Mazda’s spacious, new CX-70 SUV, a 2025 model, showed up tuned and timed for a very busy Saturday for Jan and me.
With two rows of seats and a 40-cubic-feet cargo area, the CX-70 is same-sized as Mazda’s three-row CX-90.
Sent our way was the CX-70 3.3 Turbo S Premium Plus mild-hybrid model, equipped with a 340-horsepower, inline-6 engine, 8-speed automatic transmission, all-wheel drive and a small electric motor as a power boost and fuel-mileage enhancer.
The 5,200-pounder, 201 inches in overall length, handles twists and bends and climbing tasks in the manner of a smaller and lighter crossover and its EPA fuel rating of 23 city/28 highway is more than adequate.
The turbo’s performance is impressive; switch from Normal to Sport Drive mode brings higher shift points, of course, and adds an audible rumble, plus providing a visual appeal of red flash inside the instrument panel. Also available is an Offroad mode, which activates traction assist through increased brake force on wheels without traction.
First leg of the Saturday commitments was from Greeley to Sterling, for lunch meeting of the Sterling High School Alumni Foundation committee at the River City Grill. Other attendees included James Leh, chairman; Jolene Maul, Justin Weber and Don Carey. We met and visited with SHS’s new principal, Jeff Hoff, and his wife. Before heading for a dinner meeting north of Cheyenne, Wyo., Jan and I visited with my ailing sister, Norma Wagner, and her husband, Dave.
The turboed Mazda clipped along at a good pace on Colo. 14 to Ault, then north on U.S. 85 to Cheyenne. From there we found Horse Creek Drive, north of Cheyenne, and arrived at the home of Tim Coy and Cynthia, for a bit of housewarming, for they moved there recently from Louisville.
It was with great interest I leafed through the just-published Cadillac Old Car Club book, covering all things Cadillac in the 1970s. Coy, a page layout specialist at the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post for a number of years, has continued his talent with the Cadillac club since retiring from The Post.
On the subject of books, mine (“2,600 Cars and a Dog Sled, Bud Wells’ 67 Years in Newspapering and Automobiles”) continues to sell. It can be ordered through BudWellsBooks.com or by phone or text 303-549-4464.
Another just released is “Dude, Where’s My Flying Car,” by Tim Jackson, former head of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association. I served as an editor for the book and received a hand-delivered copy one day last week. It can be ordered through Amazon.com.
From the 300 miles driven last Saturday, the Mazda CX-70 averaged 27.2 miles per gallon of premium fuel. An interior highlight is the butterscotch-colored suede-finished dash front and nappa leather-trimmed seats. The CX-70 is built in Hofu, Japan. Sticker price is $57,715. Also soon to be offered is a PHEV plug-in hybrid version, providing 26 miles of electric drive.