Article content Jil McIntosh: We’re always up for something new, and that’s the case with this comparison. Both the Mazda CX-70 and Toyota Crown Signia are all-new models for 2025 in the two-row, five-seater SUV segment. The Crown Signia is the second vehicle to wear the revived Crown name, following the new-for-2023 Crown sedan, and ours is $60,335 as tested.
Crown is Toyota’s highest nameplate before you move up to Lexus, and the Crown Signia basically replaces the discontinued Toyota Venza. The CX-70 is sorta all-new — it’s the three-row CX-90, which was an all-new model for 2024, with virtually no changes save for the third row taken out. Mazda doesn’t have a luxury division as Toyota does with Lexus, but we’re in the top Signature trim, which is Mazda’s poshest.
Ours is $62,300 as equipped. Both are hybrids, although their systems are considerably different. Brian, what’s the story on that? Brian Harper: Toyota has been building hybrids for decades, and the Crown Signia’s powertrain is similar to that in models like the Prius or RAV4 Hybrid .
Its Toyota Hybrid System (THS), as the company calls it, consists of a 2.5L four-cylinder engine, a hybrid transaxle, and a nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery. Hybrid technology puts all these systems to work together, using a combination of gas and electric motors to drive the Signia’s front wheels.
Standard all-wheel drive (AWD) is achieved with a rear-mounted electric motor to power the rear wheels fuel-fre.
