From Turbo Zoom To Stow‑And‑Go: Our Seats Got Whiplash

Mazda CX-90 First Impressions

SPEAKER_00 0:11

All right, time out for this hour's car review. Twenty twenty-five Mazda CX ninety. Oh boy. I had the three point three Turbo S Premium Plus.

Exterior Design And Details

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This is a standard SUV, seating for six in three rows, all new for 2024. One of the better looking SUVs on the market, I say. Well balanced overall, attractive, conservative front grille. What is he doing down there? He's fiddling with his headset. That's okay. You're done fiddling? Okay, thank you. Chrome accents give an overall high priced appearance. Rear hatch and booty carries the balanced look also with uh lighting uh beneath the glass. What I liked about it, overall look gets an A in my book. But could use improvement? Nothing. Like the painted wheel well opening moldings on it. That was different because usually the manufacturers these days don't paint them.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

Hey, hey, hey. Could you not is yours that way? Yeah. You got black plastic? No, I've got gray. Mine's an accent to the gray. So yours are painted.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Yeah, well yeah, painted gray or molded gray. Okay, whatever.

Interior Layout And Cargo Limits

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Interior highlights, standalone center screen with instrument cluster underneath the sunshade there for the driver. Alcantera dash accent is attractive, but it sure seems to me that could be a dirty point later on in the car's life. Uh-oh. Comfortable seating for six. Overall design is attractive on the interior. Cargo, kind of on the small side with the third row up, which is pretty typical for three rows of seating. That back seat, kids only.

Infotainment Frustrations And Verdict

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What I liked, attention to the detail is noteworthy. What could use improvement? Infotainment is one of the worst in the business. Uh-oh. And I have not liked it from the beginning. Uh I shared that sentiment with uh our our dear friend out on the West Coast, Jack Nierad, and he agreed with me. He said, you know, they need to do some work in that area.

Powertrain Specs And Real MPG

SPEAKER_00 2:19

3.3 liter turbocharged engine, 340 horsepower, 369 pound feet of torque, so it doesn't lack in the power. Eight-speed automatic transmission, towing 5,000 pounds, gets 23 in the city, 28 on the highway for a combined of 25. I got 26.7 miles per gallon over 497.8 miles. Are you going to say something? I'll wait till you're done. What I liked about it, the power, what could use improvement?

Start-Stop And Transmission Quirks

SPEAKER_00 2:44

The start-stop feature kills the engine at any speed when the accelerator is not pressed and it's disturbing. So you're doing 70 miles an hour and you let off the accelerator, the engine quits. Okay. I'm not sure about that. The transmission shift from first to second is bothersome as well. What I liked about it, uh, the overall feel of the car is responsive

Pricing And Competitor Landscape

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and quick. Sports car-like, actually, and they've done quite well in the sports car department with the Mazda Miata MX5. What could use improvement there? Nothing. Now, base trim price on this is 56,450. It's not cheap. Prices tested 57,905. Uh base model price is 37,845. Competitors to this vehicle in base and size. Uh Kia Tellya Ride starts 36,190. Hyundai Palisade 36.8.

Small Turbos And Longevity Concerns

SPEAKER_00 3:37

And the Toyota Grand Highlander, which is a new model for them, 42.310. So what were you going to say?

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Well, I was driving in the city this week in my new Buick, by the way. Uh-huh. And uh I was getting 31.2 on a 1.2-liter turbo, normally aspirated, fuel injected, obviously.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

Uh is it the three-banger?

SPEAKER_01 3:58

It's no, it's a four-cylinder. So I was getting 31.2 miles in the city.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Yeah, that's good.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Yeah, it's very good. And it's not a hybrid.

SPEAKER_00 4:06

No, it's not a hybrid. No. Yeah. Well, mine wasn't, yeah. It's it's interesting that these new cars, especially the new ones, with the much smaller engines and they're boosting them, you know, turbocharging, mostly turbocharging. Uh some have a supercharger, but not that often. But um you gotta wonder sometimes about the longevity of it. How long is that turbo gonna last? And what does it take to change out the turbo should it you know bite the big one?

SPEAKER_01 4:33

Well, hopefully, if it goes out, it'll go out under warranty. Yeah. You know, you got three or thirty-six as a standard.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

I can't imagine that they would put a turbocharger on a car these days from the factory that ain't gonna last at least 50,000 miles. Exactly. So roll the dice, I guess. And I don't know what it would cost to change out a turbocharger. I know that on a Chevy truck, and I think most of them, the turbocharger on the diesels, they're in the center of the rear of the engine, and you have to lift the cab off of the chassis to change it.

unknown 5:07

What?

SPEAKER_01 5:08

You walk into a Ford dealership in the service department and you see two or three of the cabs lifted up. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

Just easier to get to it. They just don't fight it. They just take it off and get to it.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

Six or eight bolts, you take the rack lift up.

SPEAKER_02 5:23

Yeah, well. Like us, we plug it in. We plug it it's co color-coded, and the plugs are made so that you can't they only plug in one way.

SPEAKER_00 5:33

Interchange them. Okay. Well, anyway, I I enjoyed the Mazda. Uh I I have my issue with the infotainment system. You always have, and and you're right, Jack Jack confirmed that. Yeah, and uh that's just me. And you might not have a problem with it. All right.

Chrysler Pacifica Overview And Trims

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Time now for this hour's car review. I had a chance to drive the 2025 Chrysler Pacifica. Yes, it's a minivan, if you want to call it that. There's nothing really mini about it anymore. Uh final assembly location, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Available trim levels of the Pacifica. The Select, the SELECT PHEV, which stands for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Limited, the Fave Edition or Fav edition, however you'd like to put it, F-A-V edition, and it says it on the side of it. Uh, they also have it in the PHEV, the premium fav, Fav appearance PHEV, and the Pinnacle and Pinnacle PHEV. I have the limited all-wheel drive. It's a minivan.

Exterior And Interior Highlights

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Seats 7. Redesigned in 2017. So, yeah, it's getting a little long in the tooth, but it still works, you know. Uh, exterior features, car-like front fascia with laid-back aero windshield, sweeping roof line. It kind of dips down in the back just a touch. You can see it there, with the blacked-out B and C pillars. Slide open passenger doors, handy for backseat passengers, and parking lots. Huge, easy opening lift gate in the back end. But I liked the best-looking minivan, despite its age. I truly believe that. Look at it. Looks good, don't you think? I like it. I really like the white model. Yeah. I do too. The black wheels and the black grille looks good. What could use improvement? I put a question mark because I don't know. Interior highlights, seating surfaces, kid proof, yet comfortable. Infotainment screen is small by comparison to other screens these days, but it's built in between the air vents. I like that a lot. Lots of cubbies uh add storage nooks for tons of stuff throughout the cabin.

Powertrain, Efficiency, And Ride

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Top notch pinnacle trim has Uber Lux Uholstery. Boy, I'll tell you what. I mean it. Seriously. They went to the upholstery shop and say goose it up, and they did. Storage room like a concert venue. What I liked about it, the dual sunroof panels for kids and stow and go seating. So the kids can enjoy the sunroof too. Not now because it's a little too warm here in Texas, but it works for all the kids. Uh what could use improvement? How about a bigger infotainment screen? Use it as an option. I don't know what their plans are for the Pacifica. It's the only vehicle, actually, right now, that Chrysler builds. It comes with the venerable 3.6-liter V6 engine, has 287 horsepower. They've been building the thing forever, 262 pound feet of torque, nine-speed automatic transmission with a tow rating of 3,600 pounds. It gets 17 miles per gallon in the city, 25 on the highway for a combined of 20. I got 21.3 miles per gallon over 370 miles. What I like

Pricing, Value, And Stow‑And‑Go Perks

SPEAKER_00 9:12

about it, the engine, adequate power for a people hauler. But could use improvement. Maybe an optional engine, maybe a turbo 4. Um do they have an electric version of it in the works? I don't know. We haven't heard a lot about Chrysler lately, but I have a feeling that that name is going to reappear on people's uh radar, and uh they're going to be coming out with uh more stuff here in the not too distant future. Ride and handling, nice. What could use improvement? Nothing. Leave the ride and handling alone. Base trim price, 52,565. Price is tested, 59,165. And it's not the one, the pinnacle version, which is even more than that. But you can get into one of these for the low, low, low, low, low, low, low sale price of 42,450.

SPEAKER_02 10:10

I mean, when you figure for what you're getting for a basically a family vehicle that will haul the whole family. Let me tell you something.

SPEAKER_00 10:17

That stow and go seating system is something to see how it works. And when the seats are up, so the whole thing, it tumbles down into the floor. Put a lid over the top of it that comes with it, obviously, and it's all flat back there. Yep. Don't even know that there's seats involved. Yeah. Then you put the seats up where the seats were in the floor, now becomes storage. So you want to take a big trip, you want to take the Christmas presents to Aunt Mary with the ten kids?

SPEAKER_01 10:44

There you go. Well, I was thinking of something like you're you're going on vacation, you're taking a road trip, having that, and then you put the stow and the stow seats down, and you get one of those air pumps and blow up a little air mattress, and you can, you know, spend the night in there on a on a lake or something. True.

SPEAKER_02 10:59

Yeah, you put the beer in the below flow, below floor storage, you know? Yeah. Or wine, as you're in your case.

SPEAKER_00 11:07

They probably even have those uh with little plugs at the bottom. So they drink it out.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

See, this is the reason that you watch envision the show. Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

Because of all of the wonderful things that we've come up for. It was for guests like Mary and then our next guest coming up. That's why they watch. Exactly. Here you go. All right.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

Uh