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Considering/just test drove a Mazda CX-9 for wife...would like informed opinions

jeff

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#1
A bit of this intro in italics is repeated from my Tesla and Stinger threads so bear with me if you chimed in there.

My wife and I are both turning 47 this month. She's been driving various kid haulers (we have 4 kids) for most of our 23 years of marriage, but now with 2 kids gone and a third leaving soon the time has come to dump the minivan. We've had a Honda minivan since 2003, that's 16 years. My thing has always been when the time comes she picks whatever she wants up to the price of $50k. So we've been casually looking at a few vehicles over the last year or so with plans to buy soon. We kinda figured we'd get an SUV or sedan...Mazda CX-9 or CX-5 were high on the list, Accord sport 2.0 or Acura RDX were all possibilities. Maybe even a Ford Explorer. Any of those fully loaded gets up around $40-45k.

We test drove a Stinger a few days ago. The car was amazing, I could have gotten it for $43k out the door ($52k MSRP), but we decided that we just needed more room. We still have 2 kids in tow, both are not small any more, and the trunk of the Stinger while huge just can't carry all the stuff we'd want to for trips. When you're used to the space of a minivan it's hard to go back. Yes, I suck...I am officially contributing to the whole "Americans must drive SUVs" thing.

So with sights set on an SUV we went and drove a CX-9 today. I considered an Acura RDX, but they're just too techy and too floaty for me. We looked at the Edge ST which can be had for super cheap (hundreds available brand new...they are as low as $36k [$52k MSRP]) but there's a reason for that and after reading reviews the transmission and interior/tech faults are a deal breaker. We looked at a Telluride and Explorer and a few others but we're ready for something that's not a boat on wheels. The CX-9 has been in my sights for a few years; I test drove one years back for fun and it really is everything they say it is. Not as big as the Telluride or others but we don't need that anymore; still, has a 3rd row if needed and decent enough cargo space for a family of 4. Has a punchy 310tq motor with good MPG and AWD too. Best thing is interior is absolutely gorgeous and the driving dynamics are insanely good - it's not a Fiesta ST but it's the best driving SUV available at a decent price, pretty much every review I've read agrees on this. Just a very pleasant car, a has a bit of fun factor too I must say.

So...did the test drive. Wife is ready. Called about 10 dealerships within driving range and found the best deal about an hour away...the color we want, well-optioned, has 20 miles on it. 2019 model, since it's the end of the year there are deals to be had...$47k MSRP and they're dropping it to $40.5k after much (much, much) haggling on my part. Thinking about going to get it tomorrow...

https://www.midlandsmazda.com/inventory/new-2019-mazda-cx-9-signature-4wd-awd-jm3tcbey3k0329252

Anyhow I'd love opinions if you've been researching the same or have experienced or owned a Mazda CX-9.
 


Clint Beastwood

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#2
I mean, if it drives *anything* like the CX5 it'll be an absolute delight. Other than being almost dangerously slow (the CX5 I drove, was the smallest engine with AWD) once it was up to speed it was great (for a CUV) to toss around and stuff.

Just do your research I suppose, from what I remember, Mazda's models in terms of reliability and long term quality fall on both ends of the spectrum, but not usually in the middle, i.e. the mazda 3 and 6 would be amazing one year, but the mazda mpv or whatever they currently call their minivan would rate incredibly poorly. I've been a fan of mazda since my very first car, and after going to one of mazda's track day experience things I'm a huge fan of the mazda 3... no personal experience with the CX9, just that I don't see many of them, and the few I see seem to look a lot older than they are. Mazda usually does a great job picking paint colors (for the 3 at least!) but the 9's are.... I dunno if it's the color or something about the paint, they just seem to look more weathered - that, or the demographic buying them doesn't care about wash/wax.
 


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#3
I don’t have input on the CX-9 specifically but we’ve owned Mazdas pretty steadily for my wife and she’s always been very happy with them. We have a 2018 Mazda6 with the same motor that’s in the CX-9 and it’s very smooth and very torquey. A lot of reviews of Mazda’s ding them for still using a 6 speed auto but I like it better than any of the other vehicles we’ve looked at with 7, 8 or 10 speeds.

Also, the deals on 2019 are very good right now as you pointed out. My dad is picking up his 2019 Mazda3 today that ended up being about $4800 under sticker and with a nice rate from Mazda Finance (Chase).

My only complaints with modern Mazdas are:
A little bit of lag in the infotainment
Not a lot of air flow in the ventilated seats (compared to Ford)
The crappy factory remote start options (pretty happy with a 3rd party alternative)
 


Ford ST

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Where is the thumbs down button. Darn it man I was all excited and you ruined it for me.
But for real your life your choice. My wife has a 2011 Mazda 3 2.5 hatchback. We both like Mazda there good cars I'm sure it will do you well.

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JDG

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#5
Girlfriend drives a Mazda6 that I do all the maintenance on. Fun car in the handling department but super slow. Fairly reliable but has issues with the body/subframe rusting prematurely. We test drove a CX5 and liked it a lot. I thought it was too slow though. Will be looking at the CX5 turbo in 2020. I recommend you look for a brand new 2019 CX5 grand touring reserve with the turbo for under $32K if you don’t absolutely need the third row.

Definitely also bummed this is the route you are taking after looking at the stinger previously.

I’d tried to convince the Gf to test drive a Buick Regal TourX wagon but no dice :(


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OP
jeff

jeff

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Thanks all for replies/conversation.

Where is the thumbs down button. Darn it man I was all excited and you ruined it for me.
But for real your life your choice.
Definitely also bummed this is the route you are taking after looking at the stinger previously.
Yeah it's not my first choice but our relationship works better when its give and take, not me always getting what I want. I got to buy the Fiesta and Prelude and my wife only smiles when she sees me installing turbos and exhausts and stuff in the garage, she's never questioned me once. This is the car she'll drive 90% of the time so it's not about me.

If that weren't enough of a reason, my wife has had 2 drunk drivers hit her and total the car she was driving both times (this happened in her 20s) so her desire to be a bit high/protected is a real thing. I haven't had that experience so I can't understand but I respect her opinion. Plus space - our little girl who is now 10 has a number of severe disabilities, e.g. she's been on a feeding machine for 9 years of her life...anywhere we go we're used to taking along extra suitcases of supplies, syringes, feeding packs, predigested food bottles, not to mention the machine, stand, cord, etc. It's like 2 extra suitcases to go on a vacation with her. She'll likely be with us all her life so with that in mind we really realized a larger vehicle with more room than a sedan is going to make our life easier.

My wife loved the Stinger. If we'd been given a different lot in life we'd be in that car now, but it is what it is and this is what works best for us. She does love driving the Fiesta though and does so on occasion. I always ask her if she raced any mustangs ha ha. And the CX-9 is quite a nice ride, has more torque than any similar priced SUV out there and its more sporty feeling too, so at least we're keeping some enthusiasm in the purchase vs. buying a floating couch on wheels.

Anyhow we'll see what happens tomorrow. I appreciate all perspectives and enjoy this conversation it helps me prepare to possibly purchase our next 10+ year vehicle.
 


Ford ST

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Girlfriend drives a Mazda6 that I do all the maintenance on. Fun car in the handling department but super slow. Fairly reliable but has issues with the body/subframe rusting prematurely. We test drove a CX5 and liked it a lot. I thought it was too slow though. Will be looking at the CX5 turbo in 2020. I recommend you look for a brand new 2019 CX5 grand touring reserve with the turbo for under $32K if you don’t absolutely need the third row.

Definitely also bummed this is the route you are taking after looking at the stinger previously.

I’d tried to convince the Gf to test drive a Buick Regal TourX wagon but no dice :(


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The 2.5 turbo is definitely a big upgrade over the standard 2.5. It's tuned for torque but I wonder how much power it could make if adjusted.

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JDG

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#8
Thanks all for replies/conversation.





Yeah it's not my first choice but our relationship works better when its give and take, not me always getting what I want. I got to buy the Fiesta and Prelude and my wife only smiles when she sees me installing turbos and exhausts and stuff in the garage, she's never questioned me once. This is the car she'll drive 90% of the time so it's not about me.

If that weren't enough of a reason, my wife has had 2 drunk drivers hit her and total the car she was driving both times (this happened in her 20s) so her desire to be a bit high/protected is a real thing. I haven't had that experience so I can't understand but I respect her opinion. Plus space - our little girl who is now 10 has a number of severe disabilities, e.g. she's been on a feeding machine for 9 years of her life...anywhere we go we're used to taking along extra suitcases of supplies, syringes, feeding packs, predigested food bottles, not to mention the machine, stand, cord, etc. It's like 2 extra suitcases to go on a vacation with her. She'll likely be with us all her life so with that in mind we really realized a larger vehicle with more room than a sedan is going to make our life easier.

My wife loved the Stinger. If we'd been given a different lot in life we'd be in that car now, but it is what it is and this is what works best for us. She does love driving the Fiesta though and does so on occasion. I always ask her if she raced any mustangs ha ha. And the CX-9 is quite a nice ride, has more torque than any similar priced SUV out there and its more sporty feeling too, so at least we're keeping some enthusiasm in the purchase vs. buying a floating couch on wheels.

Anyhow we'll see what happens tomorrow. I appreciate all perspectives and enjoy this conversation it helps me prepare to possibly purchase our next 10+ year vehicle.
For some reason I had in my head that you and your wife were empty nesters. Hence why I was pushing the CX5 turbo. I can definitely sympathize with your wife’s experiences and wanting to be high up with plenty of space for your daughter.

I realize now that I drove a CX9 as a rental car for a day this year (I drive a lot of rental cars) and I completely forgot. Don’t remember the experience being anything to write home about. I do remember that the new Chevy equinox with the 2.0T is the fastest new suv rental car I’ve driven.

Just checked consumer reports and the CX9 (2019 and 2020 MY) get great ratings. The 0-60 is surprisingly slow at 7.9 seconds but again, not your car lol

Edit: very cool that your wife enjoys the fiesta. I can’t get my GF to drive mine unfortunately..


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#9
The 2.5 turbo is definitely a big upgrade over the standard 2.5. It's tuned for torque but I wonder how much power it could make if adjusted.
I and others on the Mazda6 forums have looked into it and sadly, there aren’t many active tuners for turbo skyactiv. I’m aware of two, one is custom tune only and seems kinda sketchy and the other recently decided to stop tuning Mazdas all together to focus on Toyota.

Now that the 2.5T is available in the 6, CX-5 and CX-9, there will be enough of them out there that someone will step into the market.
 


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jeff

jeff

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Thread Starter #10
For some reason I had in my head that you and your wife were empty nesters. Hence why I was pushing the CX5 turbo. I can definitely sympathize with your wife’s experiences and wanting to be high up with plenty of space for your daughter.

I realize now that I drove a CX9 as a rental car for a day this year (I drive a lot of rental cars) and I completely forgot. Don’t remember the experience being anything to write home about. I do remember that the new Chevy equinox with the 2.0T is the fastest new suv rental car I’ve driven.

Just checked consumer reports and the CX9 (2019 and 2020 MY) get great ratings. The 0-60 is surprisingly slow at 7.9 seconds but again, not your car lol

Edit: very cool that your wife enjoys the fiesta. I can’t get my GF to drive mine unfortunately..


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Actually the 0-60 test from C&D was 7.0 seconds, not sure where you got 7.9. 7.0 is on par with a stock Fiesta ST. It's not fast by any means but it feels quite sprightly since there are 310 lb/ft of torque available way down low in the powerband.

We tried a CX-5 but it's just super small, again considering my needs mentioned above. Nice car, great engine and pretty quick but just not big enough for what we need.
 


JDG

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Actually the 0-60 test from C&D was 7.0 seconds, not sure where you got 7.9. 7.0 is on par with a stock Fiesta ST. It's not fast by any means but it feels quite sprightly since there are 310 lb/ft of torque available way down low in the powerband.

We tried a CX-5 but it's just super small, again considering my needs mentioned above. Nice car, great engine and pretty quick but just not big enough for what we need.




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Ford ST

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It all depends on what site you look at. car and driver has it at 7.1 seconds.


"It sounds gutsy and managed an impressive result in our acceleration testing, where it scooted our Grand Touring test vehiclefrom zero to 60 mph in 7.1 seconds. The 2020 CX-9 is clearly the driving enthusiast's family hauler."



https://www.caranddriver.com/mazda/cx-9

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#13
We had a 2011 CX9 GT. It was a wonderful car and we only traded it in because we needed a truck for towing. It was super reliable and performed much sportier than anything else in its size category. I'd buy another in a heartbeat if I needed something in that class. I'm a small car guy having owned a CRX, WRX, Civic Si, Mazda3, Speed3, Focus RS, and now a FiST. For what you are looking for, the CX9 is a great choice. If your wife likes it then just go for it. I don't think you'll regret it at all. Hope this helps!
 


OP
jeff

jeff

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Only a few posts in and we're already discussing the 0-60 time...I love this place.

"The Mazda Cx-9 is one best crossover you can enjoy driving with the zoom-zoom attitude! It offers a great deal of driving fun due to a great Skyactive chassis, great and communicative steering, and a turbo engine that can compete with V6." - quote I copy pasted from somewhere

Truth be told, I've already looked at performance upgrades, just for fun. There isn't much as is to be expected. Not that I'd do any, this is her car. But funny nonetheless.
 


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Wife got one (2017 SIGNATURE), to replace her Honda Odyssey 2007. I chose it for her, she liked the way it looked and excellent driving for an SUV.

I wish she would have gotten something different now.

The bad: Rearview camera is the worst I've ever seen. Multimedia in it is so behind the curve. Front seats are too short feels like you will slide right off.



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JDG

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Only a few posts in and we're already discussing the 0-60 time...I love this place.

"The Mazda Cx-9 is one best crossover you can enjoy driving with the zoom-zoom attitude! It offers a great deal of driving fun due to a great Skyactive chassis, great and communicative steering, and a turbo engine that can compete with V6." - quote I copy pasted from somewhere

Truth be told, I've already looked at performance upgrades, just for fun. There isn't much as is to be expected. Not that I'd do any, this is her car. But funny nonetheless.
How'd you make out? Pics of this thing?
 


OP
jeff

jeff

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How'd you make out? Pics of this thing?
Thanks for asking! We got it last night. They ended up giving us $9k off the MSRP, the car had 20 miles. Very happy, drove home, the tech is insane, it's amazing how far cars have come. Ride is amazing, great torque. Pretty good mpg as well I must say. Driving dynamics are superb and interior is so luxurious....HUD, heated steering wheel, ventilated seats, it's nuts. I've heard some say it's uncomfortable but I drove it 100 miles home yesterday and it felt amazing for me.

I knew all that though, I'd done a good bit of research on this over the last few years. It was my #1 choice if we went the SUV route, and once the sedans were eliminated it was an easy pic.

My wife is supremely happy.

I'll post more thoughts later. I'll get some pics too.

Thanks again for remembering!!!
 


JDG

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Thanks for asking! We got it last night. They ended up giving us $9k off the MSRP, the car had 20 miles. Very happy, drove home, the tech is insane, it's amazing how far cars have come. Ride is amazing, great torque. Pretty good mpg as well I must say. Driving dynamics are superb and interior is so luxurious....HUD, heated steering wheel, ventilated seats, it's nuts. I've heard some say it's uncomfortable but I drove it 100 miles home yesterday and it felt amazing for me.

I knew all that though, I'd done a good bit of research on this over the last few years. It was my #1 choice if we went the SUV route, and once the sedans were eliminated it was an easy pic.

My wife is supremely happy.

I'll post more thoughts later. I'll get some pics too.

Thanks again for remembering!!!
Glad to hear it! Looking forward to seeing some photos. Now to get it detailed and sealed/waxed.
 


OP
jeff

jeff

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Glad to hear it! Looking forward to seeing some photos. Now to get it detailed and sealed/waxed.
Thanks, yeah at some point down the road I'll clean it up a bit and read the manual. So much to do....

Here are a few pics I snapped tonight. Such a nice car, so quiet and refined. Good job Mazda.

Bottom line, my sweet wife has jumped from a 2006 minivan to a 2019 near-luxury SUV. She bore me 4 kids and dealt with 99 levels of hell in the last 20 years and still came out smiling; to me she is the most amazing person on this planet. This was in the works for years and ultimately it was her call. For our needs it's the perfect vehicle. The mix of sport and luxury is unparalleled at this price point. This should last 10+ years for us.

And yes, I have already ordered/pre-ordered 2 mods!!!

Pics!!!!

https://public.fotki.com/greentrees2/actuator-and-maf-mod/img-8319.html]

https://public.fotki.com/greentrees2/actuator-and-maf-mod/img-8314.html]
[/URL]
https://public.fotki.com/greentrees2/actuator-and-maf-mod/img-8317.html]
[/URL]
https://public.fotki.com/greentrees2/actuator-and-maf-mod/img-8316.html]
[/URL]
https://public.fotki.com/greentrees2/actuator-and-maf-mod/img-8312.html]
[/URL]
https://public.fotki.com/greentrees2/actuator-and-maf-mod/img-8313.html]
[/URL][/URL]
 


JDG

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#20
Thanks, yeah at some point down the road I'll clean it up a bit and read the manual. So much to do....

Here are a few pics I snapped tonight. Such a nice car, so quiet and refined. Good job Mazda.

Bottom line, my sweet wife has jumped from a 2006 minivan to a 2019 near-luxury SUV. She bore me 4 kids and dealt with 99 levels of hell in the last 20 years and still came out smiling; to me she is the most amazing person on this planet. This was in the works for years and ultimately it was her call. For our needs it's the perfect vehicle. The mix of sport and luxury is unparalleled at this price point. This should last 10+ years for us.

And yes, I have already ordered/pre-ordered 2 mods!!!

Pics!!!!

https://public.fotki.com/greentrees2/actuator-and-maf-mod/img-8319.html]

https://public.fotki.com/greentrees2/actuator-and-maf-mod/img-8314.html]
[/URL]
https://public.fotki.com/greentrees2/actuator-and-maf-mod/img-8317.html]
[/URL]
https://public.fotki.com/greentrees2/actuator-and-maf-mod/img-8316.html]
[/URL]
https://public.fotki.com/greentrees2/actuator-and-maf-mod/img-8312.html]
[/URL]
https://public.fotki.com/greentrees2/actuator-and-maf-mod/img-8313.html]
[/URL][/URL]
I think the brown interior is growing on me.. I didn’t like it at first. Mazda definitely knows how to build a nice car though.


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