How is the 70-85 mph pull on the 2.5t CX-9?

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chinq6t

Member
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2014 CX5 GT AWD
In my CX-5 on the highway going about 70-72 mph if I wanted to pass someone I usually have to wring it out sometimes going to 4th gear. I was wondering what the effort level is on the CX-9, especially on inclines.
 
It's pretty awesome. Even from lower speeds, it just pulls with seemingly not much effort.

Cruising along hilly freeways are effortless, barely need any additional throttle to get up inclines and not much need for the transmission to downshift either.
 
chinq6t said:
In my CX-5 on the highway going about 70-72 mph if I wanted to pass someone I usually have to wring it out sometimes going to 4th gear. I was wondering what the effort level is on the CX-9, especially on inclines.
Click to expand...

Do you have a 2.0 cx5? The 2.5 is pretty impressive to me..

The cx9 does fine 70-85mph, but its for sure not its strong point. City street work 0-30 or low speed pulls 20-40 are where it really shines. Somebody should post a time/mph dyno sheet so you can see without prejudice. The way its tuned the boost is pretty mellow on the highway pulls.
 
If you upgrade to a cx-9 for strong hwy pulls, you're probably not going to be happy. Plenty of good reasons to get a cx9 but that isn't one of them.

Wring it out.. that is how you pass in a normally asperated four cylinder. Its built for doing exactly that, its not going to hurt it. I've got one of each.. I should line em up and make a video. I suspect the two are pretty close.
 
I haven't tried it at that speed (never get to go that fast here), but I would assume that if you turn on Sport mode before you attempt to pass, it should be easier. In the past month or so, I've turned on Sport mode for every drive to and from work (50-80 km/h both ways). With Sport keeping the transmission in 3rd for most of my drive, the revs rarely go below 2.5k, so when I get on the gas, that 310 ft/lb is right there.

Again, I don't know if it would behave the same at 110 km/h (70 mph), but that's something I would definitely try during my test drive.
 
sm1ke said:
I haven't tried it at that speed (never get to go that fast here), but I would assume that if you turn on Sport mode before you attempt to pass, it should be easier. In the past month or so, I've turned on Sport mode for every drive to and from work (50-80 km/h both ways). With Sport keeping the transmission in 3rd for most of my drive, the revs rarely go below 2.5k, so when I get on the gas, that 310 ft/lb is right there.

Again, I don't know if it would behave the same at 110 km/h (70 mph), but that's something I would definitely try during my test drive.
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When you step on the accelerator while already at 110kph, it still has some power but what I've done was access the kickdown feature where it drops a gear or two then RPM goes up and gives more HP but as someone has stated the power delivery tapers off bet 4-5K RPMs...
 
jasong7131 said:
Well I heard 2.5t CX 5 is coming.
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Has that been confirmed or still just a rumour? If true, then I would suggest waiting for the CX-5 with the turbo Skyactiv-G engine (unless you need the room that the CX-9 offers).
 
Thank you for posting that, I find those sheets very interesting.

Well there you go. It is settled. If you need strong highway pull, buy a Macan S.
 
forties said:
Thank you for posting that, I find those sheets very interesting.

Well there you go. It is settled. If you need strong highway pull, buy a Macan S.
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Yeah, it is shocking how fast the Macan S is and how consistent the power is. The car is just fast. Its 0-60 is ~5 seconds, which is about 2 seconds faster than the CX-9 and it is basically 2 seconds faster than the CX-9 at almost every speed. It is also a very different car. The CX-9 is a 7 seat family hauler that does not handle like a piece of poop while the Macan is a 5 seat SUV that is closer to a sports car than a SUV.

Also, the Macan S is close to 60K while the CX-9 ban be had for close to 40.
 
dougal said:
Well, the CX-5 takes roughly 7.9 seconds to go from 70-90 and the CX-9 does it it 6 seconds.

60-80 takes 5.1 seconds in a CX-9 and 5.9 seconds in a CX-5.

For comparison, a Porsche Macan S does the 60-80 in 3.2 seconds and the 70-90 in 3.8 seconds!

https://s3.amazonaws.com/amv-prod-c...d2017-mazda-cx-9-signature-awd-comparison.pdf
https://s3.amazonaws.com/amv-prod-c...ar-and-drivermazdacx-5awdgrandtouring2017.pdf
Click to expand...


As a comparison, the Honda Pilot does the 70-90 in 5.2 seconds and the 60-80 in 4.4.
 
chinq6t said:
In my CX-5 on the highway going about 70-72 mph if I wanted to pass someone I usually have to wring it out sometimes going to 4th gear. I was wondering what the effort level is on the CX-9, especially on inclines.
Click to expand...

Hey all.
i have been driving the cx9 for one year now, i cant be more satisfied for a big 7 seater family howler, its sporty, handles like anything else in its class and the 2.5t is an engine designed for a effortless drive at any speed . the top speed i have reached on the cx9 is 132 mph, the accceleration between 70 and 90 mph is not sporty but it is effortless, some times you can see the speedo and hardly notice that at no time our going at 110 mph. thing is that the cx9 perfomes great up to 5k rpm. when you want to pass a truck a car or what ever at those speeds try to get the car at around 3.5k rpm and shift not over 5k . ull see how fast the torque will make you accelerate. yes the pilot is faster but youll have to rev it every time. once you learn to drive teh cx9 , its really surprising how well it performs.
 
Adding to that note, the cx9's engine is turning at 1900rpm in 6th gear at 60mph. 2k rpm is max torque.

Passing on the highway may not be as fast as the pilot, but it will definitely feel like it does it easier. Rolling into the throttle while at speed doesn't require a downshift, it just goes. If you want a bit more oomph, it'll drop a gear and use that torque to pick up speed. There is not much drama since engine speeds stay low, but you still get that surge of torque and speed.

My 2.5l cx5 will usually have to drop to 4th to make quick passes. My mother in law's current gen mdx also has to drop to 4th to go up hwy inclines or to pass. Definitely doesn't feel as effortless.
 
dougal said:
Yeah, it is shocking how fast the Macan S is and how consistent the power is. The car is just fast. Its 0-60 is ~5 seconds, which is about 2 seconds faster than the CX-9 and it is basically 2 seconds faster than the CX-9 at almost every speed. It is also a very different car. The CX-9 is a 7 seat family hauler that does not handle like a piece of poop while the Macan is a 5 seat SUV that is closer to a sports car than a SUV.

Also, the Macan S is close to 60K while the CX-9 ban be had for close to 40.
Click to expand...

I hear you, I negotiated a sport down to 29k. You really can't beat it for that. I was kind of doing my best top gear impression, Cx5 vs Cx9 highway passing winner = Macan. Keyboard doesn't convey the intent..

Its a good point that the cx9 does hwy accel with less drama (shifts+revs) than the cx5. Not the quickest around by any means, but depending on what the OP is after it may be a satisfactory upgrade. Worse fuel economy than cx5, two extra seats, and better highway passing yes.
 
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