I've been a fan of the new CX-9's since they first came out ( I'm a car freak) At the time ( 2015 ) my wife needed a new car and the CX-5 GT AWD was the best car for her to haul 2 dogs around and do what she does and I thought it was the best vehicle in that class as well. I research cars I'm thinking of buying thoroughly and being a Mazda fan I was happy that the CX-5 was that good. And it was for 4 year and 40k miles but we snowbird every year from Montana to Arizona and put about 5000 miles a year on long interstate drives towing a 600 lb motorcycle that sits on a 900 lb trailer. While the CX-5 handled it all I wanted a more substantial vehicle with some more freeway oomph and more towing power. Also a bit more interior room and a smoother, less noisy ride.

I figured that trading the CX-5 in now before it had another 20k miles on it might bring a better price percentage wise on the cost of a new 2018 CX-9 GT AWD. I had heard that they were discounting the 2018's so I started to look. At the same time I looked at, drove and read countless reviews on the other vehicles in this segment. It can get confusing there are so many and like anything there are pro's and con's to all of them. The only there SUV I looked in the luxury segment was the new Acura MDX just to see how close the CX-9 cabin and luxury feel came to the MDX. ( pretty close BTW but I like the way the CX-9's interior layout is better). Having the most cargo room was not an issue for us. We are two relatively small slim people with no kids and two small dogs. This is primarily her car but I do drive it too and I wanted the car that had the best ride, the safest ride and had good performance. The CX-9 checks those boxes for me. The fact that it 's the best looking SUV is a bonus. I thought the CX- 5 we had was one of the tightest most buttoned down feeling cars I ever had. Never so much as a rattle out of that car. It was hard to trade it in.

When I drove the CX-9 I was surprised by how similar it felt to the CX-5 in many ways until I got up to speed on an imperfect road. That's where the difference is felt. Much more plush feeling and almost no road noise when cruising. The turbo does a good job of waking that engine up at lower RPMS's and it scoots very well down the road for a big vehicle. Plenty of power. Would it be better if it had a similar V6 to the one that the Highlander has? Maybe it would but I think this motor does the job well. I'll know more when I tow up a mountain road with it. If it's reliable and economical in the long run then it's a winner. It's odd I read so many comments about how this engine is going to be a nightmare reliability wise because it's turbo charged like it's some new thing. I had a 1989 Mazda MX-6 GT turbo that I ran for about 120k miles before I sold it and it never had any issues anywhere so not sure why those comments exist.

I've done about 500 miles on it 70% at highway speeds and the rest mild city driving and I've getting about 21-22 combined. I got as high as 27 on a 30 mile 65-70 mph jaunt with CC on. I was hoping for a bit more but I think that's what it's going to be. It is a big vehicle but it does not feel like it when driving or just sitting in it. In fact one of the things I don't love about it is how tight the drivers cabin is. I love the large elevated center console but it does narrow the leg room and the dead pedal is too close to the brake. The head's up display is brilliant and should be almost considered safety equipment and include on way more cars stock. People bitch about the "dated infotainment" mainly because it didn't offer Apple/Android car play. Well now it does and the dealer is retro-fitting my car on Monday so that takes care of that. I get it.. it will be an important item for resale so even it I don't use it a lot it's on the car. I like the rest of the infotainment. Maybe because I already knew it but it works very well. Bose system isn't the best I've ever heard in a car but it's very good when tuned right ( take that center-point crap off ). Back seat room is great but we don't haul many people. The third row will never see the light of day. (I wish they could option these cars without it...save some weight). Do I wish it had ventilated seat? Sure but I'd rather have the auto folding mirrors. People complain it's not a " Pano-roof". Don't care and don't want one. There will be no one in the rear seats to ever even notice it doesn't have one.

Bottom line for us it is the near perfect SUV for us. Looks great, drives great, great AWD system and a ton of value and features for the money. I was heading to CX-5 Reserve or Signature land but after comparing them back to back and finding a dealer driven GT AWD ( machine gray/black) that I bought as new for less than the CX-5 it was a no brainer for me. I still love the CX-5 and there is no doubt that on a mountain road it would leave me behind ( with turbo) but how many times are we driving aggressively on a mountain road in these cars? Not much or never is the answer. The ride on the CX-9 is what sets it apart.

 

Hey Montana, could you post a pic with the front bumper trim? I was wondering how it varies from the normal signature trim.

 

Here's a shot of the car with the optional OEM front bumper trim. The rear trim peeve looks very nice as well. Kind of classes it up a bit. It just happened to be already on the car that I bought.

 

Thanks. That is nice. Just kinda finishes the front.

 

I think it was only a $500 option on the window sticker. The rear piece looks great as well but I am going to have to put a hitch on it so they will have to remove the center part and it won't look quite as nice.

 

Changed my reply to montanaman to post below...

 

Montanaman - You're just the guy I wanted to talk to. As an Acura owner who's thinking of moving away from the MDX to either a CX-9 or a Highlander XLE, I want to know how it's been to drive the Mazda this year. How did it handle any snow you may have driven through? Any concerns about the longevity of the turbo? Any nits that are driving you crazy that you didn't consider before? All comments on this car welcomed. Thanks.

 

Very nice CX-9! We are a new owner of 2019 CX-9 Touring with Preferred Package. It didn't come with the fancy chrome pieces for the front and rear bumper (wish it did) like the Signature trim. What trim model do you have?

 

BrnPA - My wife and I are new owner of CX-9 and we both love so far. We still yet to drive it long drive and or in snow, but hoping this year we'll be able to do that. We've test drove the highest trim which is Signature and all I can say is love love it, but we just couldn't afford the monthly payment on it We have the CX-9 Touring with Premium Package and we're quite happy with it. We might decide to keep this for couple of years and then switch to the higher trim I've never driven an MDX but rode in one and still yet to ride on a Highlander XLE. The seats are very comfortable specially the Signature trim leather package we just have the regular leather but still quite comfortable. I've been in the Honda Pilot and not to impress with the comfortability of the seats but it does have lots of room. But then being in the CX-9 I don't think there's much differrence. I know the 3rd row for CX-9 is not quite wide for 3 people but maybe 3 small kids will do. The only thing that kinda bothers me is that the head rest in the 3rd row sits quite tall and when it's up it's hard to see the back, but so far that's about it. What we do like is that it's pretty quiet when driving and quite smooth. Hopefully this will help you a bit. I would say go out and test drive one

 

SnowFlakeBear - Thanks for all the details. I bought a 2018 Grand Touring with 7k on it two weeks ago. Very fun to drive and am really liking the handling (and the gas mileage + 87 octane option as compared to my older MDX which requires 91 or greater) and all the little details in the cabin. Night driving is great with exceptional visibility. Comparing it to the newer MDXs, Highlanders, and similar vehicles I test drove, the Mazda has the best 'bang for the buck' and I feel it's a great value. And I really have to add this last bit: Both of the Acura dealers I visited had 'we are better than thou' attitudes and it really pissed me off. The Ford dealer I bought the CX-9 from was very easy to deal with and came down to a very reasonable price.