Montanaman
Montana/Arizona
- :
- 2018.5 CX-9 AWD GT
First post in here..looking for some real world experience.
I have a 2016 CX-5 GT AWD/tech package that is approaching 4 years and 40k miles. We've had no issues other than the few recalls and the LED headlights failed ( common problem) which thankfully happened under warranty ($2300.00 !). The car is everything it is cracked up to be. All the reviews I saw 4 years ago were spot on. "Perfect in almost every way except it could use a bit more power." It's mostly my wife's car but I'm a car enthusiast and I want the best product out there. I've always been a fan of Mazda and currently I think they are offering some of the best vehicles out there, and both the CX-5 and the CX-9 are both very solid offerings in that segment. For my needs they are the best. The only other car that has my attention is the new Tiguan but I just don't think I can trust it. Don't like the new Rav4 or Highlander.. Not into the CVT thing so that eliminates those.
Reasons to trade it in (or sell it outright) are mainly more power and more room. We are a family of 2 mid-sized adults and two dogs so don't need a 3rd row ever. Could use the additional rear space. We put about 10k miles a year on the car mostly in the rural mountain west. Very little stop and go. Very high speeds. 3k of those annual miles is towing my motorcycle from across country ( about 1800 lbs trailer weight). The CX-5 tows it fairly well but climbing mountain passes is a struggle at times. With the loaded mid-size Thule box on top and interstate speeds of 75 mph the average MPG is a not surprising 17 MPG. I am guessing that the CX-9 would be far better suited to this type of driving and get better gas mileage to boot as the additional torque won't make the engine work that hard. I also think the CX-9's size and weight will make the highway driving experience more planted and comfortable. Yes the CX-5 will be more fun in the twisties but that is a small percentage of driving. At times the CX-5 feels just a touch small to me. Especially when doing battle with triple trailer's at 80 mph on the interstate. I assume the bigger 9 will remedy some of that.
Enough rambling.. Key questions for those who have had or driven both.
Does the CX-9 feel noticeably more substantial,quiet/planted and powerful than a CX-5 with the NA 2.5 engine?
What real world MPG difference will there be in my type of driving?
Any issues that are common on the CX-9 ( like the LED headlight issue on the gen 1 CX-5)?
Anybody go from a 5 to a 9 and regret it? Vice Versa?
Big question is when will Mazda do a full Re-do on both of these vehicles? Its now a 4 year old model (3 for CX-5)
Bottom line is there are new 2018 Cx-9 GT's and Signatures out there for 40k ish. The 2019 CX-5's Reserve and Sig's are going to be 37-39k and no real discounts for awhile. So on paper to me it looks like the CX-9 is the way to go.
It will cost me roughly 20k to upgrade either way. Is it worth it or should I wait a year and see what shakes out?
Thanks and I promise to be more brief in the future..
I have a 2016 CX-5 GT AWD/tech package that is approaching 4 years and 40k miles. We've had no issues other than the few recalls and the LED headlights failed ( common problem) which thankfully happened under warranty ($2300.00 !). The car is everything it is cracked up to be. All the reviews I saw 4 years ago were spot on. "Perfect in almost every way except it could use a bit more power." It's mostly my wife's car but I'm a car enthusiast and I want the best product out there. I've always been a fan of Mazda and currently I think they are offering some of the best vehicles out there, and both the CX-5 and the CX-9 are both very solid offerings in that segment. For my needs they are the best. The only other car that has my attention is the new Tiguan but I just don't think I can trust it. Don't like the new Rav4 or Highlander.. Not into the CVT thing so that eliminates those.
Reasons to trade it in (or sell it outright) are mainly more power and more room. We are a family of 2 mid-sized adults and two dogs so don't need a 3rd row ever. Could use the additional rear space. We put about 10k miles a year on the car mostly in the rural mountain west. Very little stop and go. Very high speeds. 3k of those annual miles is towing my motorcycle from across country ( about 1800 lbs trailer weight). The CX-5 tows it fairly well but climbing mountain passes is a struggle at times. With the loaded mid-size Thule box on top and interstate speeds of 75 mph the average MPG is a not surprising 17 MPG. I am guessing that the CX-9 would be far better suited to this type of driving and get better gas mileage to boot as the additional torque won't make the engine work that hard. I also think the CX-9's size and weight will make the highway driving experience more planted and comfortable. Yes the CX-5 will be more fun in the twisties but that is a small percentage of driving. At times the CX-5 feels just a touch small to me. Especially when doing battle with triple trailer's at 80 mph on the interstate. I assume the bigger 9 will remedy some of that.
Enough rambling.. Key questions for those who have had or driven both.
Does the CX-9 feel noticeably more substantial,quiet/planted and powerful than a CX-5 with the NA 2.5 engine?
What real world MPG difference will there be in my type of driving?
Any issues that are common on the CX-9 ( like the LED headlight issue on the gen 1 CX-5)?
Anybody go from a 5 to a 9 and regret it? Vice Versa?
Big question is when will Mazda do a full Re-do on both of these vehicles? Its now a 4 year old model (3 for CX-5)
Bottom line is there are new 2018 Cx-9 GT's and Signatures out there for 40k ish. The 2019 CX-5's Reserve and Sig's are going to be 37-39k and no real discounts for awhile. So on paper to me it looks like the CX-9 is the way to go.
It will cost me roughly 20k to upgrade either way. Is it worth it or should I wait a year and see what shakes out?
Thanks and I promise to be more brief in the future..