well in most categories.
There's no shortage of premium contenders in the SUV market, and plenty of brands are aspirationally aiming high with eye-catching designs and desirable features, but the 2026 Mazda CX-90 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) offers posh style and refinement at a relatively budget-friendly price — as it has since its introduction for the 2024 model year. All that said, the 2026 CX-90 PHEV is starting to seem a little dated, despite its plug-in power.
What's New for the 2026 Mazda CX-90 PHEV
QuickTake: For 2026, the CX-90 PHEV adds a few standard features that make it feel like an even better bargain.
The CX-90 hasn't seen many changes since its 2024 debut. For 2026, the highlights consist of a few new features that add to the three-row midsize SUV's looks and capability. They include standard 21-inch wheels and Amazon Alexa integration.
Tim Stevens
About the 2026 Mazda CX-90 PHEV Premium Plus Review Vehicle
QuickTake: Mazda's CX-90 PHEV offers just about every option you could want.
The 2026 Mazda CX-90 PHEV comes in Preferred, Premium Sport, and Premium Plus trim levels, and base prices range from about $52,000 to around $60,000, including the destination charge for shipping the SUV to a dealership from the Hofu, Japan, assembly plant.
For this CX-90 PHEV review, I test-drove the SUV in upstate New York. It included the Premium Plus trim with no additional options, bringing the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) to $60,030, including the $1,530 destination charge. Mazda provided the vehicle for this CX-90 PHEV review.
Tim Stevens
Design, Quality, and Interior Layout
QuickTake: The CX-90 has a premium look that sets it apart from others in this price range, but some of the materials feel budget-grade.
Luckily for Mazda, the CX-90 is a clean, sophisticated, and attractive SUV. The 21-inch wheels add plenty of visual flair, and, from a first-impressions standpoint, that helps set the tone for a machine that's punching above its weight. Those qualities continue on the inside. My test vehicle's cabin featured a bright, refreshing look that is far more upscale and compelling than a typical black-on-black interior.
There's a mix of materials covering the CX-90 Premium Plus model's various interior surfaces, including decent-quality leather on the seats and soft-touch plastics on the upper dashboard. However, like many of its rivals in this segment, Mazda uses far harsher stuff down low on the door panels and transmission tunnel. It's a mixed bag from a touch-and-feel standpoint, but everything at least looks durable and easy to live with, and blissfully, there's no glossy, scratch-prone piano-black plastic.
You'll find a healthy selection of buttons to control the SUV's major features. They create a slightly busy look, but I appreciate being able to quickly and easily toggle through everything from the rear-seat climate control to my test example's surround-view camera.
The steering wheel, too, has discrete physical buttons, far simpler and more pleasant to use than the capacitive touch control arrangement Mazda switched to on the new CX-5.
Tim Stevens
Comfort, Convenience, and Cargo Space
QuickTake: The CX-90's first two rows are perfectly pleasant, and there's good cargo space, but the third-row seating is very tight.
My test vehicle's front seats looked good in their perforated white nappa leather with a bronze stripe down the middle, and they also proved comfortable and supportive, with heating strong enough to make me dial it down from maximum even during extreme cold-weather testing. They're ventilated, too, and on the driver's side, you get two-position memory. About the only thing missing is a massage function.
Second-row seating is heated as well, and there's a third climate zone back there, so if your kids are running hot after soccer practice, they can turn up the air conditioning. Legroom is generous in the second row, and the seats both slide and recline with a 60/40 split. The panoramic sunroof doesn't quite extend over the heads of your passengers back there, but it's close, providing a good amount of light across the first two rows but not the third.
In the rearmost seating location, the small side windows and bulky roof pillars create a claustrophobic feeling, backed by a distinct lack of headroom, legroom, or, really, any room. Smaller kids will probably enjoy hiding in the cave back there, and a pair of USB-C ports plus three-prong outlets in the cargo space will keep their devices charged, but good luck getting adults back there without complaints.
In other words, the maximum seating capacity in the CX-90 PHEV may technically be seven, but you'll probably want to keep it to five in most situations. That'll mean more cargo volume at your disposal. The CX-90 offers up to 15.9 cubic-feet of cargo space behind the third row. Fold it down — easily done via a pair of straps behind the seats — and cargo volume expands up to 40.1 cu-ft. Drop the second row as well, and you get up to 75.2 cu-ft of storage.
Tim Stevens
2026 Mazda CX-90 PHEV Infotainment System Review
QuickTake: The joy of tactility can't completely overcome some primitive functionality.
Mazda equips all CX-90 PHEV trim levels with a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel and a 12.3-inch center display running Mazda Connect infotainment.
Standard features include:
- Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity
- Mazda Connected Services
- Alexa built-in
- Wireless phone charger
- Eight-speaker sound system
- Six USB-C ports (two per row)
My CX-90 Premium Plus test model added:
- Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity
- Integrated online navigation
- SiriusXM satellite radio
- 12-speaker Bose premium sound system
I think the CX-90's 12.3-inch Mazda Connect interface is extremely simple and easy to use, but its lack of native-platform touchscreen functionality makes it seem dated. You can tap the screen to operate Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but otherwise, using Mazda Connect requires twisting a rotary knob and punching a few buttons located between the front seats.
Integrated navigation is available, but it's clumsy to operate. Mazda's old-school integrated voice assistant isn't much better. Commands such as "I'm hungry" get you nowhere, and you'd better speak slowly and clearly to have any chance of the system understanding an address.
Thankfully, Mazda added standard Alexa functionality to the CX-90 PHEV this year. Take the time to sign in with your Amazon account, and you get a much more comprehensive voice experience, capable of handling commands from "I need coffee" to "I need a hospital."
The 12.3-inch digital display behind the steering wheel features an information-rich yet clean layout that shows what you need at a glance. That's good, because there's little in the way of customization here. Only the tiny inset portion between the battery-charge indicator and fuel level can be cycled through a few different information screens.
Tim Stevens
Safety Features and Ratings
QuickTake: Mazda's latest CX-90 PHEV comes with a comprehensive set of standard safety features.
Mazda equips the CX-90 PHEV with standard i-Activsense, a generous collection of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS):
- Adaptive cruise control with stop and go
- Forward-collision warning
- Automatic emergency braking
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Lane-departure warning
- Lane-keeping assist
In addition to those features, my test vehicle added:
- Surround-view camera system
- Rear automatic braking
- Driver monitoring
- Lane-centering assist
The driver-monitoring system is aggressive. It quickly and repeatedly alerted me whenever I spent too long reading messages on the gauge cluster.
On the road, the lane-centering system did a good job of keeping the SUV between the lines, even when the markings were unclear. The adaptive cruise likewise had no issue keeping me moving with traffic. My only complaint was that the following distance on the highway was too far, even on the closest setting.
The CX-90 is far from an off-road machine, but I did get to test the automatic hill-descent control on my steep driveway after a big storm. It crept smoothly across icy patches with zero drama, despite basic all-season tires.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives the 2026 Mazda CX-90 PHEV its highest overall rating of five stars. In testing performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the 2026 CX-90 earns top "Good" ratings in all three crash-protection assessments, with a mix of "Good" and "Acceptable" ratings in other areas.
Tim Stevens
2026 Mazda CX-90 PHEV Premium Plus Specs, Fuel Economy, and Driving Range
QuickTake: The CX-90 is a frugal choice, and the plug-in feature makes it potentially more so, but it struggles to operate in electric-only mode.
The CX-90 PHEV is powered by a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine paired with a 68-kilowatt (kW) electric motor, which together make 323 horsepower on premium fuel (319 horsepower on regular) and 369 pound-feet of torque.
That electric motor is powered by a 17.8-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery pack that Mazda says offers 27 miles of all-electric range. In my testing, I came just short of that: 25 miles on a full charge in EV mode. However, the engine briefly kicked on multiple times during that test, usually when summiting moderate hills.
In terms of fuel economy, the CX-90 PHEV is officially rated by the EPA to get 26 mpg in combined city and highway driving and 56 MPGe combined. In my mixed testing, running the vehicle purely as a hybrid (not using EV mode), I netted 24.4 mpg.
The CX-90 PHEV's maximum towing capacity is 3,500 pounds.
Tim Stevens
2026 Mazda CX-90 PHEV Test Drive
QuickTake: Mazda's CX-90 plug-in adds more power and some genuinely usable range, but it's no EV.
The 2026 CX-90 PHEV offers four drive modes: Normal, Sport, EV, and Off-Road. You might be inclined to turn your nose up at the inclusion of a Sport mode, but for a big three-row SUV, the CX-90 PHEV is actually reasonably engaging to drive.
That said, Sport mode doesn't radically change the experience; it just sharpens the transmission shifts and intensifies the throttle response. The CX-90's ride is on the firm side, but that stiffer suspension tuning makes it more entertaining to wheel the SUV through the corners. Back-seat passengers may not appreciate it, but they'll at least get to have a little fun on the way home from the school run.
Acceleration from the combination of internal combustion and electricity is good, but it doesn't offer the neck-snapping electrified feel of some other plug-in options, such as Volvo's XC60 T8.
Dial it over to EV mode and things get much worse. The CX-90 PHEV feels slow in this mode, with none of the zippy acceleration of a pure electric car. So, if you're really looking for a PHEV that'll give you a taste of the EV lifestyle, this isn't it. But as a hybrid, it's nicely balanced, switching between electricity and internal-combustion power smoothly.
It's so smooth and quiet, in fact, that I sometimes needed to look at the dashboard to be sure the engine was running.
Tim Stevens
Alternatives to the 2026 Mazda CX-90 PHEV
QuickTake: Mazda's latest CX-90 PHEV offers a great mix of features but falls short in a few critical areas.
A big question in this segment is whether you truly need a usable third row or whether it's just there for emergencies, like surprise kid-shuttling duties. Bigger SUVs such as the Hyundai Palisade Hybrid, Kia Telluride Hybrid, and Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid offer far more generous third-row seating (and superior fuel economy once the CX-90's battery is exhausted) but lack the Mazda's plug-in capability and electric-only driving range.
If you decide you don't need the extra seating, it's worth noting that Mazda's own CX-70 is essentially a CX-90 without a third-row seat. Like the CX-90, a CX-70 PHEV is available. So, if you like the look and feel of this Mazda SUV, that's another alternative.
Choose your priorities accordingly.
Written by humans.
Edited by humans.
Tim StevensTim is a freelance automotive and technology journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He is a frequent contributor to major domestic and international online, print, and broadcast news outlets, sharing his insights and perspectives on everything from cybersecurity to supercars. Tim also serves as a juror for the World Car Awards and regularly acts as speaker and moderator at major industry events such as CES, Web Summit, SXSW, NAIAS, and AutoMobility LA. He formerly served as editor-at-large and vice president of content at CNET. Before that he was editor-in-chief of Engadget and editorial director at AOL Tech.
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