2015 Mazda CX-9: More fun than the Chevrolet Traverse, Honda Pilot & Nissan Pathfinder
The feeling of taking corners with confidence, completely comfortable with your car’s abilities, is something that most three-row crossover owners have never experienced, unless they’re behind the wheel of some expensive European vehicle. Well, there’s always been one midsize crossover that offers all that and more — the Mazda CX-9. We take a look at how it’s better than its direct rivals.
The attractive Mazda CX-9 is powered by a standard 3.7-litre V6, which is the largest engine in its class in terms of displacement, compared to the 3.5-litre in the Honda Pilot and the Nissan Pathfinder, and the 3.6-litre in the Chevy Traverse. Generally, larger engines have more natural torque, which in turn means they offer better initial acceleration as well as more “pulling” ability from lower revs.
We noticed how well the CX-9’s engine did whether it was driven alone or with seven passengers – it never felt like it was much slower when having to haul the extra six people and a bit of picnic luggage. The smooth-shifting 6-speed tiptronic gearbox simply picked the right gear and carried on without struggling. That’s the benefit of torque.
That seven-passenger cabin is also a pretty nice place to be, with nicely-padded doors and the cushiest armrests. The car we drove had spacious power-adjustable front seats, fairly generous legroom for the split-folding second-row seating, and a split-folding third-row bench that can seat kids. However, the second row can be slid forward a bit and then the third row can easily seat adults without having their knees touch the seatbacks.
With all seats in use, there is still space in the boot for a big baby-pram as well as some groceries. With the third row folded down flat, there’s immense cargo volume, and with the second row down, it can easily fit mountain bikes.
There’s no shortage of amenities either, as our car had HID headlights, smart keyless entry and start, cruise control, sunroof, power mirrors, memory seats, tri-zone a/c and a touchscreen with Bluetooth and navigation. All that and cup-holders for all three rows of seats as well.
Safety is taken care of as well. There’s dual front airbags, side airbags, side-curtain airbags and isofix latches for baby seats, while on the driving front, there’s strong disc brakes with ABS and EBD, traction control and electronic stability control as well as all-wheel-drive capability that makes the CX-9 a safe driver in wet weather and on loose surfaces.
And we come back to the handling – with well-tuned independent front and rear suspension, the CX-9 strikes a sweet balance between cornering abilities and ride comfort, with limited body roll and no floatiness at high speeds. In fact, it is easily the best-handling crossover in its segment compared to the Traverse, Pilot and Pathfinder, let alone softly-tuned rivals such the Hyundai Grand Santa Fe and the Kia Sorento.
The great handling has a safety benefit as well. When there’s trouble on the road ahead, the CX-9 can quickly and safely swerve out of the way more easily and without losing control. If you dive into a corner too quickly, it turns in cleanly and clearly lets you know with a mild squeal of the tyres while still holding the line, and you can place the car accurately around the turn with the well-weighted steering, unlike the vague feedback you get from most of the other crossovers.
Riding on 20-inch alloys, the CX-9 offers a firm yet composed feeling on the highway, with respectable cabin quietness and a ride smooth enough for our passengers to fall asleep on a cross-country trip.
To the average car enthusiast, the three-row crossover segment might appear to be boring, but the Mazda CX-9 specifically feels like it caters to the car enthusiast who has also graduated to become a family man.
For more information, visit the Mazda UAE website.
Comments
anonymous
good review. what about Toyota Prado compared to the Mazda CX-9?
Thanks
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
The Prado is not in the same segment as the CX-9.
dante
Prado is only for reliability and off road, handling & daily use is terrible.
cayanide
Where is Kia Sorento and Hyundai SantaFe in this review
Uzman
What are you reading? Title doesn’t mention the Koreans nor does it say review.
Saif
The pilot is not the same segment either. Its more of a Large SUV.
Huzefa
^^you must the only one in the world who calls the Pilot a large SUV, lol. The Pilot is a midsize unibody crossover with AWD just like the CX9. The Prado is a body-on-frame offroader with 4 low.
santhosh
this seems like a paid report.. and less like a review or shootout..
im surprised you havent raised the point about its dated interiors and horrible dash plastics, etc.. the only thing skyactiv about it is the face..
Hamid
It’s clearly labelled as “brought to you by Mazda.” Does not say its a review. But having owned the older CX9, whatever is written is absolutely correct. It is more fun to drive than the Traverse which is just a stretched boring minivan with doors. Did not drive the others.
Marc
Agree but it is labelled as such
I find the mazdas design horrible
cayanide
So this review is not by Drive arabia hmm…
Uzman
They already did a review back in 2013 of the same car. Seems to match up fine with that story. This story looks like just to promote the positive aspects of the car, not a review.
Wail
Well I own a 2015 Traverse. Interior space can’t be matched by Mazda. The last row knee space is very good compared to others in this segment. I am 177 cm and i sat very comfortably in the last row Regarding safety, it has one special Airbag between the two front passengers which is only available in this car + it got 5 stars in crash test results.
Sandy
In our own personal cross shopping between the CX9 and the Pathfinder, we got the new PF. While the CX9 drives half a notch better, slightly more car like and has a few more gadgets, a few things I did not like; engine noise at acceleration, less space and spaciousness, sluggish navigation and touch screen. The last nail was the lack of a starter button, the keyless ignition key felt like a poor afterthought. Overall very happy with the PF, I can even live with the CVT. Two PF drawbacks are are the expensive (outrageous) nav gps updates and the lack of BLIS/blind spot indication system.
Huzefa
The issues you say are a small price to pay for not having to suffer CVT.
qasim
hyundai santafe is the best in this clasa
Uzman
I will never buy Hyundai. It is cheap for a reason.
cayanide
Yes you are right very cleverly they have omitted Koreans from their review, the recent price drops that we are seeing is not because of competition amongst Japanese brands … its is the Koreans that are giving them a run for their money so all Japanese brands are reviewing their price and packages to cope with their falling sales..
Uzman
Is that why Hyundai is now always running special offers on 2015 models like Pierre Cardin shops? Hyundai prices are so low now that people who bought just one month before get killed on resale. And next months will probably be lower and lower. One day they will give you money to buy Hyundais lol.
Munzir
Own a mazda….. and you will not like driving anything else. It’s not the fastest kid in town. But it does whatever it should better than others. My bro owns a mazda 6…. It still returns 11.5 kms per litre after having run 291000 kms. He changed his break pads only twice in 6 years. Apart from filter and oil change…. no maintenance either. Oh yes …he did change the wiper blade a few days back. The handling is unmatched. I have driven every other car in its segment….but nothing feels the same when it comes to fun factor. If you want to have a reliable tin can which will cater you resale value, then look somewhere else. But if you care about pure driving pleasure…..then mazda wins it hands down. And when it comes down to CX9, CX9 literally is a car like crossover. U will never feel for a sec the size. Prado is extremely boring to drive and ugly. Cx9 performs and also looks great the more u look at it.
The only other car, within a handy budget, that gave me more adrenaline rush was the GTI
farrukh
I have Mazda6 2007 too and it was used and abused by staff. It is already out of fleet few years back when I bought it. But trust me never let me down just doing the regular services and running like champ. clocking just about 240000kms.
cayanide
I also used to have Mazda 6 2.0 liter version no doubt its the best in drive compared to its class, but in other aspects it was behind such as interior quality, cheap plastics, noisy engine, no good a/c.. you would b lucky to have no problem with Mazda but once you have it will keep on coming… it’s always the majority review that counts one might not have an issue with the car but that doesn’t increase the cars reliability that’s were other Japanese brands beat Mazda.. the car is Japanese but when it comes to maintenance its European expensive and that doesn’t satisfy this segment customers. Till the time Mazda rethinks on its running costs it will be on the last choice for midsize segment cars.
Uzman
lol, maintenance like Europeans? What do you count as maintenance? Oil changes at Eppco and repairs in Ajman? Last time I went to Toyota, my jaw dropped at the service prices. Nothing less than 600 just to change 5000 km oil.
cayanide
LOL.. from a layman’s point of view your are right they can’t think of maintenance beyond oil and filter change. I was addressing to those who know what a car maintenance means which includes periodic gear oil filters, engine belts, plugs… etc etc that also needs to be changed for optimum performance whether you change it in Ajman or some quality garage the parts are expensive and so is labour cost than other Japanese brands. Thanks god a layman doesn’t include petrol also as maintenance cost.. LMFAO
Munzir
Honestly…..I know atleast a dozen of my colleagues who own mazda. Till date, I have not come across anyone complaining about maintenance. But I agree with you that it does not always have to be like that.
I have heard many people complaining about the interiors of mazda. The new 2015 interior is a standout. But even otherwise, the Toyota and nissan and honda… All of them provide cheap plastics. Yet no one complains. Isn’t that being biased.
The engine noise is high …. I agree to that. But I am willing to trade some noise for driving pleasure.
See the prado for instance….It is so quiet and boring to drive on he road….that u tend to sleep immediately.
When it comes to maintenance…. I guess a lot has tp do with the way each person drives his car. If you are careful…It won’t give u much trouble
Munzir
No good a/c ???? Are you kidding me ? Yes the ac is not as good as Nissan. But it definitely is chilling. Am telling this as I have owned 3 mazda and still owns one. I normally am forced to switch off the ac after 30 mins
S
Nik
Mazda’s are called poor mans BMW for a reason!! The driving pleasure and handling is beyond anything else in its class. Take Mazda 2 and CX5 for example , they really didn’t have to make a car fun to drive in that category , but they did. Agree Mazda’s fall back on the tech part , but who cares when you can add after market gizmos. If you are just looking for a car to take you from point A to B , then you have plenty of options in the market … if not get a Mazda.
SMathew
How is the after sales service of Galadari? I have often heard the after sales is not so great when compared to dealers of American car brands.
M. K.
CX9 is good to drive, well priced and offer good package but its long term reliability is not on bar with other Japanese competitors.
Koreans are the best value for money,looks better, comfortable, well equipped and their resale value is good here in KSA
Joseph D
Koreans have even worse long term reliability than Mazda.
Zao
Wait till the new 2017 skyactive CX9 comes out… Most probably it would be coming with 2.5 ltr turbo engine with 300+ hp…. Mazda is also developing an inline 6 cyl engine….new CX9 gonna be launched at LA auto show in November….
farrukh
This CX9 is just a facelift. The complete new CX9 will be available by the end of 2016. Also comparing all new models of different brands Toyota Nissan etc with the outdates CX9 is not justified. Current shape of CX9 came out back in 2007.
Mohamed
What about the Durango?
Luca
Durango? I own a 2012 MY. Worst car ever had. Even worse than the previous model I had. Many problems with the trasmissions, all the exaust is coming inside the cabin (bad sealings), electrical problems with the keyless system…. The car spent more time at the dealer than on the roads.
Mohammad
Some points on cars in this class:
1) CX9 does indeed provide the best overall package (space, drive, looks) for the money, it is also the only one in its class still built in Japan. Main downside is that the body shape has been the same since 2007.
2)Pathfinder provides the most toys and features for the price but risk of CVT problems is always there
3) Traverse is the best in terms of space, its interior materials let it down though. Build feels more solid than Japanese ones
4) Durango supposedly starts at 150k and offers nothing that others its class don’t at a much lower price point.
The new Pilot looks to be an improvement over the current one and will be sure to hit Mazda/Nissan/Koreans once its here