Mazda CX-90 Launches in Australia With Diesel Option Touted as Efficiency Champ

Let us think about it for a second. The region not only has the CX-60 (like the Old Continent) but now also gains access to the new CX-90 crossover SUV flagship (like North America) as the latest representative of the company’s new RWD and AWD Skyactiv (Multi-Solution Scalable Architecture) with a longitudinal engine setup. And, as opposed to the United States, where only the mild hybrid 3.3-liter e-Skyactiv G turbo inline-six and the four-pot 2.5-liter e-Skyactiv plug-in hybrid are available, Australia, in turn, nets the e-Skyactiv D turbo diesel (D50e) mill, which is touted as the segment’s “efficiency champion.”

Considered in charge of the ‘Mazda Premium’ ethos and “the brand’s most luxurious model ever made,” the first-ever Mazda CX-90 has been introduced to Australia in almost full specification. For now, the only things we do not know are the final prices and exact trims. Otherwise, the Japanese automaker has already revealed they will become known during the first quarter of the year, so they should drop swiftly before the month’s end. As for initial deliveries, those have been scheduled for August. Now, let us get on with the highlights, as there is also one little catch to discuss.

Probably just to maintain the equilibrium, Mazda has decided the Australian-spec CX-90 will miss out (at least at first) on the PHEV action, so only the inline-six mild hybrid and diesel powerplants will be available for purchase. Their specifications include the same 3.3-liter displacement and a 48-volt M Hybrid boost MHEV unit, with 187 kW (251 hp) and 550 Nm (406 lb-ft) of torque for the e-Skyactiv D and a brawny 254 kW (341 hp) and 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) for the gasoline sibling. While the latter is more powerful, the former is, in turn, a lot more efficient.

As such, one will have to choose between performance – to the tune of sprinting to 62 mph (100 kph) in 6.9 seconds (which is 1.7 seconds faster than a 2.5-liter turbo Mazda CX-9 AWD) for the e-Skyactiv G, and high efficiency. In return, the e-Skyactiv D mill helps the CX-90 large SUV achieve a “best-in-class combined fuel consumption” of 5.4 l/100 km (43.55 mpg), as opposed to the 8.2 l/100 km (28.68 mpg) returned by the gas sibling. As always, one can only win some after losing some, right? Anyway, the diesel mill is also more powerful than its 2.2-liter predecessor in the CX-8, and also faster to 62 mph (100 kph) – 8.4 seconds compared to 9.6s. Now, hopefully, the prices do not follow the same trend of going a lot higher!