CX-90 Preferred Plus vs Premium Plus ride quality (19" vs. 21" wheels)

[BrianKC]

I test drove a CX-90 Premium Plus last week and loved the sporty feel and the handling, but noticed it rode a little rough over the sharper bumps. Has anyone driven both the Premium with the 21" wheels and the Preferred with 19" wheels to see if there's a significant difference in ride quality?

I prefer the features of the Premium (except 2nd row seat configuration), but might be tempted to settle for the Preferred if the ride quality is significantly better.

 

[BJC]

You could always just swap out the wheels to a set of 19s if you like the features of the PP model...

 

[Def]

We test drove both a Premium 3.3 Turbo, Premium PHEV, and Preferred Plus 3.3 Turbo. The ride on the 19's of the Preferred Plus was noticeably better, to the point that I felt the car just plain suited the spring rate of the tires better than the 21's. I also think the 19's look better, but that's me (I'm generally not a contrasting 2 tone wheel fan).

We ended up with a 3.3 Turbo Preferred Plus. It had most the stuff we wanted, and the Premium offered almost nothing we wanted (we did want a heated steering wheel, but don't want Nappa Leather with the kids - but no way I'm paying the extra $8-9k for that with a worse ride).

Honestly, I thought we'd get a PHEV heading to the dealer, but the 3.3 Turbo felt like such a more cohesive and better vehicle. The +540 lb weight of the PHEV and the single electric motor just didn't blend into a great PHEV experience, and I say this as a 6 year Chevy Volt owner. The Volt is much smoother at blending the engine in due to 2 electric motors (serial hybrid operation at lower speeds), and while it has battery charge it drives like an EV. The CX-90 PHEV drives very slowly in EV only mode. It felt north of 12 seconds 0-60, to the point I don't feel normal EV mode was a reasonable thing to think you'd stay in for normal driving. The PHEV drove fine, but the handling wasn't a standout due to the high weight, the 21's made the ride very choppy on sharp impacts, and the drivetrain experience was pretty underwhelming as far as PHEVs go IMO.

The plain jane 3.3 Turbo is the best SUV I've ever driven, and I had a BMW E70 X5 before which was no slouch. The steering angle versus front grip honestly reminded me of my old AP1 S2000, which feels like a weird comparison to write out, but it's what it immediately reminded me of. Very linear all the way up to high steering angle you can only get from dual a-arms up front.

I'm not saying the PHEV is a horrible buy, and I can totally get how someone who has no experience with a PHEV will be totally blown away by motoring around near silently and not using gas. It's very novel when you first get exposed to it. But I don't think Mazda particularly knocked it out of the park versus the high water mark in the segment. The I6 is sublime, with smooth and broad torque, if not super powerful in comparison.

 

[BrianKC]

We test drove both a Premium 3.3 Turbo, Premium PHEV, and Preferred Plus 3.3 Turbo. The ride on the 19's of the Preferred Plus was noticeably better, to the point that I felt the car just plain suited the spring rate of the tires better than the 21's. I also think the 19's look better, but that's me (I'm generally not a contrasting 2 tone wheel fan).

We ended up with a 3.3 Turbo Preferred Plus. It had most the stuff we wanted, and the Premium offered almost nothing we wanted (we did want a heated steering wheel, but don't want Nappa Leather with the kids - but no way I'm paying the extra $8-9k for that with a worse ride).

Honestly, I thought we'd get a PHEV heading to the dealer, but the 3.3 Turbo felt like such a more cohesive and better vehicle. The +540 lb weight of the PHEV and the single electric motor just didn't blend into a great PHEV experience, and I say this as a 6 year Chevy Volt owner. The Volt is much smoother at blending the engine in due to 2 electric motors (serial hybrid operation at lower speeds), and while it has battery charge it drives like an EV. The CX-90 PHEV drives very slowly in EV only mode. It felt north of 12 seconds 0-60, to the point I don't feel normal EV mode was a reasonable thing to think you'd stay in for normal driving. The PHEV drove fine, but the handling wasn't a standout due to the high weight, the 21's made the ride very choppy on sharp impacts, and the drivetrain experience was pretty underwhelming as far as PHEVs go IMO.

The plain jane 3.3 Turbo is the best SUV I've ever driven, and I had a BMW E70 X5 before which was no slouch. The steering angle versus front grip honestly reminded me of my old AP1 S2000, which feels like a weird comparison to write out, but it's what it immediately reminded me of. Very linear all the way up to high steering angle you can only get from dual a-arms up front.

I'm not saying the PHEV is a horrible buy, and I can totally get how someone who has no experience with a PHEV will be totally blown away by motoring around near silently and not using gas. It's very novel when you first get exposed to it. But I don't think Mazda particularly knocked it out of the park versus the high water mark in the segment. The I6 is sublime, with smooth and broad torque, if not super powerful in comparison.

This is excellent input, thanks for taking the time to write this up. I like the looks of the 21" wheels, and I'd like to get some of the features of the Premium Plus, but we plan to do a lot of highway driving in retirement and the smoother ride of the Preferred might win out over extra features. Not to mention $7K cheaper.

 

[markfm]

Order a nominal Premium, but have them install 19" tires instead - doable?

I'm waiting for the cx-70, like the premium package (if it's similar to a 90 premium) except for the likely 21" tire bump.