Ford Explorer vs Mazda CX-90 Comparison

Mike, thanks for joining me today even though the weather's not great. I want to take us on a

journey of the mind. I'm in, but how about maybe a little later? We've still got to drive. No

no. What I mean is back about two years ago, we actually introduced the Mazda CX-90 to almost

every three-row SUV in the segment. Almost. I think I remember that. Yeah. Cue video clip

Where the heck is Mike? Hey Kyle, sorry I'm late. You ready to get started

The one vehicle that was missing that was very noticeable was the Ford Explorer, which

was just facelifted for 2025. Yeah, and you know what? These two SUVs, crossovers, whatever you want to call them, have a lot more in common than

you might think. For starters, of the mainstream, they're two of the only ones that have their inline engines

pointing towards the rear wheels. They're both rear-wheel drive bias. for those who may not remember back in the day these two were partners Ford actually owned a

lot of Mazda before they sold them off and they used to make SUVs and sedans together

and maybe most importantly they both have proper headlights it's true there's none of that split

headlight stuff that you see on so many vehicles this no giant bar here and a little light down

here well I don't choose a light down there but that's a fog light we do have a giant grill though but anyway what we're going to do is even though these are quite different beyond those

on the surface similarities. We're going to take them out for a drive and see how they compare

Now let's talk powertrain because on paper this seems like an easy win. The CX-90 has a bigger

torqueier engine. It's down on horsepower at least in this trim. You can get a higher horsepower

model but it should be more cultured right? It's an inline six. It's what luxury cars use instead of

just a turbo four-cylinder that's in just about everything these days, like the Explorer

Well, it's a bit of a mixed bag. So once you get going, the inline-six is great. It sounds pretty

good, like if I need to floor it to merge. Sounds really good, picks up nicely, lots of torque

easy access anywhere in the rev range. So that's good. The bad thing is this transmission

just staying in the right gear. Now that's very specific to certain situations, like if you're

stuck in, well, traffic kind of like this on a highway, where you're going quicker than stop and

go, but it's never getting up to proper speed. And so you're stuck constantly lifting off or

braking lightly and accelerating and the transmission just stumbles a little bit. It's

not sure which gear it really wants to be in. At low speeds the Mazda also stutters from starts

depending on how aggressive you are with the throttle and how patient you are with the start

stop system. I prefer start stop systems because I live in the city so I spend a lot of time at

red lights, I'd like to save some fuel. But if you get a little too aggressive, it's very jerky off

the line. It kind of feels like a dual clutch even though it's not. It does have a coasting feature

though. So if I lift off at speeds under, well, highway speeds, the engine will turn off for a

little while and you'll get the little i-stop light up display in your instrument cluster

and that's great. And that is what contributes to the CX90's stellar fuel economy. So even though

this is a much bigger engine than the one in the Explorer, it's better on gas

The entry-level Active and the ST line get a 2.3 liter turbocharged four-cylinder that can be

matched with rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. It's a powerful engine, but more importantly

it is a lot more refined and smoother than the old turbo four-cylinder. When using premium gas

it makes 300 horsepower, which is actually more than the CX90, despite giving up a liter of

displacement and two cylinders. In fairness, the 280 that's quoted on the CX90 is using regular gas

and not premium, where I figure if regular was used in here, which it can be, power would be

pretty similar. What this engine does lack, though, is torque. It can't really match the larger

more cylinder rich engine in the CX90. All that said it's quite potent on the road. A lot of people

might think oh a rear-wheel drive bias Explorer with four cylinders got to be terrible but 300

horsepower is more than a lot of the V6 Explorers have made in the past or V8s even if you go far

enough back and in this vehicle it's always ready to accelerate. There's no real delay or lag and

there's power through most of the band. The big reason for that is Ford's really been working on

their 10-speed automatic in their rear-wheel drive bias vehicles and it shows in the Explorer

No longer is there that feeling that it's not sure which gear it should be in as it's hunting up and

down through the range and more importantly it doesn't take a while to kick down when acceleration

is called for nor does it hold the gear too long. The tuning and logic behind it is so much better

Cool thing is put it in sport mode and not only does the engine and transmission respond better

it actually makes a cool little noise. I mean even in regular mode the engine sounds okay

but when you put it in the sport, get that nice little growl

Kind of a nice touch. Makes it not feel so four-cylinder-like. I know it's partially manufactured, and that's fine

I don't care if it's manufactured. I just care about what I hear. Do you want a handsome, tastefully designed three-row SUV

the sort that truly straddles the line between mainstream and premium Do you then want to paint it in the most boring shade imaginable Well Mazda has you covered This trim really kind of downplays how good looking the CX is

Sure, you can see some of the details like those sharp headlights and taillights

which include my favorite soft pulse turn signal feature that only Mazda does that I really like

but this cement gray is just so blah. Now I do appreciate that the Mazda has silver wheels not black ones so that's a

positive but even then the 21 inch alloy design is pretty pedestrian it doesn't

really stand out I actually thought they were smaller because they don't

necessarily look big but again this is an attractive vehicle even in the dullest

paint imaginable The one area the Explorer's in pretty tough in this comparison is styling. Now for 2025

the vehicle got a refresh and the exterior is different, although it's very similar and familiar

but the little tweaks I like, the taillights are different and they now attach because everyone

needs a full light bar across the back end of every vehicle. I guess we can thank the Charger

for starting that trend. And the headlights are a little different and the grille's wider. Every

trim gets a specific grille, so this has obviously the ST-line grille. Compared to the Seahicks

90 though it looks very plain and ordinary which is maybe what some people want it doesn't stand

out in the crowd it just blends in and it's just simple good transportation now this does have the

st line street package or street style or street something basically what that means is it has the

upgraded 21 inch alloy wheels with wide 275 tires all around the brakes are performance brakes and

the calipers get painted now it doesn't transform this into a sport suv but the brakes especially

are a nice touch because if you have it full of passengers or you're using anything near

its 5,000 pound towing limit, it's nice to have better brakes. Handsome yet subdued is a great way to describe the cabin of the CX-90 as well because while

there are other colors available, this one is black with a few brown bronzy highlights

in the seats and with the stitching. And that's fine, because this is an attractive

premium-feeling cabin. Mazda's been doing this for almost a decade now, giving its cars

better-looking and feeling interiors than a lot of their mainstream competitors. You have a soft-touch

dashboard. It's a bit of a more organic design than what you'll find in some cars, because nowadays

pure minimalism and ultra horizontal designs are the rage this has some fairings just some visual

interest to make it a little more well it just helps it stand out from the crowd now while no

one will probably ever admit it at mazda it's pretty clear that previous generation bmws were

the target when it comes to the layout of the controls down here because you have a whole bunch

of very clearly labeled physical buttons for climate controls. You have toggles. It's very

easy to use and I love it. Ford spent a lot of time with his refresh working on the interior. The

24 and earlier Explorers weren't overly premium or nice. They were super functional and they did

the job but that's about all I could say is they were capable. But with the new interior they've

added a little bit of style and kept the functionality and just kind of made it more

modern all around like I like the sort of fake metal bar that goes across the dash and there's

like sort of a carpeted material on it much like the Mustang Mach-E and they still kept the

functionality where the wireless charger is is kind of cool because it got sort of tiered shelving

so there's cubbies everywhere like in the doors and then being the ST line there's the contrasting

right stitching. But again, it's going up against the CX-90 here, which arguably has the most

stylish interior of any of these somewhat mainstream three-row SUVs. The trade-off to this stylish looking cabin is that you just don't have a lot of the usefulness

that you'll find in the Explorer. There's decent storage here, but nothing like the Explorer's

twin level setup. Now if we want to be positive with our wording here, I'll say that the feature

set on the Mazda should appeal to the traditional driver who doesn't like a whole lot of, let's call

them distractions. The other way to put it is that the Mazda is just lacking features. A lot of modern

features that you'll find in the Explorer. Not safety features, I will say that Mazda goes very

well on that front. You even get front cross-traffic alert, which seems kind of redundant to most

people, but hey, it's good to have it. And luckily, it's very clear how to tailor all these assists

to your liking in the infotainment, because there are information screens for every one. So that's

really good. I appreciate that Mazda has a wide-ranging lineup of safety assists and that

they are explained easily in the car. I know I'm not breaking any new ground here complaining about

Mazda's infotainment system, but still it has to be mentioned. The Fords is easy to use and bright

and quick and this you have to use the rotary dial and that's only okay sometimes. Never mind

the convoluted approach to getting some touchscreen connectivity with Apple CarPlay. It's just frustrating and it doesn't need to be

As I said this is the second tier model in the Explorer lineup It really simplified this year so it just active ST ST So what does in the ST come with

Well, the front seats are heated and powered, and there's the dual digital displays

the customizable digital gauge cluster, and the big infotainment screen. This model comes standard with captain's chairs in the second row

although you could get a bench if you opt for it. And I also have the premium package, which adds nice little touches

like the wireless phone charging port. there's heated seats now in the second row the driver seats memory there's also the optional

panoramic moonroof which i think is a great feature in a lot of three-row vehicles because

it makes things a little brighter and more airy feeling for second row passengers and

even third row passengers where things can sometimes be a little cramped and

kind of dark like a cavern something else that cx90 is missing that's in this explorer

is the power folding third row seats it's quite a nice feature to have if your hands are full

or you can't quite reach the latches to put down the rear seats

But the one feature the Explorer has that you can't get in any CX-90 is Blue Cruise

Ford's fully hands-free driving system. You just set it on your steering wheel and then you don't have to do anything

Even in traffic like I'm in, it will stop, start, keep the distance for me

It'll even change lanes if it sees an opening or if I initiate a lane change

It's such a great system. Blue Cruise and down the road, changing lanes

Cybertruck coming up behind me getting cut off I hope I break soon. I gotta say I prefer the front

seat when it comes to comfort in the Mazda over the Ford. Now it's not any more spacious I mean

you do get a pretty useful sunroof and then a second panel for the second row passengers

but I just mean that the seating position is nicer I get a better view out of the vehicle

I love Mazda's steering wheels they are the right size and shape and thickness and these seats are

just a little more comfortable I actually quite like this front seat and I find it comfortable

and the armrests are a good place and as I said there's storage everywhere and sight lines are

decent the material on the insert of this seat isn't the best it's kind of abrasive so if it's

if you're in shorts or something might rub against your legs and not a pleasant way but

But as far as cushion and support goes, I like it. And of course, as I said before, the ride quality in here is so much better than the CX90s

Now Mike made the unfair comparison of getting into the CX90 and saying that it had flat tires after the Explorer because of how harsh the ride is

And that's not fair, but it's also not quite as far away as you might think

So out on winding back roads where we did a lot of our filming together, yeah, it's great

When I go and explore my own neighborhood more in the city on these rough, terrible roads

yeah, it rides pretty roughly. You hear and feel every little expansion in the street or any filling line, anything, really

which is well not great. When an SUV has a platform that is rear-wheel drive bias

it usually goes one of two ways. It either tries to be like a BMW and a really good handling SUV

which is definitely what Mazda's trying to do with the CX-90 or it can go the other way and be more

of a soft riding truck like an Expedition or Navigator. The Explorer is really neither. The

Explorer drives a lot like other three-row SUVs in this class. Dare we say the crossovers. They've

done a good job much like Jeep and Dodge have done with the Durango and Grand Cherokee to make it so

easy to drive and smooth and kind of tone out any potential truck-like aspects. Now this isn't a

body on frame so there's that advantage right off the bat but usually if you're looking for the

super smooth almost minivan like driving experience you're getting vehicles that are

kind of sharing a platform with the minivan this is nothing like that now all that said it's a little beefier more substantial than say a highlander

the thing to note about the stiff ride in the cx90 is that while you hear a lot of bumps and

you feel them through the base of the seat you don't get jiggled around too much there is excellent

body control which again does speak to the sportier nature of the cx90 and yeah it has heavy steering

although i find this an acceptable level of heavy it has a little more effort but you're not

two-handing it for parking it's just there's a little resistance and a little feel and a sporty

three row is still kind of an oxymoron but there are people who want them and so this is definitely

one and certainly more so than the st line explorer so these are family vehicles and part of what you

need to do with the family is haul people and cargo so we'll get to the people in a second and

check the insides let's start with the cargo so your vehicle kind of has a bit of a bubble in the

back and and what's esky active it's sporty and that is e sky active g which i mean it doesn't

really have a catchy kind of float ready ready trunk off hold on i gotta find my button oh you

got a head start oh oh and i that was pretty close so it looks like they're about the same depth

Yeah, yeah, actually. About the same width. Yeah. I think yours cuts off the top a little bit more

You can see your headrests are kind of going at the glass and mine are just a little inside

But you know what they not that much different How big is your under tray Hold on Got a nice pocket Oh yours is worse Oh no Mine completely open Yeah Yeah

And, can you do this? See, while you're wasting time doing that, I can just..

I'm just sitting here having a coffee while you're doing manual labor. Done. Mine hit something, so they're coming back up

This is better. No, it's not. Okay, so we've moved inside and we'll start with the Explorer

So in the ST line configuration by default, it's the captain's church, which we have here

I get a nice little arm rest. The Explorer only fits two in the back

So that makes this just a six seater. We'll start with comfort up here

Headroom, I fit, but anyone taller than me is not going to like it with the panoramic sunroof

as I'm pretty much touching the headliner here. And the seats don't go down, they are adjustable back

So I guess I could lounge more, but then I'm into the person behind me. Yeah

And the door armrest is just a little low. I'm kind of sitting like this. Huh. Huh

Well, you're still probably doing better than me. I actually, I mean, headroom is also like pretty okay

Like my head is just brushing back here, but largely I feel fine

My knees are against the seat, but this is all the way back because we wanted to test that

The armrest is just molded from plastic. So at least I get an armrest

The person on the other side doesn't, but they get both USB-C ports

It's not bad, honestly. They get a bit of a window. Yeah, yeah, that's the problem with the Explorer

I know that the C-pillar is kind of traditional and that's been the Explorer thing since it debuted

but it's enormous and it makes it a little claustrophobic back here. All right, now we're in the CX-90

It's a little different setup. This has the bench seat, which, like I said, the Explorer could have

It's an option on that trim. So I have three in the middle and you have three in the back

So this is the longer vehicle. Yes. And you seem like you're another time zone away from me back there

Like that is a far back seat. How's the space? Again, not bad

Although if I lean back, like we were saying earlier with the trunk space, my head is touching right where the tailgate is

And that would have me a little concerned about a pinch if it was closing and my hair was, you know, back there

It's not a Veloster bed. No, no. in terms of the seat cushion it's actually not that different from the explorer it's like

it's low so my knees are a little up and that's fine the legroom with both seats furthest back

is worse than here i've kind of locked my boots in the floor actually with the seat being pushed

all the way back but of course how is it up there in terms of legroom i got lots like i can move

a good four or five inches forward if i needed to okay and this passenger seat's all the way back

so there's probably even more if they move up um so remember in the forest and my armrests are like

this we'll say i'm like this they're both very very low for an adult and the seat seems a little

bit lower maybe that's why they're trying to do it to give me the headroom because i mean

i have the same headroom issues the only difference is the low part's a little further

forward it's not quite touching but yeah i'm pretty close and my knees are kind of up if i

had to pick a rear seat to spend like a half hour to an hour in i'd probably prefer to be in that one

What about you? Interesting. I mean, so it's not great in either, I would say

So conclusion, this can hold more people technically. Technically. Neither of them are the most comfortable three rows

That's true. Yeah, we didn't even mention that technically this, yeah, this does fit three in the back

but I don't know who would want to do that. So I think four adults, five in a pinch would prefer to be in the Explorer

Yep. But if you have your child and like four of their friends, this is the better vehicle

yep so as you can see it's almost dark we've driven a ton we got the courage real dirty because

winter and uh i guess we got a couple thoughts so yeah this is as we kind of expected going in

the better sort of family mobile the best word i can think for it is capable it's capable of doing

pretty much everything it doesn't excel at anything but it's not terrible at anything it's

just haul people haul trailer haul groceries it's got good tech for the price it's very good tech

when you compare it to the Mazda. The Mazda does a lot of things well

It feels sophisticated. It's nicer in the front for the driver and the passenger

That inline six is really smooth, gets great fuel economy, and it just, well, it feels a little more premium

That being said, it's not perfect. It's lacking some features that the Ford has

and the seats are tighter in the third row and even in the second, it's not necessarily better

Yeah, if you want to be fancy, and keep saying that word, fancy and you have a couple young children and you might haul their friends around that's a great

choice if you have friends or older children with teenagers or you have like a cottage this is

probably going to be a better choice well and i think one thing that we should definitely point

out too is that blends in and that's a good or bad thing really like maybe you just want to blend

in with a very capable unassuming suv and then same with like the interior sitting which we'll do after oh no

my camera is pretty close to you three bear paws oh nice nasda wins huh

Banana bread too. They're just trying to sweeten us up. And they give us free gems

Oh man, it comes with gems. And they say journalists are bought off

I wouldn't say that. Must be buying us off with bear paws and jewels

I mean, that's fine. The jewel made a serious dent in its armrest

It wasn't us, Mazda. I got it this way. Trade it