2021 Mazda CX-9 Signature AWD Video Review: MotorTrend Buyer's Guide

MotorTrend

How big can Mazda stretch the "zoom zoom" ethos? Jonny LIeberman finds out

Transcript

00:00 (tires screeching)

00:01 This is the Mazda CX-9.

00:04 It's a large three-row SUV for people who don't mind

00:07 sacrificing a little bit of practicality

00:10 for style and driving fun.

00:13 Does the fun-to-drive, good-looking Mazda CX-9

00:16 still have what it takes to compete in a hot segment

00:19 half a decade after it debuted?

00:21 (upbeat music)

00:28 For the most part, Americans hate driving minivans,

00:32 which is why family-friendly three-row SUVs have exploded.

00:37 We've always loved and praised the CX-9

00:39 because it was the only three-row SUV

00:42 that was any good to drive.

00:44 With the second generation CX-9,

00:47 what Mazda's doing is instead of just focusing

00:50 on how it drives, they've added a little bit of power

00:52 and some styling too.

00:54 So, they wanna woo a customer who doesn't just want

00:57 the biggest or the best value proposition.

00:59 No, they want a buyer who wants to say something

01:02 with their family hauler.

01:03 What Mazda's been trying to do

01:07 with their design language lately

01:09 is make all of their vehicles more upscale.

01:11 And I think with the CX-9, they've accomplished their goal.

01:14 Now, this is a higher-spec signature CX-9.

01:18 If you take a look at this grill,

01:20 there's not a ton of chrome or bright work on this car,

01:23 but the stuff that's there has been done very tastefully.

01:26 The grill, the surrounds, the roof rails,

01:28 it just, it looks really good.

01:30 It's not bling-bling, it just makes it pop a little bit.

01:33 Coming down the vehicle, I wish Mazda

01:36 would make their wheels stick out more.

01:37 It kinda makes the cars look sporty.

01:39 However, they've done a great job with chiseling the side.

01:42 SUVs are kinda blobular, and they've done a nice job

01:46 with kinda reducing the visual weight of this thing.

01:48 I really wanna call out the D-pillar here.

01:51 The hardest thing to do in car design is on a sedan,

01:54 the C-pillar on an SUV, the D-pillar back here.

01:57 It's where everything has to come together,

01:59 and they did it in a very, very tidy way.

02:02 Mazda's trying to make the CX-9's interior

02:06 look nicer than it is,

02:07 and I think they're partially successful.

02:10 Again, the design is rather good,

02:12 but if you look real closely at some of the materials,

02:15 for instance, they make a big deal

02:16 about having real rosewood,

02:18 and apparently it is real rosewood,

02:20 but it's like maybe a millimeter thick veneer over plastic,

02:25 and if you feel it, you can kinda tell it's plastic.

02:28 A lot of the stuff that looks like metal,

02:30 it's actually plastic, so as a result, it's too shiny,

02:33 but there are some genuinely nice touches,

02:35 like the quilted leather seats.

02:37 They look and feel really good.

02:40 In the top trim signature model,

02:41 you can get the optional captain's chairs in the rear.

02:44 Sure, you lose a seat, but the two that remain are heated.

02:47 As for technology, there's a new 10.3 inch screen,

02:51 however, it's not a touch screen.

02:53 Everything is controlled through this rotary dial,

02:55 which is sorta weird in an age

02:57 when even your refrigerator

02:58 is probably a touch screen at this point.

03:00 Still, the CX-9 has both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto,

03:05 so maybe that point is moot.

03:07 Overall, in terms of the class,

03:10 the interior's a little bit smaller

03:12 than the rest of the competition,

03:13 and while I do like the way it looks,

03:16 I would trade a little bit of this style

03:17 for some more cup holders.

03:19 The only thing Americans hate more than minivans

03:23 is station wagons.

03:24 The only thing we hate more than station wagons

03:26 is paying for premium gasoline.

03:29 I mention that because Mazda went to the trouble

03:32 of putting a high-tech, sky-active,

03:34 2.5 liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine

03:37 under the hood of the CX-9 that makes 250 horsepower

03:41 and 320 pound-feet of torque

03:43 if you fill it up with premium.

03:46 But you're not gonna do that.

03:47 You're gonna put regular gas in this car,

03:49 and that's okay because it makes 227 horsepower

03:52 and 310 pound-feet of torque.

03:55 Two things you should know.

03:57 No matter what grade of gasoline

03:58 you choose to put into your CX-9,

04:00 this is the torquiest SUV in its segment.

04:04 However, because it uses a six-speed automatic transmission

04:07 where most of the class has moved on to a nine-speed,

04:10 the gas mileage is just kinda middle of the pack.

04:12 If there's one thing you should know

04:14 about the Mazda CX-9, it's this.

04:17 In a segment where nobody is thinking

04:19 about how an SUV drives, Mazda is.

04:23 And as a result, the CX-9, it's the driver's family car.

04:28 (upbeat music)

04:30 I mentioned that the CX-9 is a family vehicle.

04:33 Well, a big part of that is it's an incredibly safe SUV.

04:37 This thing gets a five-star crash rating from NHTSA

04:41 as well as a 2020 Top Safety Pick Plus rating from IIHS.

04:46 And what that means is that the CX-9

04:49 is a great combination of passive safety

04:51 as well as a whole bunch of standard active safety features.

04:55 Let's talk value.

04:59 The CX-9 actually has a pretty wide price spread.

05:02 The base model starts just over $35,000.

05:06 And if you go all the way to the top of the line

05:07 Signature Edition, it comes in under $48,000.

05:11 Now that last number might sound high

05:13 until you realize that the CX-9

05:15 is priced just like the competition.

05:18 So the question becomes, are the attributes

05:22 that this SUV is emphasizing, fun to drive,

05:25 style, and a torquey motor, ones that you care about?

05:29 If so, it's quite a compelling vehicle.

05:34 In conclusion, the Mazda CX-9

05:37 offers what the competition does not,

05:39 namely style and performance.

05:42 The question is, what are your priorities?

05:45 If you want a family SUV that's an alternative

05:48 to the mainstream, this could be it.

05:51 For more on cars we love and the latest rankings,

05:54 check out motortrend.com/cars.

05:58 (upbeat music)

06:00 (upbeat music)

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