New car dilemma
#1
11-25-2017, 02:01 PM
New car dilemma
I currently own a 2015 CX-9 Touring Edition with 10,000 miles on it. I am trying to gather some opinions on the 2018 model. This is the vehicle my wife drives, and she loves it..says its the best car she has ever owned. I kinda like it too. She wants to buy the 2018 in a few months, but I am a bit wary of its performance..mainly by what seems to be a contradiction by the sales team, and tech guys. My 2015 with the 3.7 pushes 273 h.p. with 270 ft pounds of torque at roughly 6200, and 4200 rpm on regular pump gas..86 octane. The 2018 pushes 227 h.p. at 5000 rpm on regular, and 250 at 5000 on 93 octane premium with 310 torque at 2000 rpm.They dont specify torque values with the differing fuel. With that being said, and being a firm believer in torque, I am still underwhelmed by the numbers of the new model. The dealer states that there is very noticeable difference in performance, but doesnt mention that it comes at a cost.....premium fuel.
I always burn 93 octane in my vehicles need it or not, so the 2015 hp, and torque ratings should be marginally better than advertised so I dont really concern myself with the fuel cost. My dilemma is that in order to achieve the performance rating of the 2018 I will be REQUIRED to run premium for the resultant increase to become apparent. Couple that with more heat, and wear on the engine, where is the advantage?
Hoping to hear a few points of view on this, as we are nearing the point of making a decision. My gut tells me to keep the 2015, even though its a bit outdated on interior, and exterior styling. I really like hitting the gas in traffic with no worries about merging in traffic. Again its the performance contradiction that I am trying to wrap my head around.
Thaanks for any replies, and suggestions, insight.
I always burn 93 octane in my vehicles need it or not, so the 2015 hp, and torque ratings should be marginally better than advertised so I dont really concern myself with the fuel cost. My dilemma is that in order to achieve the performance rating of the 2018 I will be REQUIRED to run premium for the resultant increase to become apparent. Couple that with more heat, and wear on the engine, where is the advantage?
Hoping to hear a few points of view on this, as we are nearing the point of making a decision. My gut tells me to keep the 2015, even though its a bit outdated on interior, and exterior styling. I really like hitting the gas in traffic with no worries about merging in traffic. Again its the performance contradiction that I am trying to wrap my head around.
Thaanks for any replies, and suggestions, insight.
#2
11-25-2017, 04:01 PM
It is no contradiction, I had a 2016 CX-9 GT till it was totaled and now have a 2018 GT. My wife and I both loved it so much we got another, same color, trim, etc.. The 2016+ with the 2.5 turbo is 2/10 a second faster 0-60 than the 3.7 (which was class leading BTW) and the torque at low RPM is downright incredible (it's 310 with either grade fuel). We drive almost all in city and get ~22 MPG even here in the Arizona heat with the AC on most of the time. This car would absolutely destroy my 14 Mazda 6 GT 2.5L in a race (not that I would tho) When we got the 2016, we tested a lot of new SUV's and this one was hands down better, and less $$ than most of them. I do not run premium gas either although I did a tank full once and noticed no difference. Save your money on the premium, any expert will tell you it does not increase performance on cars not tuned for it.
The only way to really make up your mind is to drive one. On the other hand a 2015 with only 10K is pretty good and they will likely not give you much for trade-in.
The only way to really make up your mind is to drive one. On the other hand a 2015 with only 10K is pretty good and they will likely not give you much for trade-in.
Last edited by Mr Russ; 11-25-2017 at 04:08 PM.
#3
11-25-2017, 04:08 PM
Perhaps I will take the dealer up on running one for a weekend. I did drive the 16 for about 15 minutes, and it didnt seem to have the punch of the 3.7. We decide on the cx-9 after driving a cx-5, and the 5 was grossly under powered for my taste.
#4
11-26-2017, 02:44 PM
This explains a lot:
What you think you feel as torque is actually the horsepower developed at the rpms you run. Don't think of the peak published hp at rpms we hardly ever get to. The new CX-9 turbocharged engine was designed for lots of boost at lower, every day, rpms. They gave away some of the peak power to get down low power. The high octane gas only makes a difference at high rpms. If you're getting close to red line, you'll have a difference. Otherwise, meh.
When you test drive the CX-9, be sure to notice the feel of the acceleration in both the normal mode and the sport mode. The sport mode raises the shift points for sportier driving.
I like our CX-9. Ample power.
What you think you feel as torque is actually the horsepower developed at the rpms you run. Don't think of the peak published hp at rpms we hardly ever get to. The new CX-9 turbocharged engine was designed for lots of boost at lower, every day, rpms. They gave away some of the peak power to get down low power. The high octane gas only makes a difference at high rpms. If you're getting close to red line, you'll have a difference. Otherwise, meh.
When you test drive the CX-9, be sure to notice the feel of the acceleration in both the normal mode and the sport mode. The sport mode raises the shift points for sportier driving.
I like our CX-9. Ample power.
#5
11-30-2017, 05:16 PM
This explains a lot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGThKKxNSko
What you think you feel as torque is actually the horsepower developed at the rpms you run. Don't think of the peak published hp at rpms we hardly ever get to. The new CX-9 turbocharged engine was designed for lots of boost at lower, every day, rpms. They gave away some of the peak power to get down low power. The high octane gas only makes a difference at high rpms. If you're getting close to red line, you'll have a difference. Otherwise, meh.
When you test drive the CX-9, be sure to notice the feel of the acceleration in both the normal mode and the sport mode. The sport mode raises the shift points for sportier driving.
I like our CX-9. Ample power.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGThKKxNSko
What you think you feel as torque is actually the horsepower developed at the rpms you run. Don't think of the peak published hp at rpms we hardly ever get to. The new CX-9 turbocharged engine was designed for lots of boost at lower, every day, rpms. They gave away some of the peak power to get down low power. The high octane gas only makes a difference at high rpms. If you're getting close to red line, you'll have a difference. Otherwise, meh.
When you test drive the CX-9, be sure to notice the feel of the acceleration in both the normal mode and the sport mode. The sport mode raises the shift points for sportier driving.
I like our CX-9. Ample power.
#6
11-30-2017, 05:18 PM
I currently own a 2015 CX-9 Touring Edition with 10,000 miles on it. I am trying to gather some opinions on the 2018 model. This is the vehicle my wife drives, and she loves it..says its the best car she has ever owned. I kinda like it too. She wants to buy the 2018 in a few months, but I am a bit wary of its performance..mainly by what seems to be a contradiction by the sales team, and tech guys. My 2015 with the 3.7 pushes 273 h.p. with 270 ft pounds of torque at roughly 6200, and 4200 rpm on regular pump gas..86 octane. The 2018 pushes 227 h.p. at 5000 rpm on regular, and 250 at 5000 on 93 octane premium with 310 torque at 2000 rpm.They dont specify torque values with the differing fuel. With that being said, and being a firm believer in torque, I am still underwhelmed by the numbers of the new model. The dealer states that there is very noticeable difference in performance, but doesnt mention that it comes at a cost.....premium fuel.
I always burn 93 octane in my vehicles need it or not, so the 2015 hp, and torque ratings should be marginally better than advertised so I dont really concern myself with the fuel cost. My dilemma is that in order to achieve the performance rating of the 2018 I will be REQUIRED to run premium for the resultant increase to become apparent. Couple that with more heat, and wear on the engine, where is the advantage?
Hoping to hear a few points of view on this, as we are nearing the point of making a decision. My gut tells me to keep the 2015, even though its a bit outdated on interior, and exterior styling. I really like hitting the gas in traffic with no worries about merging in traffic. Again its the performance contradiction that I am trying to wrap my head around.
Thaanks for any replies, and suggestions, insight.
I always burn 93 octane in my vehicles need it or not, so the 2015 hp, and torque ratings should be marginally better than advertised so I dont really concern myself with the fuel cost. My dilemma is that in order to achieve the performance rating of the 2018 I will be REQUIRED to run premium for the resultant increase to become apparent. Couple that with more heat, and wear on the engine, where is the advantage?
Hoping to hear a few points of view on this, as we are nearing the point of making a decision. My gut tells me to keep the 2015, even though its a bit outdated on interior, and exterior styling. I really like hitting the gas in traffic with no worries about merging in traffic. Again its the performance contradiction that I am trying to wrap my head around.
Thaanks for any replies, and suggestions, insight.
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