2025 Mazda CX-70 five-seater will go on sale this spring

Mazda's new 2025 CX-70 midsize crossover will offer two electrified powertrains, innovative cargo space and sleek styling when it goes on sale this spring.

The five-seater is the third vehicle from Mazda's large platform to debut, behind the CX-50 compact crossover and the three-row CX-90, which replaced the CX-9.

It's Mazda's first midsize crossover and will be a crucial part of continuing to enhance the appeal of the brand, which has long aspired to move upmarket.

The CX-70 could also provide the boost Mazda needs to hit a goal of 400,000 U.S. sales in 2024.

"We think our brand characteristics fit nicely in that segment in terms of appreciation for design and driving dynamics," Tom Donnelly, Mazda North American Operations CEO, told Automotive News.

The CX-70 projects an athletic and aggressive aesthetic, emphasizing a low and wide front fascia and muscular shape. The styling departs from Mazda's more slender offerings such as the CX-5 compact crossover and the discontinued CX-9.

Mazda's larger platform lends itself to an electrified powertrain.

Like the larger CX-90, the CX-70 will offer two engine choices. The standard engine is a turbocharged 3.3-liter inline six-cylinder engine that uses a 48-volt mild-hybrid system. There is also an optional plug-in hybrid powertrain.

Mazda says both engines prioritize sporty driving dynamics and efficiency and stay true to the brand's focus on keeping drivers connected with the road.

Mazda did not provide specs for either engine, but they are the same ones used in the CX-90. The CX-90 offers two versions of the 3.3-liter engine — one that delivers 280 hp and a higher trim option that is tuned for 340 hp.

The plug-in CX-90 gets 323 hp, and Mazda dealers report that it provides a real-world all-electric range of 30 to 40 miles.

"Another beautiful part about CX-70 is the advantage of the cargo capacity that it will provide," Donnelly said.

The cargo area is maximized for organized gear-hauling and features additional compartments and hooks for bags or other equipment as well as a storage area under the floor to keep items out of sight.

There are also remote folding rear seats, meant to simplify the task of loading.

The CX-70 will get Mazda's first integration of Amazon Alexa so the driver can make hands-free commands to control temperature, music or smart home devices.

In addition to Mazda's Cruising & Traffic Support advanced driver-assistance technologies — a combination of adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance — the CX-70 will offer Unresponsive Driver Support, which will stop the vehicle if a driver is unresponsive to multiple alerts.

Mazda is gleaning a lot of market insight from its CX-90 plug-in hybrid and expects the CX-70 will continue to feed consumer demand for the powertrain.

Depending on the market, the plug-in hybrid accounts for 15 to 25 percent of CX-90 sales. Donnelly expects the CX-70 plug-in hybrid to land somewhere in the 20 to 25 percent range.

The CX-90 plug-in hybrid is popular on the West Coast, as expected, but Donnelly said Mazda is also encouraged by the reception that buyers in the Midwest and South are having to it.

Together, Mazda expects the CX-90 and CX-70 to equal three times the volume of the CX-9, which in 2022, its last full year of sales, sold about 35,600.

"We're tracking at about that pace right now. With CX-90, it's about two and a half times the volume we were doing with CX-9," Donnelly said.

Donnelly said 70 percent of CX-90 buyers are new to the Mazda brand, and many of them are affluent.

Though Mazda vehicles are typically cross-shopped with other mainstream Japanese brands such as Toyota, Honda and Subaru, dealers are seeing trade-ins from Acura, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. That's especially true for the higher output variants of the CX-90, he said.

Mazda expects the CX-70 will draw a similar demographic.

"This customer profile represents an opportunity for us — they are largely empty nesters; people who are comfortable where they are in their life, both financially and emotionally, and careerwise as well," Donnelly said.

Mazda did not share pricing of the CX-70, but analysts expect lower trims to start around $40,000. The CX-90 starts around $41,000 and tops out at $61,920 including shipping.

Donnelly also said CX-90 buyers are more likely to lease, and the brand expects CX-70 buyers will be similar.

"With CX-70's introduction, we expect [leasing penetration] to be somewhere in the neighborhood of what CX-90 is producing, which is south of 30 percent," he said.

"We see that as very advantageous for us in terms of just keeping them within the Mazda family, and [we're] continuing to monitor that in terms of the expectations for CX-90 and CX-70."