2024 Mazda CX-90 SUV A ‘Designer’s Dream’

It’s not that the designers wanted to take it easy with the new 2024 Mazda CX-90, but they certainly didn’t want to overdo it, either. Ian Hedge, senior manager of automotive design for Mazda North America, sat down with me to discuss the work that went into creating the all-new model. He started by saying that the designers realized they could let the proportions do most of the talking.

“We have a long hood, an inline-six [engine] with a rear-wheel drive architecture,” he said. “It’s really a designer’s dream, with this long hood and a long dash-to-axle that gives a very elegant proportion. We’re trying to let that do all the work and then let the styling be a little bit secondary. Just let it be subtle and elegant.”

The exterior look pushed the designers to keep things simple inside, something Hedge said offered him a different kind of sketching experience.

“As a stylist. I don’t have to put many lines or do crazy things. I can just let it be simple and pure and horizontal, and then, because of the finishes and the craftsmanship, it can be just authentic and pure and simple.”

Without as many visual hooks to hang a design hat on, the designers gave a lot of thought to how the interior would feel.

“On the interior, the main story is really about the materials. We have this Japanese traditional weaving technique, born in Kyoto, called Nishijin-ori. It’s a very nice manual weaving technique that we adapted for the door panel and the center console.”

Right across that traditional-yet-modern fabric on the dash, there’s an obvious design stitch. The look has its roots in another Japanese weaving technique, known as Kumihimo, as well as hand bookbinding.

“The stitch itself is a very nice way to show how the materials actually come together. We’re trying not to add a lot of decoration on top to make something premium or to make it luxurious. We’re using the way it’s made in an authentic way to show something interesting, to show something pretty.”

Note how much work that one design touch is doing in the car, in Hedge’s view.

“We are all used to what can be done in a car. We could have put in a traditional stitch, and it would’ve been fine and looked cool, but the fact that we go a little bit further with this delicate element that’s unexpected in a car, it becomes a talking point. It’s something interesting. It’s something that really catches people’s interest and genuinely shows some of the inspiration of the Japanese heritage.”

These are the thoughts that were bandied about among the CX-90 design team, but it seems like a safe bet that Mazda is going to continue down this simplified, elegant approach.

“In these current times, it feels like simplicity is starting to be appreciated a little bit more. We went through a period where we had lots of crazy designs. Within Mazda, we went through the Nagare era and then Kodo. Now, we’re just purifying more and more, trying to come to something more simple, something very genuine, and it feels like that is appreciated at the moment.”