The 2026 Mazda CX-90 is the flagship 3-row SUV that has me very conflicted. Its 2-row variant, the CX-70 is technically the price flagship model at a starting point of about $3000 more. The CX-90 does start at a lower trim in the form of the 3.3 Turbo Select, but when matching the trim to the CX-70, the CX-90 does come in at $700 more. It is a little confusing but the big question you’ll want to ask yourself is if you’ll ever need 3-rows of seats, then go with the CX-90

Going with the 3-row CX-90, you can go with the 2nd row bench or with the captain’s chairs with center walkthrough. My personal recommendation is to go with the bench as you’ll get the 8-seat configuration, and you won’t need to worry about cargo items coming through the middle opening.

The next major decision is the engine option. The base trim has the 3.3L turbo inline 6-cylinder with 280 horsepower. Go with a Turbo S trim and you get a bump in power to 360 horsepower. Finally, you have the option of a plug-in hybrid 4-cylinder with 323 horsepower. I had the chance to drive a 2025 CX-70 with the hybrid drivetrain and was frustrated with the fact that you’ll need to press a button every startup, to use the engine to charge the battery system. I’m hoping it has been changed in the 2026 model which is why I prefer the 3.3L 6-cylinder. The power delivery is always available in any RPM range. The other thing I was impressed with the 6-cylinder, was the ease of access to common maintenance items like the battery, coolant, brake fluid, turbo, and it even has a dipstick!

Overall, you can’t go wrong with the 2026 Mazda CX-90 if you’re looking for a 3 row SUV with looks, power, and luxuries.