I leased one of these last week, and my wife, kids, and I love it. I did notice some of the "clunkiness" that you mentioned, but coming from driving a Prius v, the ride quality is much better overall. I'll tolerate the clunkiness. I haven't noticed it being overly loud, either, but maybe that's because I'm used to driving MHEVs and gas engines. I've gotten up to 32 miles on the electric motor, if I turn off climate control. After seeing you completely eviscerate the inline 6, I was almost afraid to watch this video, but now I'm glad I went with the CX-90 PHEV.
Bought our first Mazda last year ourselves. I had to say it is the nicest driving vehicle and interior quality car I have ever owned. If we ever need something else I will be going back again to this brand what nice cars.
Great review and hybrid system explanation. I recently took my CX-90 PHEV to a recall when Mazda improved the transition from EV to gas, and it works much better now.
If you want to overtake frequently you should be driving in normal mode, the engine will be engaged instantly unlike in EV mode. The transmission is silky smooth unlike the L6 model.
I work on my own cars. Something breaks I take a week figure it out and repair it. AMD takes a week and figures out how any new model of car works. Very impressive sir. Thank you for the review these are my favorites.
Quite a few things I disagree. 1. the power switch is very smooth in normal mode, but in EV mode, you have to push to pass the kick point and there are a few seconds delay. 2. The transmission is also very smooth, it needs about 1k miles to learn your driving behavior, it smooths out after that range. 3. The shifter is actually fantastic, it may look strange in the beginning, but it only takes a day to get used to it. It will be better if it switches to P when you turn off the car. 4. You need to enable touch for 12.25" screen in setting and it only works in CarPlay and Android auto which is enough. I do hope they provide touch capability in 10.25" screen too. (Canadian model doesn't get 12.25" screen). I do have a big complaint, when you switch to sport mode, it has a long delay to finish, and you will not get the power you want until then. Hope they will fix it. Of course, I wish it has longer EV range, but it works for me as I drive most in city. You can see they save cost on minor details but considering the cost of the car, it's not an issue. I have the car for over 6 months, absolutely loves it. I park my Cayenne in garage most time now. I have only only filled up gas tank once in 6 month, saving me at least CA$250/month.
@@BrianDIYChannel It depends on your daily routing. I work from home and only drive to carry kids and grocery shopping. It's about 27KM EV range in winter but is still enough for me. Once I get back home I charge again.
Still sounds like you're more getting used to the car than the other way around. Not saying its a bad car, but car reviewers usually have a broader experience than consumers. So relatively they might be harsher. The dual clutches also most likely means more maintenance down the line, if you're planning on owning it.
also you really need to get gas more often than that, go on a minor road trip like once a month. old gas will kill your engine faster than anything but bad engineering
This channel is an absolute gem, this is exactly what tech-savvy peopleI want to know when buying a vehicle. I dont think any other channel goes over the tech under the hood. Thanks for all your efforts. I still think Honda does Hybrids the best, that e:HEV system is just so smooth.
Check out Savage Geese..I think you will be impressed. BUT.......there is no one out there doing indepth technical reviews like this guy, and I hope he gets listened to by the car companies.
My wife leased one of these and loves it. She went from a Volvo XC90 refueling almost every week to now refueling every 3 1/2 months. Yes, I noticed those engine transition he mentions here but she doesn’t care.
Great review, AMD. As a Mazda owner, and former Toyota owner (though two of my sons drive Camrys and the other a 4Runner), I was hoping to hear that Mazda had used Toyota's plugin-hybrid tech. Still hoping that both manufacturers continue to grow the relationship and have a good "marriage". Thank you, AMD!
Some RU-vid reviewers found that the first press cars were jerky, but after the software update was rolled out, the PHEV was touted to be smoother than the in-line 6!
This is the best car review channel out there. I feel like you are actually reviewing the car part of it all. It brings out the actual differences between brands and models. Great job man!
I've owned the PHEV version of the CX-90 for a few months now (about 13,000 km) and only experienced the "jarring" effect of the transmission once. Other than that it's been very smooth and just as good as my old 2011 BMW X5 Diesel. I towed my trailer (2600 lbs) to Florida and back with it and it performed fine. Since I couldn't charge the battery during the trip I kept the engine in Charge mode most of the time so I'd have enough power when I needed it. This resulted in about 13.2 litres/100 km mileage. The BMW diesel was better than this.. 12.5 litres/100 km.
I have owned my 2024 CX-90 PHEV for about 5 months now. I can say that the electric motor (in my opinion) is not that loud but I actually love the sound it makes and I love hearing the shifting gears but with an electric sound instead of mechanical sound. It definitely CAN be clunky but I feel like it has gotten less clunky over time. I do wish it got more than 26 miles range and that is mostly because I have never seen more than 23. But with a 220 outlet and 40 amp charger now installed, its less of an issue to me. We absolutely love this car. Definitely less storage than our caravan but still pretty good. And it turns heads too which is always nice.
I don't experience the clunkiness or the slow transitioning.. i do occasionally get a "kick in the rear end feel" on low speed, EV only. I am bringing in for the transmission TSB.. remember its a first year model. I do wish the range is more than 26 miles EV... could be the weight (PHEV is 5200lbs).. but comparable PHEV like the Jeep GC 4xe also only 26 mi EV range.. aren't many 3 row PHEV out there. VERY detailed review of the engine/PHEV setup!
In real world use, "clunkiness" may not be a big deal for most. I think he is comparing to more mature hybrid brands that have put a lot more time into PHEV powertrain refinement.
This is the best technical breakdown of this vehicle I have seen. Great job! We leased a CX90 PHEV about six months ago, and we really do love it. I agree. The driveline system is a little clunky, but we live with it for the greater efficiency. I think it has gotten a little better learning our driving styles.
I own the PP PHEV... I love this car. I think they did a wonderful job with this 1st generation. A couple of things The shifter- it's fine you get used to it. There are safety precautions to keep your car from rolling away if you forget to put it in park The performance- for a 4-cylinder car with an electric motor to help. It moves pretty well. I have no complaints about it. There are a few times when you have that “delay kick” but it's not anything that serious. The infotainment system- The screen is touch screen however, only while you are in AA or Apple Car Play mode, everything else is done with the rotary dial. It only took me a few days to get used to it. Gas mileage- I average about 39 MPG I drive mostly city driving but I am a soccer dad so I do have a few HWY miles I have gotten all the way up to 50 MPG. You can tell that the next generation of this SUV will be even better, keep in mind this is the first go-round with this model!!! Fortunately, I leased mine I will have the opportunity to upgrade when the time comes!
Excellent explanation as always but we found this to be way more refined than expected. Of course you could catch the system off guard but for the most part transitions were pretty seamless. Slow speed parking lots are when you could tell some things were transitioning but in most driving you could hardly tell. Sport mode was the real surprise. With MPGs low priority the gas engine stays on and with the electric assist the car is lively and fun to drive. While you may save some on gas if you charge, your charging costs and real world ev range may neutralize any pump savings. Great mechanical overview. But again, we found this much more refined than many reviewers have reported.
13:30 Your press vehicle might not have the TCU updates. It’s not jarring unless you’re trying to drive in EV only mode and then floor it to engage the motor. If you’re driving in Normal mode it’s way more fluid and uses EV until X amount of throttle pressure. If you drive it in Sport mode it’s fluid.
Mazda is on a roll, great looks, nice interiors and modern tech. I've had a 06 (ford based) 6, a 15 6 (manual) and currently a 17 6 (auto), all have been excellent with the exception of the ford v6 oil leaks (front timing and valve coves). the 2.5 has been an excellent engine as has been the mazda designed 6 spd auto. The 15 manual was not my cup of tea and I grew to dislike it enough to trade to an Auto. Currently sitting just under 70K on the 17 and not a single issue to be had. no leaks, no oil consumption and good mpg.
If only they had a model between the size of the CX-50 and CX-90 with a polished version of this powertrain. Alas, the CX-70 is just a CX-90 with a rear seat delete and similar weight/efficiency...
Mine has been showing me 30-33mi on 80%. I avoid going below 20% or bout 7-8mi left. Enough to get me to and from work on a 30min commute each way. And level 2 charger takes it from around 20-30% up to 80% in bout 60-90min. I have been going 3wks on same tank of gas. I really wish it had 30-40 miles from 20-80% but that would require a bigger and heavier battery.
There are 2 systems that make sense to me in the hybrid phev world. 1-The Alpha Romeo/Dodge hornet R/T phev setup. 2-The Nissan E-Power setup. Both are very simple, easy to diagnose and service and super straightforward concept.
I love watching your technical reviews, you explain the powertrain so well. All reviewers just give power and torque figures and 0-60 times. I’m all for knowing the engine and transmission and any internal upgrades and how they both work. Thanks for your Great work. Just so appreciate it !!
I hope Mazda listens to your feedback too, AMD. I love watching your car reviews. I am more interested in what's under the hood and servicability and how it drives. I'm in the market for a new family car and I really take your word into consideration. Keep it up!!!
I'm a fan of Mazda! I was introduced to them in 2018 when my daughter's old Honda Odyssey van got t-boned so they totaled it. She wanted a Nissan Roque but I found a nicely used 2016 Mazda CX-5 at my Toyota dealership. What a great car for DIY's to work on...even the transmission service wasn't a big job! (She traded it in for a 2021 Hyundai Palisade last year so I'm, still, undecided on that thing!! :-)
AMD, As the former owner of an extremely humble 323 hatch, I will be very interested to see how Mazda's move into the world of 'premium' cars unfolds over the next few years. 🤔 One thing is for sure, my 4 on the floor 323 shifted gears much more smoothly than this luxury model. 😉
I leased one week ago. I moved from my Toyota Sienna Hybrid 2023 to Mazda bc I used to own a Mazda CX7 years ago. and loved it. For me is confusing since the Sienna is so much simple I guess. I´m still learning. Thank you😬
There’s a really good explanation of the design decisions for the phev in the motoman RU-vid channel. The electric motor drives the transmission and isn’t like EVs where the motor drives the wheel directly. The reason for this is because of the size of the car and the performance trade offs.
Thank you for the fantastic review! I'm eagerly anticipating the review of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 2024. I hope you'll include it in your future discussions and reviews.
And btw, your review of the CX-5 from about 2 years ago was the reason for my 2nd car. A 2023 CX-5 in blue signature edition. BEST CAR IVE EVER OWNED! Asking questions now because the lease on my CX-9 is up and I’m on the fence with the 2024 PHEV premium plus
Thank you, Car Care Nut (would be better to address by name though :)) I'm glad you did this review, based on the other reviews this car is almost perfect! I actually called to your shop and left a message to ask you to do this review :) Thanks again!!! I have mazda 3 2013 and I also have "clunkiness" on low speeds (looks like a family issue). It bothers a little but I rarely use 'low speeds' :))))) But! I LOVE my mazda even though I rented many cars, mazda is one of the best, I love it more than our Lexus RX350...
The inline 6 is less complicated than the PHEV. Not sure where that came from… A timing chain being in the back is literally the only “complication” in an otherwise super simple engine.
I ran across your channel because i wanted some insight on the 2024 Toyota 4Runner my wife had purchased and found your input extremely helpful. I respect your opinions from your thorough reviews. That being said I would love to hear your opinion of the new Cadillac Lyriq and hope you do a review on one.
It is one of the rare cases when PHEV version is easier to maintain and more reliable vs regular model. The regular CX-90 is $10k less to buy but $20k more to maintain. Don't forget $7500 rebate when lease PHEV. With that Grand Highlander is day and night more reliable choice
@21:09 I believe you used the word packaging in context of finished product of car for the first time in your video. That is how you are improving the quality of you content. Keep it up.
I leased a CX70 PHEV and I really think most of these clunkiness has been addressed. Beautiful car, coming from a CX9 I’m used to most controls. The shifter into park is really my problem a month in I still forget to push it to the left almost got me in trouble a couple of times.
Infiniti Q50 hybrid has two clutches a wet and dry clutch. The dry clutch is to engage and disengage the motor from the transmission. The wet clutch is use to change ratios/gears in the transmission. The electric motor is where a normal torque converter is usually located.
Eagerly waiting for LX TX PHEV in-depth review. Specifically on the heat pump, looking to heat the cabin in chicago winters without opening garage door.
Seems the challenge is getting your hands on a PHEV at a good price. Although without govt incentives, PHEVs aren't (yet??) really as desirable a technology as regular hybrids. Maybe works for big cities
These cars have gotten so insane, and feel so different, it has got to be a nightmare for the service departments. I remember working in service departments back in high school and college, and the phantom things that happened once out of every 50 drive cycles that people came in for. It cost money for us to not find a problem. Warranty’s cover broken, not “gee it felt or sounded kinda weird once, I think, sorta.”
Thank you to reviews the Mazda CX-90 PHEV, I have been looking forward for this “mecanic” reviews for a while. As usual, you have done a great reviews ! 😊
This drive system seems like the 2023 KIA Sportage that I bought in Mar 2023. There is no clunking going from EV to ending start. In fact, most times I can't tell that the engine started ! I am very pleased with it. I would like to watch a review of the KIA.
Hello AMD!. I recently purchased the cx90 phev and I’m not sure what octane to put on the vehicle. I know 91 octane is recommended but is 87 fine? Also, how often do you do oil changes? 1st 1000 miles? Then 5k thereafter?. Thanks!
I’m waiting for the CX-70 PEHV, which will be the same but two rows and I think they will fix all the issues that you mentioned in this video. If you are an absolute Mazda fan, I would say lease the CX-90 and buy the the 2027 year model. It will be soooooooo refined, I promise.
Great review. Once again as a guy who works on his own vehicles I I’m appreciate your channel so much. It is giving me the insight to make sound buy decisions. I really love how this car looks but I just can’t get behind any of the powertrain decisions they made. Looks like I’m going with the CX nine.
On the sound issue... there are reports that pedestrians are being hurt in higher numbers by EV's than ICEV's - in part because of the silence of the EV. Mazda is a safety oriented company - so I"d suggest that the electric motor noise could help to mitigate this risk.
I am watching this not to decide to buy but to learn more technical details. I test drove a few suvs and vans and the drive feel of the cx90 is unmatched. Your criticism aren’t that a big deal to me. The transmission jitteryness is there only on lower speeds for me. Might be fixable with software updates. The gear shifter is not a big deal to me at all, have you seen the ridiculous rotary dial for dodge cars??
All what you feel about clunkiness is due to lack of torque converter … Mazda is the first to try a clutch in place of TC for a planetary automatic .. software and hardware updates for the next iteration will solve the problem… removing torque converter is a big deal for fuel efficiency
Pretty scary when my car automatically jerked and stopped while driving 5 mph. Premium Plus is not a quite ride for luxury, you are correct. Also, there are a lot of little things here and there that are quit bothersome that could have been easily corrected to make driving the 90 a better less aggravated experience. Other than that, a pretty great vehicle. Oh I also find the placement of the side windshield corners can be blinding when turning. Also, slow camera when approaching and reversing.
There should be a setting in the infotainment center to change to touch screen vs knob only. There may also be a setting in there to unlock front doors vs all doors.
Love the covered catalytic converter, everyone should be doing that. The clunky driving, goofy shifter, conventional transmission (maybe some people would love that, I like eCVTs just fine) & transfer case to maintain, mediocre thermal systems, etc would completely turn me off. EV range is pretty poor too, it's almost not worth having unless you make really short trips between places it can be charged. Coming up on two year wait for Rav4 Prime so I guess I need to look at other PHEVs at some point.
I think the fact that they are using the same 2.5 engine is the main drawback of this car. The engine is not designed to switch on/off frequently like Toyota's system. That's why they only get 25MPG in non-EV mode and long-term reliability can be affected too.
I've had some rough shifting occasionally because the transmission uses a single wet clutch instead of a torque converter. However, the car transitions very smoothly between electric only to hybrid if I'm not explicitly driving in the ev drive mode. So, I don't know where the emphasis on the rough engine transition is coming from in this video.
We just leased one to get the rebates, and they must have done some software refinements because after back to back driving the PHEV with the I6 version, we found the I6 jerky off the line, laggard in power delivery, and rougher and more hesitant shifting. We had actually driven the I6 first and was so disappointed by it we were walking and talked into driving the PHEV and was blown away. No not quite as smooth as the transition our 2019 V6 Hybrid Highlander this is replacing has but sounds like way better then earlier versions of this PHEV. So maybe they’ve heard you and Mazda is polishing the system programmatically?
Turns out the reason why Ford and Chrysler both use the same 2 motor planetary gearset hybrid drivetrain pioneered by Toyota. The single motor 2 clutch design is also used by VW/Audi (paired with their DSG or S tronic units) and the smoothness is not that great either, but it does feel more conventional with the shifting.
I wouldn't buy this car or any EV or plug in hybrid due to the battery and battery life issues. Not sure about the parallel hybrid technology here. I do think however Mazda quality is a lot better than most manufacturers. Good review here AMD. Thank you all at TCCN Public Broadcasting Studios.
@@chibbyylol I run a Toyota hybrid in UK. I keep reading about battery life deterioration on other brands. Does the Toyota UK warranty cover the battery retaining its capacity? Great if it does but the other brand horror stories make me nervous. Thanks
@@raycollington4310 there are Prius / hybrids that are in the 200k mileage still on original batteries It is true that battery does degrade, but at the point I think it actually becomes noticeable, the driver is likely on their way out into another vehicle
I'd love to see this powertrain crammed into a CX5 as a way to get rid of the turbo 4. Redo the dash and reintroduce a tunnel in the cabin, from front to back to make it sit and fit.
Always a fan of your videos when it comes to the details under the hood. e.g. the video where you explain differences between current generation GR86 and the previous one. Could you tell whats that rusted piece of suspension at @19:14
Love your reviews! I know the CX-60 doesn't get sold on the American market, but do you happen to know if the engine and the transmission are the same as in the CX-60 PHEV?
Can you please add the Price and Horsepower of the vehicle you are testing, always good to know right off the bat. Thank you and keep up the great videos.
I'd love to know which SUV available today, brand new, is most rerliable, easy to repair and maintain. I feel that all vehicles today are over-engineered and are so complex that only the dealership can repair. What do you recommend?
Good point on the clunkiness. I have the same exact issue with my 23 Grand Cherokee Overland Plug-in. I am very disappointed. I love the car very much, hate that concept. I will never lease one again. Either V6 or fully EV, one day. Not going to happen.
Video Suggestion: How much should car owners have in savings to cover emergency car repair expenses? My opinion is $500 for new to 3-years old. Then $750 for 3-years to 5-years. Then $1,000 for 5-10 years and $2,000 or more for 10+ years. What does The Car Care Nut suggest??
