Mazda to cease production on short-lived CX-70
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If the three-row Mazda CX-90 floats your boat, its two-row companion offers gigantic cargo space and a near-luxury cabin albeit for a hefty price compared with rivals.
Just in -- Mazda has announced the CX-70 will cease production next year while folding it into the CX-90 -- offering a two- or three-row option. Sales of both have plummeted, primarily because they are the same SUV.
Our CX-70 tester for a week showed its prowess along with a mild hybrid that boosted fuel economy a bit, along with its inline 3.3-liter six-cylinder engine. Together, they develop 340 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque provided you use premium fuel at just under $5.
Introduced last year as a sporty two-row midsize SUV, the CX-70 features all-wheel drive and is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.
We were impressed with its get-up-and-go. At our independent test track, the turbo-charged 5,000-pounder reached 60 miles per hour in a respectable 6.7 seconds while maintaining its zoom-zoom brand slogan.
Road manners are on the stiff side, and gear shifting is erratic at times under acceleration. Its firm suspension keeps body roll in check during cornering although our Premium-Plus trim level with its 21-inch wheels and low-profile rubber resulted in a firm ride that will appeal to the sport-minded enthusiast.
In highway travel, our tester had plenty of passing power when needed, and the downshift was quick and orderly with no jerky movements.
The all-wheel-drive CX-70 carries over its larger CX-90 rear-biased platform shifting power to the front wheels only when a slip is detected while maintaining a rear-driven character on dry roads.
Towing capacity on our tester is rated at 5,000 pounds while the hybrid version is capped at 3,500 pounds.
Some potential buyers may be turned off with its $42,750 starting price, thousands more than rivals' Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Subaru Outback and Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. Our tester stickered at just under $60 large.
The CX-70 has zero U.S/Canadian parts and is entirely assembled in Hofu, Japan.
Interior treatment is near luxury with Nappa leather seating with matching suede accents and welcome physical controls instead of eyes off the road drilling for many adjustments found in some rivals.
Cargo capacity is just under 40 cubic feet behind the second row and 75 cubes with rear seats folded. There is also hidden underfloor storage.
Dual 12.3-inch displays preview engine vitals and infotainment apps including navigation controls. Unfortunately, Mazda's outdated rotary selector makes tuning in a navigation address tedious. Each letter selection requires moving through the alphabet in a time-consuming manner.
Voice controls will speed the address selection while using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto navigation but the Mazda system relies on the rotary selections only.
All CX-70's include a plethora of driver-assist features including adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, front and rear cross-traffic alerts and braking, emergency lane-keeping, blind spot monitoring, front and rear parking sensors and secondary collision reduction that helps prevent subsequent impacts and minimize further damage following air bag deployment.
(Contact independent automotive columnist Len Ingrassia at editor@ptd.net.)