Mid-size crossover SUVs come in a lot of different styles, from longer models with three rows to shorter models with only two rows. The Toyota Highlander, Kia Sorento, and Hyundai Santa Fe are examples of vehicles that fall in the middle. They have three rows of seats but cast shadows that look like those of two-row mid-size cars. We thought that Mazda’s new two-row mid-size model would be similar to its five-seat siblings. It would trade the third row of its bigger sibling for less total length to make it easier to move around and more likely to fit in most garages. This guess was made based on the way the brand’s names are structured and the fact that the CX-70 has been kept secret since the three-row CX-90 came out about a year ago. We needed to be corrected about what the CX-70 was; it’s actually a CX-90 with one less row, not a smaller but mechanically identical twin. The CX-70 is on the left, and the CX-90 is on the right. Mazda made a decision that was out of the ordinary and could have been wrong in this case. Strangely, they are doing this since they already make and market the CX-60 in other countries. If you compare the CX-60 to the CX-90, which is bigger, you’ll see that it has two rows of seats instead of three. It has new body parts and a wheelbase that is ten inches shorter than the CX-90. The mid-size cars Mazda sends us are longer than this one by more than a foot. The car company chose this route so they wouldn’t have to pay to make and certify a new model for our country. Even though neither Mazda nor the NHTSA have said for sure, the CX-70 will be approved in a way that is very similar to how the CX-90 was. The CX-70 is different from the CX-90 because it has fewer seats and a different front bumper, back roof spoiler, and exterior trim. In effect, Mazda is trying to make this trim package look like a one-of-a-kind car. To give you an idea, Toyota calls 4Runners with an extra third row “5Runners.” How people feel about Mazda’s decision to sell its two-row CX-90 as a whole new car will eventually show if the company made the right choice. The CX-70’s success will depend a lot on how much it costs compared to the CX-90. We’re not psychic, but this is what we think. If the CX-90 isn’t much less expensive than the CX-70, there isn’t much reason to pick it over the 80. Mazda hasn’t said anything about how the CX-70 and CX-90’s frame tuning is different. The CX-70’s handling and steering have probably been changed to make it more agile than the CX-9, though. Even so, engineers will only be able to hide a portion of this big and heavy mid-size crossover SUV’s weight. This means that the CX-70 will feel bigger and heavier when driven than its smaller five-seat rivals. If this is true, Mazda may have saved money in the short term by selling the same car under two different names, but they may have lost money in the long term.
