Bye to my CX-9 2016

thugzy

Member
:
2016 Mazda CX9 Signature, 2013 Merc GLK350 4Matic, 2001 S2000
So I have sold my CX-9 and leaving this community.
I have had my CX-9 for a full year and put 26,000kms on it. It has been a pleasure to own.
Nothing major went wrong. Just the usual annoyances that are known.

1) Crashing MMI (Needed software update)
2) Service Due indicator intermittently (Needed software update)
3) Engine tick under boost.... this went away at 10,000kms as it broke in... probably the waste gate tight tolerances

In the year of ownership, I averaged 10L/100km which is impressive for its size.

What I really liked about it:
1) The exterior styling - it is very elegant and classy, looks high end. The LED lights front and back, the LED grille...look like $$.
The Machine Grey Paint is beautiful when clean. It had been mistaken for a Porshe SUV a few times. The 20inch wheel coating is stunning... overall it is the best looking SUV in its class
2) The handling - I have owned and still own cars that handle (is.S2000) and cornering and steering feel/response is the best in its class if you like the sporty side
3) The torque off the line. It is a rocket from a stand still.... it is a Turbo, so you need to know how to properly modulate the throttle to get the most out of the boost. I find it builds boost faster with 50% throttle then progressively going to 100% oppose to just flooring it.
4) Its quiet... supper quiet... maybe too quiet... windnoise, roadnoise almost non existant
5) The interior cabin - Napa leather, ambient lighting and those fine touches that set it apart from the competition

What I really didn't like about it:
1) The engine note and sound started to annoy me, more especially when it is cold. It has a rough coarseness to it at all times and worst when cold.
When the car is so quiet overall, the engine note becomes more noticeable. I started to hate it and missed the sound of a V6 or V8
2) The suspension over bumps and rough roads was horrible. Too many pops and bangs from the suspension that reminded me of a 90's economy car. It did not like small pot holes or slightly recessed manhole covers at all... I always cringed when I drove over one
3) The roof panel is weak in the center. I hand wash my vehicle and when washing the roof you need to be very careful because there seems to be a lack of a roof frame above the second row seats
4) The seating position lacked a rear pan tilt function, this got super annoying to me as my Mercedes has it... after a long drive I got unconfortable (im only 5'7"
5) The dead pedal for my left foot is at an uncomfortable angle for my angle, no matter how forward or back I set my seat... I never used it
6) The interior is very hard to keep clean, black carpets and trim panels. Especially the black trim panels collects so much dust, worse if you drive with your windows open
7) The gloss black trim around the center shifter and window switches scratch too easily and no longer look new
8) The napa leather seats are very high maintenance - I applied Leatherique on a regular basis
9) The leather steering wheel material doesn't have much wear resistance
10) The LED headlamps and HUD are too jumpy over bumps. When following a car take notice of the cutline of the headlights and how much they flicker.
11) The engine power on the highway was lacking, this is due to the low HP number... even when I use 93octane, I was never satisfied... after 4000rpms forget it... this engine runs out of steam


That's about it for my year of ownership.... Moving on to a truck as I need more towing capacity.

Cheers and good bye (drinks)
 
Thanks for the insight on ownership. So it sounds like you would have been mostly happy with it if not for the need of a truck. Sorry you had to sell it.
 
Excellent point with the throttle and how to make the turbo respond more peppy during spirited driving. On a turbo car, if you just hit the gas at a low RPM the car will stumble because you must build boost in the turbo first. So the best way is to feather the throttle and start to linearly dip into the pedal which gives the engine a healthy boost in turbo power and will respond with minimal lag.

Interesting point you made about the ride over bumpy roads. I’ve noticed the same thing on my mazda 6 that if the road isn’t perfectly smooth, the ride can get a little crashy. This car is designed for very smooth Japanese pavement so they ride nice on good roads, not so much over our terrible roads in North America.
 
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Nice handling and softness over bumps are opposing characteristics. Expensive setups can do both well but it's not easy. You can't have high tire sidewalls and also have very responsive handling. Obviously Mazda is going to be firmer because of the dynamics they and customers are looking for.
 
Nice handling and softness over bumps are opposing characteristics. Expensive setups can do both well but it's not easy. You can't have high tire sidewalls and also have very responsive handling. Obviously Mazda is going to be firmer because of the dynamics they and customers are looking for.

Mazdas suspension isnt even that firm it purposely allows for some comfort and compliance. The goal is a sporty chassis and some suspension compliance to help soak up bumps
 
Did you try driving a Touring which has 18" tires? It's less stiff, but not amazingly better. I came from the previous gen GT so the '17 GT is more comfy to me..
 
That was a great and insightful commentary and you had my attention the whole way through, until you said you were moving on to a truck. I was anxious to hear whether your next SUV was going to be a Volvo, Subaru, Honda, or Land Rover.

Kind of like someone discussing the virtues and faults of a specific breed of hunting dog and then saying that they're moving on to a cat. :) Just kidding, thanks for the write-up!
 
That was a great and insightful commentary and you had my attention the whole way through, until you said you were moving on to a truck. I was anxious to hear whether your next SUV was going to be a Volvo, Subaru, Honda, or Land Rover.

Kind of like someone discussing the virtues and faults of a specific breed of hunting dog and then saying that they're moving on to a cat. :) Just kidding, thanks for the write-up!


Haha, I felt the same disappointment. I was waiting to see what competitor he was trading for.
 
Did you try driving a Touring which has 18" tires? It's less stiff, but not amazingly better. I came from the previous gen GT so the '17 GT is more comfy to me..

personally I have 225/55/r17 tires on my 6 sedan and It's a good balance between sport and comfort. I really like the ride with the 17's (terrible roads here) and honestly I'm glad i didnt go with the touring 19's, I heard the ride is choppy. for a crossover im sure it's fine though...

Haha, I felt the same disappointment. I was waiting to see what competitor he was trading for.

I know right!
 
That was a great and insightful commentary and you had my attention the whole way through, until you said you were moving on to a truck. I was anxious to hear whether your next SUV was going to be a Volvo, Subaru, Honda, or Land Rover.

Kind of like someone discussing the virtues and faults of a specific breed of hunting dog and then saying that they're moving on to a cat. :) Just kidding, thanks for the write-up!

Maybe I should have mentioned that I need to tow over 5000lbs.... 2018 F150 Lariat SCREW 3.5 Ecoboost should do the trick :D
 
Haha, I felt the same disappointment. I was waiting to see what competitor he was trading for.

Honestly, in the same price point, there is nothing that interests me other than the CX-9..... Pilot, Highlander, Santa Fe, Pathfinder, Acadia...Meh... all cushy turds.

If I was to move to another SUV it would be a GL400 Merc, but were talking double the CX-9 price. I have had a flawless experience with my 2013 GLK350 with driving dynamics and reliability since new... because of that I would go back to a Merc again
 
Thank you for ur brilliant insight regarding your experiences with the cx9.
several points that I totally agree with you, specially witht he throttle response and usage where I also feel the same. also it is important to say that the torque is addictive and I suddenly realized that I was always pressing the throttle more than necessary because it really feels great and I guess this is the main reason why people are complaining about poor mileage on gas. its addictive . control ur right foot and that's it .
M
 
Have you considered buying a BMW X5 35i? Awesome SUV. 6600pound tow rating. Id much prefer one of these over a truck.
 
Or a V8 Durango! Durango's are actually very good vehicles. It's a RDW platform and a 6,200 lb tow rating.
 
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Or a V8 Durango! Durango's are actually very good vehicles. It's a RDW platform and has a very high tow rating.

Naw, not over l a 2011 x5 35i with under 100k KM on it. the 2011 updated n55 Inline 6 is a gem of an engine very reliable. You can install a downpipe and get an ECU tune for under $1000 and gain 15HP 20ft/lb of torque right away. Other then he CX-9, I see no other fun to drive or fairly efficient SUV except for the CX-9 and BMW X5, but really the silky smooth, free revving torque powerhouse of an Inline 6 engine and BMWs transmission tuning is the top of its class and it will be very good for towing considering BMWs OEM brakes are rather high performance with insanely strong stopping power. I strongly suggest you try driving the updated 2011 model just to see, its a good SUV.

Then, I would probably sell the GLK 350 and buy something more efficient and practical for short efficiency trips like a 2016-2017 Mazda 6. That car has A LOT of space in the cabin/trunk considering its a sedan. The GLK is an FR platform which inheritely results in decreased cabin/trunk area space due to the long front snout and can-forward design. A 6 sedan would be a very practical choice to your lineup of cars.
 
Most of your comments echo my own thoughts, thugzy. My wifes Civic is going to our son turning 16 so mercifully she is going to take the CX-9, otherwise I was going to return it back to Mazda early.
My fault for looking at a "sporty" SUV, it just isn't as capable as I want and the constant bugs and glitches and terrible seat support makes me no longer want to drive it.

Next.
 
Or a V8 Durango! Durango's are actually very good vehicles. It's a RDW platform and a 6,200 lb tow rating.

Agreed. And the 6,200 lb tow rating is for the V-6. With the V-8 it's 7,400 lbs. Blows away the 5,000 lb rating of most other crossovers. Could've easily met his towing needs and spent a lot less than he did on the F-150 Lariat.
 
Most of your comments echo my own thoughts, thugzy. My wifes Civic is going to our son turning 16 so mercifully she is going to take the CX-9, otherwise I was going to return it back to Mazda early.
My fault for looking at a "sporty" SUV, it just isn't as capable as I want and the constant bugs and glitches and terrible seat support makes me no longer want to drive it.

Next.

You could order a 2018 seat assembly (probably no need for whole new seat, just mechanicals) if it bothers you that much. It now has full tilt control.

What glitches other than infotainment?

Also, what do you mean not as capable as you'd like?
 
The tilt would help but it's more than that and i'm sure not going to spend money on it.

Besides the usual infotainment slowness, glitches, cold weather rebooting, occassional black screen, not connecting to phones for media and corrupting USB memory sticks plugged into it.
The speed reading in the HUD is stuck quite often at 37 KM/h, the display screen will show a full screen display of the back up sensors and not the back up camera.
Interior door lock button have refused to unlock doors. Twice during the winter when I've started the car and gotten out to scrape the windows it's auto locked on me and disabled the key fob in my pocket.

It's fine for driving around town or constant speed on the highway but if you try and push the pace I find the transmission too sluggish and lurchy and the brakes and suspension too soft with it listing and wallowing in corners.

The glitches aside, it's not a terrible vehicle but it's just never struck a cord with me. My wife enjoys driving it so I'm more than happy to let her drive out the rest of it's lease.
 
The tilt would help but it's more than that and i'm sure not going to spend money on it.

Besides the usual infotainment slowness, glitches, cold weather rebooting, occassional black screen, not connecting to phones for media and corrupting USB memory sticks plugged into it.
The speed reading in the HUD is stuck quite often at 37 KM/h, the display screen will show a full screen display of the back up sensors and not the back up camera.
Interior door lock button have refused to unlock doors. Twice during the winter when I've started the car and gotten out to scrape the windows it's auto locked on me and disabled the key fob in my pocket.

It's fine for driving around town or constant speed on the highway but if you try and push the pace I find the transmission too sluggish and lurchy and the brakes and suspension too soft with it listing and wallowing in corners.

The glitches aside, it's not a terrible vehicle but it's just never struck a cord with me. My wife enjoys driving it so I'm more than happy to let her drive out the rest of it's lease.

Seems like hit or miss with Mazda. Some are problematic while others are completely trouble free. Personally, my 2015 Mazda 6 has been a pleasure to own and not one thing has went wrong with it. Currently at 85k km.

You live in Calgary? Canadas shell 91 contains no ethanol, and it makes a big difference over ethanol blended fuels. You are using 91 octane fuel, correct? If not I strongly recommend you try a tank of shell and compare the results after 400km (when the ECU adapts to the new fuel) and see how it is then.
 
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