2024 Mazda CX-90 vs 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport

The 2024 Mazda CX-90 presented a compelling case for luxury, challenging the traditional dominance of brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Mazda had elevated its design and material quality, surpassing other Japanese automakers such as Honda, Nissan, and Toyota, and edging closer to luxury competitors like Acura, Infiniti, and Lexus. The CX-90's exterior design was an upscale evolution of Mazda's smaller SUVs, featuring a commanding presence with its large grille, wide-set front end, and substantial wheels. Inside, the top-tier trims offered an interior that rivalled high-end luxury vehicles, with brown suede upholstery, wood inlays, and matte black plastic accents. Despite the range of trims, all models benefited from Mazda's stylish design language and comfortable layout.

In contrast, the 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport emphasized a sportier aesthetic within the Range Rover family. Its taller stance and shorter wheelbase gave it an athletic appearance, although some angles made it appear too tall and narrow. The SV Edition Two trim, the highest-performance model, featured unique elements like 23-inch carbon-fibre wheels and a carbon-fibre hood. Inside, the SV Edition Two boasted red leather upholstery and illuminated steering-wheel paddle shifters, while all models maintained a minimalist dashboard with a touchscreen, shifter, and start button. The interior's high console and dash created a cockpit-like feel, which, while sporty, made the front seats feel somewhat cramped. Material quality was high, though the use of reflective piano black plastic was a bit excessive.

The 2024 Mazda CX-90 introduced two new powertrains, including a plug-in hybrid option and a turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine with a mild-hybrid system. The base turbo I6 delivered 280 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque, while the upgraded version in the GT-P and Signature trims increased power to 340 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque. All models featured all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission. The CX-90 offered three driving modes: Normal, Sport, and Off-Road, with noticeable differences in performance between Normal and Sport modes. The PHEV model combined a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine with a 17.8-kWh battery and a 68-kW electric motor, producing 323 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque, with an all-electric range of 42 kilometres.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport offered multiple powertrain options, all with an eight-speed automatic transmission and standard four-wheel drive. The base Dynamic SE model featured a 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six engine with 395 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque. The plug-in hybrid variant increased output to 454 horsepower and 487 lb-ft. The Autobiography trim offered a more powerful plug-in hybrid with 543 horsepower and 590 lb-ft. The SV Edition Two, the most powerful model, used a twin-turbo BMW V8 with 626 horsepower, achieving 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds. The Range Rover Sport excelled in both on-road performance and off-road capability, with features like four-wheel steering and brake-based torque vectoring enhancing agility.

The 2024 Mazda CX-90 offered various seating configurations across its trims, accommodating up to eight passengers. The Turbo Signature trim featured a six-seat layout with two seats in each row. Cargo space varied slightly depending on the seating arrangement, with a maximum of 2,129 litres available. While the CX-90 improved on the CX-9's capacity, it still fell short compared to competitors like the Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander. The interior featured ample storage options, comfortable seats, and a panoramic sunroof, contributing to a pleasant driving experience.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport, positioned between the Velar and full-size Range Rover, was a two-row five-seater. It offered competitive headroom and legroom, with reclining rear seats and 20-way power-adjustable front seats. Cargo space measured 835 litres behind the second row, expanding to 1,860 litres with the seats folded. While lacking a split tailgate, the Sport's power operation and air suspension facilitated loading and unloading. The Sport's towing capacity was impressive, with turbo-six and V8 models rated at 3,500 kilograms, and plug-in hybrids at 3,000 kilograms.

The 2024 Mazda CX-90 focused on minimizing distractions with its Mazda Connect infotainment system, which used a rotary control knob and hard buttons instead of a touchscreen. While the intention was to enhance safety, the system's quirks often led to frustration. However, the CX-90 offered personalization software with facial recognition, adjusting settings to individual profiles. Standard features included Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, with wireless functionality in higher trims.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport featured a 13.7-inch digital instrument cluster and a 13.1-inch touchscreen for infotainment. Standard wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa integration were included. While the screens looked impressive, the minimalist design limited physical controls, making some functions less intuitive. The Pivi Pro infotainment system was responsive, with natural-language voice recognition. The SV Edition Two offered "Body and Soul Seats" with embedded transducers, providing a unique, albeit somewhat gimmicky, experience.

The 2024 Mazda CX-90 came standard with i-Activsense, Mazda's suite of advanced driver assistance systems. Features included blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and lane-keeping assist. The top-spec Signature trim added cruising and traffic support, blending lane-centring with adaptive cruise control. While crash-test ratings were unavailable, the CX-90 was expected to perform well based on the CX-9's accolades.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport included standard driver-assist features such as automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, and blind-spot monitoring. A 360-degree camera system and digital rearview mirror aided parking, though the parking sensors were overly sensitive. Safety ratings from the IIHS and NHTSA were not available at the time of writing.