2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E vs 2025 Mazda CX-90

The 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E retained its distinctive and sharp styling, with an aggressive front fascia and a sloping profile that maintained its crossover proportions. The tri-bar tail lights, a hallmark of the Mustang nameplate, were refreshed to match the signature lighting of the seventh-generation Ford Mustang. The new Rally trim emerged as the top-of-the-line model, featuring unique styling cues such as LED fog lamps integrated into the grille, a black roof, and a unique front splitter and rear spoiler painted in Dark Carbonized Grey. The Oxford White 19-inch wheels were particularly eye-catching, reflecting a design inspired by rally racing. The interior of the Mach-E remained familiar, with a minimalist dash and a large touchscreen at the centre. The Ford Performance front seats, with their heavier bolstering, became standard on the GT trim and carried over to the Rally trim, adding a futuristic touch with Oxford White plastic trim.

The 2025 Mazda CX-90 exuded a luxury SUV appearance with its lustrous paint, polished chrome trim, and intricate 21-inch wheels. The sculptural sheet metal created a compelling interplay of light and shadow, contributing to a low, long, athletic look. Inside, the CX-90's interior was elegantly rendered with polished metallic trim, Nappa leather with contrast stitching, and clearly marked switchgear. However, some design-related complaints arose, such as a confusing electronic shifter and a climate panel with counterintuitive temperature-adjustment switchgear. Despite these issues, the CX-90's interior felt upscale, and the vehicle exuded sophistication compared to other midsize three-row crossover SUVs from mainstream brands.

The 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E continued to offer a firm ride, even on lower trims, with the GT trim featuring a MagneRide damping system for more adjustment by drive mode. The steering feel was sporty, with a stiff and tight response that appealed to sports-oriented shoppers. The GT Performance Upgrade package increased torque output to 700 lb-ft, maintaining 480 horsepower, resulting in a zero-to-96-km/h time of 3.3 seconds. The Mach-E GT and Rally trims came with all-wheel drive, offering ranges of 451 and 426 kilometres, respectively. Ford also improved the DC fast-charging experience, reducing the time by about 20%, and introduced a new, lighter-weight rear eMotor for better torque and range.

The 2025 Mazda CX-90 offered three powertrain variants, with the standard-output 3.3 Turbo generating 280 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque. The high-output 3.3 Turbo delivered 319 hp and 369 lb-ft, with a maximum towing capacity of 2,268 kilograms. The CX-90's AWD system biased power to the rear wheels for better driving dynamics, and drivers could choose from Normal, Sport, Off-Road, and Towing modes. However, the drivetrain refinement was lacking, with unpredictable power delivery and transmission behaviour shortly after engine start-up. The CX-90's ride and handling were impressive, but the vehicle suffered from a lack of isolation from noise and impact harshness, affecting overall refinement.

The 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E's crossover body style offered a total of 965 litres of cargo space, with 841 litres behind the rear seats and a drainable frunk for additional storage. Folding the rear seats expanded the cargo space to 1,690 litres. The driver and front passenger enjoyed 988 millimetres of headroom, while back-seat passengers had 970 mm without the panoramic glass roof. Legroom measured 1,100 mm in the front and 968 mm in the rear. The Mach-E featured power-adjustable seats, with ActiveX seating surfaces standard across trims, and heated front seats available on the base trim and standard on others.

The 2025 Mazda CX-90's interior featured Nappa leather upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats, and a heated steering wheel in the Signature trim. However, the three-zone climate control system struggled to cool the cabin efficiently. The panoramic sunroof provided ample natural light, and second-row passengers enjoyed elevated seating positions. The CX-90's third row was best suited for children, with limited seat-track travel in the second row. The hands-free power liftgate revealed 451 litres of cargo space behind the third row, expanding to 1,155 litres with the third row folded. Maximum cargo volume with the second-row seats flattened measured 2,129 litres, which was small for the segment.

The 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E came standard with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, featuring the latest version 4A of Ford’s SYNC infotainment software. The 15.5-inch, portrait-oriented touchscreen housed climate and temperature controls, with a single hard control for stereo volume and power. The Mach-E also included Ford’s Intelligent Range system, a cloud-based feature that kept range estimates accurate and updated in real time, alleviating range anxiety for drivers.

The 2025 Mazda CX-90's dashboard featured a 12.3-inch digital instrumentation panel paired with a 12.3-inch infotainment screen. The infotainment screen was touch-sensitive only when using wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, with the native Mazda Connect platform requiring the use of a knob and buttons on the centre console. The CX-90's voice recognition system was hit and miss, and the vehicle featured a 12-speaker Bose audio system and Mazda’s Active Driving Display. However, the lack of a conversational digital voice assistant and the outdated infotainment system were notable drawbacks.

The 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E offered BlueCruise 1.3, Ford’s hands-free highway-driving assist software, available on all trims. The vehicle also came equipped with a 360-degree camera and the Ford CoPilot 360 suite of advanced driver-assistance technologies. The 2023 Mach-E earned a Top Safety Pick Award from the IIHS, with the 2024 model receiving the same scores in various categories. The NHTSA awarded five-star ratings in side crash and rollover testing to every model year of the Mach-E, including 2024.

The 2025 Mazda CX-90 received a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS and five-star ratings in all crash tests conducted by the NHTSA. The vehicle came with a comprehensive list of standard safety features, including forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and blind-spot monitoring. Higher trim levels added additional safety features, such as steering assist and a surround-view camera system. However, the CX-90's driver aids had some issues, such as the irritating speed reduction feature and excessive warning chimes.