Comparison Test: 2026 Ford Explorer ST vs. Mazda CX-90 Turbo S Premium Plus
Key takeaways
- With turbocharged six-cylinder power, both these family haulers can hustle.
- Marc Urbano and Michael Simari|Car and Driver Spring is here, and with it comes the revival of America's national pastime: baseball.
- Putting on a good tailgate requires meeting several criteria.
Why this matters: an automotive development that could shape industry direction or buying decisions.
With turbocharged six-cylinder power, both these family haulers can hustle. But which comes out on top?
Marc Urbano and Michael Simari|Car and Driver Spring is here, and with it comes the revival of America's national pastime: baseball. Alongside a hopefully warm hot dog and the cracking sound of wood contacting stitched leather, baseball season also marks the return of the tailgate—the age-old tradition of parking the family car within eyesight of the ballpark, swinging open the lawn chairs, cracking some beers, and reveling in the warm(ish) weather.
Putting on a good tailgate requires meeting several criteria. You'll need room for the aforementioned lawn chairs, the coolers, and the camp grill, plus enough space left over for a football, a frisbee, and maybe even a cornhole set. Obviously, you'll need a vehicle capable of hauling both tailgating accoutrements and some family or friends to join in the fun, and a mid-size three-row SUV fits the bill. The Ford Explorer and the Mazda CX-90 are two such examples that we just so happened to have in our Ann Arbor office as the last freeze warnings faded into memory.