This Japanese SUV Is Quietly Winning Over Luxury Buyers

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Wednesday, 2 Sep 2026 12:00 0 26 autotech

Japanese cars in general, not just SUVs, have always delivered incredible reliability, value, and dependability. What they might not have always been known for, however, is the refined nature of how they drive. Of course, this isn’t always the case, as there are some true standouts, like the Acura NSX, and the Honda Prelude, but from an SUV point of view, they have mostly always been akin to the first sentence.

Legacy Luxury Brands Are Dropping The Ball

2027 Mercedes Maybach S Class interior shot showing front cabin

Mercedes-Benz

If you’ve looked at the news lately, you’ll notice that there is a lot of flack being given to tenured German brands like Mercedes-Benz. This is probably wild to hear as they have been the pinnacle for luxury versions of any kind of car for decades. Did you also know that they technically made the first ever motor vehicle? Mercedes-Benz has unfortunately been criticized for its interior quality, even in its flagship S-Class. This has left other automakers free to make their more popular SUVs more luxurious, with more premium offerings for less money.

How Near-Luxury Mainstream SUVs Are Matching Luxury Prices Feature For Feature

Front 3/4 action shot of 2026 Hyundai Palisade driving off-road

The Features That Used To Cost $90,000 Now Come Standard On $40,000 SUVs

The differences between luxury and standard cars used to be pretty black-and-white. Now, the differences are pretty opaque. Heated seats came onto the scene in the 1960s through the Cadillac Fleetwood. Remarkably, the Mitsubishi Diamante in 1995 was the first car to have laser-guided cruise control, and it was also positioned as a luxury vehicle. Point being, now you would be surprised if a car didn’t have radar-guided cruise control.

Heated seats are still technically considered a luxury option as they’re not always offered in the base models. Automakers are able to provide their top-of-the-line vehicles with just enough features to make them luxurious, but not too expensive. You’re not going to find soft-closing doors on the top-of-the-line Ford Explorer.

The Mazda CX-90 Is Stealing BMW X7 Buyers

2026 Mazda CX-90 Driving Passenger Side Front 3/4

The BMW X7 has a starting MSRP of $87,500. With that, you get standard features like a 3.0-liter in-line six-cylinder turbocharged engine featuring a 48V mild hybrid system, and an all-wheel-drive drivetrain. Additionally, the standard is a self-leveling air suspension, a four-zone climate control system, a massive digital display as well as a panoramic glass moon roof.

Those are some pretty sweet features for an equally sweet ride. You could, instead, opt for the 2026 Mazda CX-90 that has a starting MSRP of $39,300 and comes with a turbocharged 3.3-liter in-line six-cylinder engine that produces 280 horsepower or 340 horsepower if you get the Turbo S model. The Turbo S models have a more premium price tag of $54,140 to start, but at least it’s not close to $90,000.

A Luxury-Inspired Design Inside And Out

The final generation of the Mazda CX-9 featured a transversely mounted turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Mazda knew that it had to pull out all the stops in order to make the Mazda CX-90 more competitive with the likes of German automakers. One of the signature ways that German automakers engineer their vehicles is through a longitudinal design, which means the engine is aligned straight through to the transmission and axles. This gives any car with a longitudinally mounted engine better balance and better steering capability.

Napa Leather, Bose Audio, And The One Luxury Feature The CX-90 Is Still Missing

2026 Mazda CX-90 interior view drivers side

The interior itself in the CX-90 is quintessentially Mazda, featuring an infotainment screen hidden behind the dashboard. The dashboard itself is beautifully appointed with different upholstery and leather options. There’s also optional open pore wood grain and standard chrome accents throughout.

The seats are optionally available in faux leather or Napa leather for a more premium feel. There’s also a Bose premium sound system, heated and ventilated front seats, and optionally heated second-row seats. The only thing that’s really missing from this interior is probably the massage chair options for the front seats.

How The CX-90 Stacks Up Against The Acura MDX And Buick Enclave — And Where It Falls Short

Rear 3/4 action shot of 2026 Ford Explorer ST in blue driving on road

Not all midsize three-row crossover family SUVs are created equal, however. Some could be considerably more premium than others. For example, the Ford Explorer optionally offers front-row seat massage chairs, the Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy comes with one massage chair for the driver, and the Buick Enclave Avenir comes with the same.

The Mazda, on the other hand, doesn’t offer this feature at all. However, what you’re paying for is more towards the engineering and prestige of the layout of the Mazda CX-90 as opposed to some massage chairs that might not actually give a good massage anyway.

CX-90 Vs. Acura MDX: $12,000 More For Massage Seats And A Better Sound System

This is where the argument between luxury and premium really heats up. If you ask some people, the Acura MDX is considered a luxury car. To be honest, it is Acura’s most luxurious model. If you ask other people, Acura is actually considerably more premium than it is luxurious just by looking at the Integra. Where the luxury side of the MDX really shows its teeth is in its price, as it is $12,000 to $13,000 more than the base model, the Mazda CX-90.

With that, you get a naturally aspirated V6 engine as standard or a turbocharged V6. The base engine offers virtually the same power output as the Mazda, just in a V configuration, with a 10-horsepower difference. The more powerful turbocharged V6 variant has a little bit more horsepower, however, with 355 to speak of. The Acura is considered to be a luxury cabin, and it is! The real difference between this and the Mazda, features-wise, are the massaging chairs and a higher-end 3-D sound system. The Acura is seemingly more tech forward as well.

CX-90 Vs. Buick Enclave Avenir: Better Suspension Vs. Better Materials — Which Matters More?

Front 3/4 shot of a 2025 Buick Enclave Avenir

This comparison is more head-to-head than that of the Acura and the Mazda. Like the Acura, however, the 2027 Buick Enclave Avenir has a starting MSRP of $63,300. Unlike the Acura and Mazda, the Buick Enclave only comes with one powertrain that is a turbocharged 2.5-liter in-line four-cylinder engine.

It does output an impressive 328 horsepower, but there is no optional hybrid or sportier variant. What the Avenir has mechanically over the Mazda is a continuous damping suspension system. Finally, the Mazda ends up offering better material quality for the interior over the Buick.

The CX-90 Costs $300 Less Per Year To Repair Than Its Rivals — But Its Reliability Score Has A Catch

As you can see from the previous head-to-head section, the Mazda CX-90 ends up being the more frugal choice. Frugality doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s cheap. It is cheap though, from a maintenance perspective. While it may be inexpensive to fix, it is not necessarily reliable.

According to JD Power, the 2026 model received a 76 out of 100, but the quality and reliability section only scored 70 out of 100. While RepairPal has consistently given the brand 4.0 out of 5.0, that doesn’t necessarily mean that all of their models are reliable.

Profile action shot of 2026 Mazda CX-90 driving on road

Even though it might not win accolades for its reliability, it actually has won accolades for its safety. IIHS awarded the 2026 Mazda CX-90 their Top Safety Pick+ award. The only lower marks it received were for its headlights on certain trims, as well as its frontal crash mitigation technology. NHTSA gave it an impressive overall score of five out of five stars, with frontal and rollover receiving four out of five stars.

$462 A Year To Maintain: What The CX-90 Actually Costs To Live With

Kelley Blue Book has determined that the five-year depreciation of the Mazda CX-90 is between $18,000 and $20,000. Depending on which trim you get, the gas cost will be somewhere between $1,200 and $2,000. The $1200 obviously being the PHEV variant. RepairPal has stated that it will be around $462 annually to repair, which is almost $300 cheaper than the Buick Enclave that sits right around $720 annually.