Nearly everyone would love to drive around in a little red convertible on a sunny day.
Zip up the Sea to Sky, grab a coffee in Squamish and head out into the wild. However, here comes the spectre of Real Adult Life to intervene: kids to haul, DIY projects around the house, the commute, endless rain.
But don’t worry, says Mazda, we’ve gotcha covered. If what you’re craving is a little driving pleasure, but you’ve got to use the practical side of your brain, then there’s the new CX-9, a three row crossover. It’s just as much fun as a Miata. We promise.
Whoa, there, Mazda. That’s a bit of a stretch. I’m willing to accept that some crossovers can pull surprising performance out of a blend of big horsepower and wide tires (see: BMW X5M, Porsche Cayenne Turbo), but the lightness and delicacy of the world’s favourite roadster? We shall see.
Design
Even if you don’t care much about zippiness, it must be admitted that Mazda’s design department continues to excel. The CX-9 is the last of the lineup to get the full refresh treatment, and the work they’ve done is just stunning.
Compare this to something like the Lexus RX350, and the Mazda makes the luxury brand offering look overwrought. Both have big grilles, but the CX-9 seems to flow backward from its signature element, representing a cohesive shape. It looks long and low from almost any angle, with a stretched out nose that makes it look like there’s a bit of RX-7 DNA mixed in there.
The one misstep, and this is typical of Mazda, is that they appear to have designed the car around the 20-inch alloys of the top-level Signature model. The mid-level trims get 18-inch alloys, and it looks a bit small for the sheet metal. The 20s look great, but replacement and snow tires are still expensive for them. Maybe they could have split the difference at 19s?
Environment
Just as good inside as it is out, the CX-9 basically bridges the gap between a mainstream brand and luxury. It’s not quite an Acura or a Lexus, but then, it doesn’t cost what an Acura or Lexus does.
Materials are excellent, the fit and finish is very good, and of particular note is the use of genuine wood trim instead of artificial-looking laminates. The rest of the cabin will be very familiar to Mazda owners seeking an upgrade from their CX-5 or Mazda3, with that same driver-centric feel you get from the rest of the Mazda range.
Having said that, just like the CX-3, the styling has tweaked the practicality somewhat. The CX-9 is more compact in cargo area than something like a Toyota Highlander, especially in the tight third row. Sliding the middle rows forward to get access to that third row is also something only an adult can really do – the sliding mechanism is a bit heavy.
However, the middle row seats are really quite roomy for the class. Rather than being a pure kid-hauler, the CX-9 is laid out like a machine for hauling older families around, ones with taller children that need more second-row space.
Performance
On paper, the CX-9 is certainly like the MX-5, in that a reduction in horsepower calls for a little explanation. In both cases, turning down the wick on peak power has resulted in efficiency boosts, and happily both are still fun to drive.
The CX-9’s power plant represents a big change, but not an unexpected one. Mazda was having to build the old V-6 on its own production line, while all other global engines were built on the other four-cylinder line. Thus, the CX-9 now gets a four-cylinder that’s similar to the one you get in your CX-5. Except that it’s turbocharged.
Making 227 horsepower on regular-grade fuel and 250 h.p. on premium, the new 2.5-litre turbo-four is down more than a few ponies over the old V-6. Happily, it’s way up on usable torque, with 310 foot-pounds of grunt available from very low revs. That’s good news: an MX-5 is the kind of car you wring out to redline, but a crossover gets driven at a trot more than a gallop.
The six-speed automatic is a conventional gearbox, but one that makes the most of the gutsy turbocharged torque for excellent off-the-line acceleration. Bombing up the Sea to Sky, power levels dropped as revs and speed increased, but in the sub-4,000 r.p.m. level that most crossover owners will spend 99 per cent of their driving day using, the CX-9 is better than adequate.
And where it really shines is in how it handles. Again, you’re not going to fling this thing around like a little two-seater roadster – not unless you want to end up scrubbing the carpets when your passengers eject their lunches. But the CX-9’s direct steering and controlled feel impart driver confidence, and a bit of fun.
Moving from the V-6 to the inline-four has shed a lot of weight off the nose, and there are further weight savings in everything from the all-wheel-drive system to the chassis. AWD models are some 100 kilograms lighter than the previous model, and the CX-9 feels light on its feet as a result.
In short, it drives like a Mazda. Fans of the brand will not be disappointed, even if they’ve got to wait a few more years for an empty nest and a chance to get their summertime droptop.
Features
The fully loaded Signature model for the CX-9 comes with everything from a proper digital heads-up-display to satellite navigation. The latter, and the rest of the infotainment, is about the same as you get in other Mazda products. It’s functional, but doesn’t wow. For mid-level models, the tech is fine. For the Signature’s $52,295, there better be an electronics update coming in the next little while.
Turbocharging always returns worse fuel economy results in the real world than on paper, and the CX-9 is the first Mazda I’ve driven that doesn’t easily hit its targets. Official figures are 11.2 (litres/100 kilometres) city and 8.8 highway. In mostly hilly highway use, the CX-9 returned a little worse than the city rating.
Green light
Light, balanced, well-controlled drive; strong low-end grunt; excellent styling inside and out.
Stop sign
Third row seating is cramped; 20-inch tires on top level will be expensive replacements; infotainment is due for an upgrade.
The checkered flag
Nothing is as much fun as an MX-5, but if you’ve got to be practical, this is as close as it gets.
Competition
Honda Pilot ($35,590): While it’s not quite the dancer the CX-9 is, the Pilot is surprisingly nimble for such a large machine. Now a sort of biggish CR-V, the new Pilot is less of a truck than the old squared-off version. It’s not exactly stunning in the styling department, but practicality is there in spades.
And if the CX-9 is intended to appeal to parents of older kids, the Pilot is more of a Honda Odyssey dressed up in outdoor gear. There are lots of clever touches to the interior – the sliding middle row seats, for instance, have a button mounted low enough for little kids to reach – and there’s a great deal of space and cargo room on offer. The CX-9, on the other hand, is almost as nice as an Acura MDX, for much the same price as the Honda.
