The heads-up display on the 2024 Mazda CX-90 has a fancy name, but it is anything but eye candy when you are driving on dark country roads.
Known as the Active Driving Display, it’s incredibly helpful because it shows more info than I’m used to seeing in a HUD — and a lot of cars have this display that sits up above the steering wheel, emanating in the window like a holographic display from the far future. (In truth, it’s just a reflection — but it sure looks cool even after testing HUDs in many vehicles.)
Mazda improved the level of detail on the CX-90 and it shows a nice, big speed limit indicator as a good place to start when you are driving.
The HUD also shows your current speed, the cruise control icon if enabled, and the cruise speed. If that’s all that was shown in the HUD I’d be good to go, but I noticed the Mazda CX-90 also shows lane markings to indicate that you have enabled that feature.
You’ll also see navigation instructions, like a left-turn to make, and that’s handy because you don’t have to look over at the main display to see where you are going next.
In my testing, I found that the HUD provided just the right level of information without overloading me with too many details that could cause distracted driving. I didn’t think I had to inspect the HUD and figure out what it was showing, since it was always obvious. I don’t remember seeing anything in this area, but according to the manual, there’s also an alert area at the top of the HUD that would display any potential hazards. For example, I assume if I need to brake suddenly because of a parked car in front of me, the alert would appear in the HUD.
I’ve been seeing more and more heads-up displays in just about every test card in recent months and years, and it’s a welcome addition. I remember hearing once that Chevy invented the tech for the Corvette, but back in the early days of my car testing sometime after 2020, a HUD was a rarity. It’s also worth noting that they’ve become more clear in recent years, since some of the early versions of a HUD would look too dim at times.
Mazda also notes that the HUD can be hard to see in certain conditions — they list rain, snow, light, and temperature. I never had any issues, but I could see how a snowy day could make the HUD harder to see. At night, the display looked bright and easy to see.
More than anything, the HUD has gained popularity because it means we keep our eyes facing forward toward the road and any obstructions. As tech improves in cars it also becomes yet another distraction, but this is one advance that I could see sticking around and improving over time. I even think the HUD might expand and become wider, and possibly even extend further on the windshield — as long as that doesn’t cause new distractions.
For me, it’s a driving aid that is welcome — and hopefully appears in every car.
