Mazda’s New Inline-Six SUV Puts German Luxury Pricing on Notice

Walk into a German luxury SUV showroom ready to spend $60,000, and you might walk out staring at a sticker closer to $90,000 after ticking the boxes for leather, sound, and driver aids. That’s become the norm in the midsize luxury class, where BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi have trained buyers to expect big numbers before the car even feels fully equipped.

The 2026 BMW X5 xDrive40i starts at $70,600, the Mercedes GLE 450 at $72,250, and even Audi’s more modest Q7 55 TFSI Prestige can climb past $90,000 with options. Suddenly, spending $70,000 feels like just the cover charge.

3-liter inline-six engine making 340 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque, standard all-wheel drive, a rear-biased platform, and a cabin that uses real materials like Nappa leather and Japanese premium trim. The top Turbo S Premium Plus version tops out at $57,570 before destination, which undercuts the starting price of the base X5 and GLE.

Even the entry-level CX-90 with the same six-cylinder layout starts at $39,300. That’s not just competitive, it’s a wake-up call for anyone who assumed a smooth six-cylinder luxury SUV had to cost $70,000.

Mazda didn’t cut corners to hit that price. The CX-90 rides on a dedicated large platform with double-wishbone front suspension, multilink rear, and Kinematic Posture Control for sharper handling. It seats up to eight, tows 5,000 pounds, and returns 25 mpg combined. 3-inch display, Bose audio, a 360-degree camera with trailer view, and ventilated seats in both rows.

Yes, the German SUVs still carry more badge prestige, higher towing limits in some trims, and a certain last five percent of polish. But the CX-90 forces a simple question: how much of that German price is engineering, and how much is the crest on the hood? For buyers who want real six-cylinder power, all-wheel drive, and a premium feel without the ransom-note sticker, Mazda just made the argument a lot harder to ignore.