In what may be described as a ‘sky is blue’ moment, eagle-eyed fans of the Mazda brand have uncovered some filings with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) indicating the snazzy new CX-70 is going to share greasy bits with the tony CX-90.
For those not in the know, Mazda is readying the CX-70 to serve as a two-row option sold alongside the three-row CX-90. Platform guts will be shared, albeit altered and shortened to make a more appropriate footprint; in other words, Mazda isn’t just ripping the back seats out of a CX-90 and calling it a day. Buyers can expect plenty of luxury in this machine, thanks to the brand’s continuing upmarket aspirations.
As for what will be under the hood, a trio of engines show up on the CARB filing, all of which align rather neatly with the big-bro CX-90 catalog: two flavors of 3.3L mills appended with hybrid gubbins plus a 2.5L plug-in hybrid unit. Alert readers will recall the former is of a silky inline-six configuration, a piston placement which has the double benefit of generally operating like butter and forcing a pleasing dash-to-axle ratio. In the CX-90, it helps cut a rear-wheel drive type of figure, helping make the car one of the most handsome options in its segment. Expect the same for its smaller CX-70 brother.
The CX-90 comes equipped with all-wheel drive and it is likely the CX-70 will, as well. In terms of power, the standard strength models get 280 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of twist from the 3.3L turbo engine while the high output trims, denoted with an S, are good for 340 ponies and 369 torques. It’s worth noting Mazda says the non-S runs just fine on regular grade gasoline but the hi-po unit prefers to swill premium. For its part, the PHEV delivers 323 horses and 369 lb-ft. It can tow 3,500 pounds compared to the gasser’s 5k and once again runs best on premium fuel.
Smart money has the Mazda CX-70 showing up in the 2024 calendar year.
[Image: Mazda]
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