2018 CX-9 New Owner Comments

J

JPL

:
2018 Mazda6, CX-9
Pretty blown away at how nice this vehicle is. I worked at a luxury dealership not too long ago and this is the most impressive vehicle I've ever driven.

It feels so substantial while driving smaller than rivals. By this I mean it feels so solidly built with premium materials that it feels heavily planted yet moves like a lighter, sportier vehicle at the same time.

The engine is phenomenal. It absolutely does feel like a V6 except more responsive. Mazda really nailed it here. Nothing like the lagging turbos I've driven in the past where there's nothing then a sudden jerky rush of power. This is purely linear delivery right out of the gate.

Not sure if this is because of the extra sound deadening added for 2018, but I don't hear any coarseness or noise from the engine. This is remarkably quiet even under full throttle.

After driving it in a number of ways, I now have no concern that this engine is ever overtaxed for this 3-row. It's always calm, never overworked. It's spinning at just about 2600 RPM at 80 mph. People don't know what they're talking about when they say this car needs a V6. They simply haven't driven it and are basing opinions on the old days of engine tech.

The interior is pure luxury vehicle. We drove a Highlander Limited Platinum same day and my wife was disappointed at how far behind it was compared to the CX-9 Signature's interior. I already knew that but she went in leaning Highlander but came away in the CX-9's corner.
 
Last edited:
congrats on the new ride...can you tell GV is at work? compared to other vehicles, or better yet to a 2017 CX9, if you had a chance to drive one

thx, thd
 
thinkhd said:
congrats on the new ride...can you tell GV is at work? compared to other vehicles, or better yet to a 2017 CX9, if you had a chance to drive one

thx, thd
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I don't have a basis for comparison against the '16 & '17 because I never drove them.

I imagine the differences are fairly subtle though.
 
Congrats on the new ride. I have been looking into this car for three years and yesterday I finally pulled the trigger on a 2017 GT in Crystal Blue.

You are right, the CX-9 seems to have a lot of "feel" on the road, I never got the sense of a power drop at all across mixed urban/ back-road trails I took. I'm also glad to hear the Highlander was a dud, as this was the only other car that was on my list, but I never got to test drive.
 
karthik1516 said:
Congratulations JPL. Guess you went with signature trim. What color did you pick?
Click to expand...

Thanks. Machine grey.

Also must comment that the seats are fantastic.

As well as the 12 speaker Bose. Like a symphony Hall combined with the great sound insulation.
 
after owning ours for 2 weeks now, we have been thoroughly impressed. even with 6 people in the car, you notice no change in drivability. compared to its competitors, the 2018 puts them to shame and this is coming a person who only usually buys german engineering. cant say enough about ours thus far. i hope it continues to impress. we have a long vacation trip planned next month. we are excited to see how the 9 does on the long distance trip.
 
JPL said:
Pretty blown away at how nice this vehicle is. I worked at a luxury dealership not too long ago and this is the most impressive vehicle I've ever driven.

It feels so substantial while driving smaller than rivals. By this I mean it feels so solidly built with premium materials that it feels heavily planted yet moves like a lighter, sportier vehicle at the same time.

The engine is phenomenal. It absolutely does feel like a V6 except more responsive. Mazda really nailed it here. Nothing like the lagging turbos I've driven in the past where there's nothing then a sudden jerky rush of power. This is purely linear delivery right out of the gate.

Not sure if this is because of the extra sound deadening added for 2018, but I don't hear any coarseness or noise from the engine. This is remarkably quiet even under full throttle.

After driving it in a number of ways, I now have no concern that this engine is ever overtaxed for this 3-row. It's always calm, never overworked. It's spinning at just about 2600 RPM at 80 mph. People don't know what they're talking about when they say this car needs a V6. They simply haven't driven it and are basing opinions on the old days of engine tech.

The interior is pure luxury vehicle. We drove a Highlander Limited Platinum same day and my wife was disappointed at how far behind it was compared to the CX-9 Signature's interior. I already knew that but she went in leaning Highlander but came away in the CX-9's corner.
Click to expand...

A well written summary from an actual owner, refreshing. Again, the CX-9 Signature is easily the most car for the money IMO. Enjoy.
 
Congratulations, machine gray and signature is my personal favorite too.

Per Mazda USA 18 signature and GT weight 4361lbs while 17 awd weights 4327lbs, I'm wondering how much of that 34lbs is sound deadening.
 
Agreed.. The low RPM torque is amaze. I mean its good not just for a four pot, but good for anything. Said it about a hundred times, but I'l keep going cause its true. So refreshing after the laggy throttle cars I've driven lately (including one v8!).
 
JPL said:
Pretty blown away at how nice this vehicle is. I worked at a luxury dealership not too long ago and this is the most impressive vehicle I've ever driven.
Click to expand...

It is a great pick! And, congratulations on the Sig 18!


aleki2424 said:
Congrats on the new ride. I have been looking into this car for three years and yesterday I finally pulled the trigger on a 2017 GT in Crystal Blue.
Click to expand...

Saw a Crystal Blue on the road for the first time yesterday and it looked really good. You could tell the owner had it polished to the nines which made it really pop. I'd probably take the Crystal Blue over the Black, but that Black looks awesome too come down the road head-on at you.
 
Last edited:
Cessna CJ4 said:
Saw a Crystal Blue on the road for the first time yesterday and it looked really good. You could tell the owner had it polished to the nines which made it really pop. I'd probably take the Crystal Blue over the Black, but that Black looks awesome too come down the road head-on at you.
Click to expand...

It's a stunner. I had the choice of white, red and blue, no black. It's a stunner for sure, especially after a tint job.
 
997 said:
A well written summary from an actual owner, refreshing. Again, the CX-9 Signature is easily the most car for the money IMO. Enjoy.
Click to expand...

Thanks. It's really quite a shame it's so overlooked because it really is the best. If you actually drive it against its competitors, you'll likely buy it. IMO, the only real reason to buy something else is if you MUST have maximum space and if you use 3rd row constantly (Traverse, Atlas, Pilot).

jasong7131 said:
Congratulations, machine gray and signature is my personal favorite too.

Per Mazda USA 18 signature and GT weight 4361lbs while 17 awd weights 4327lbs, I'm wondering how much of that 34lbs is sound deadening.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I wonder what makes up the difference. While the '16 & '17 were very quiet, they did indeed add even more sound deadening. I believe it was particularly between engine and cabin. Because the engine "coarseness" that was sometimes talked about isn't perceptible to me. Unfortunately, I never drove a '16 & '17
so I can't compare that but there must be an improvement.

forties said:
Agreed.. The low RPM torque is amaze. I mean its good not just for a four pot, but good for anything. Said it about a hundred times, but I'l keep going cause its true. So refreshing after the laggy throttle cars I've driven lately (including one v8!).
Click to expand...

The engine is more than enough for any normal situation. Merges onto a highway in a breeze effortlessly to the 85 mph I've had it to where it's still barely working. Reports of it "running out of steam" is a mystery to me because that must mean over 100 mph. I don't plan on testing when. Point is, you're never needing for more unless perhaps at very illegal speeds. I can do without the expensive tickets.
 
The highlander is no comparison. Toyota interiors feel like cheap tupperware compared to the rest. The only toyota that is a nice is the Avalon but thats virtually a Lexus. The CX9 looks amazing from the front. The rear looks a bit too small IMO, almost like a small CUV like CX-3/5.
 
Guys is there a way To know if a car has the option stop and go without trying it on the road?. I meant it is in the showroom and for test driver they have only the old model 2017 and I badly wanna buy it but with the stop and go function. and the salesmen don't know and have no idea. And As well If there is a way to check if the TSR is there (Traffic sign recognition), Stupid ideas like bringing a stop sign inside the showroom in front of the car to check if the car front camera will read it and show it on my HUD are welcome.
 
Just got my 2018 GT Machine Gray black int.

I love the car but when I was detailing it in the garage I noticed a stain on the hood (picked the car up at night and couldn't see the stain at all) and the dealer is saying the hood will have to be repainted ( at least they didn't try to blame detailing the car). You almost can't see it but in some views it's quite obvious. That's a bummer but everything on the car is great fun to drive.

Everyone ripped on the infotainment system but so far i think it's easy to operate and sounds excellent to me. I get it doesn't have live traffic but you can use your phone if thats an issue. Don't know why that's a show stopper. Guess we are all getting a little spoiled.

Any thing to watch out for with the dealer repainting the hood. It's the biggest dealer in WI so I thing the quality. SAme body shop they use for all cars including Porsche and other German makes.
 
anas_tair said:
Guys is there a way To know if a car has the option stop and go without trying it on the road?. I meant it is in the showroom and for test driver they have only the old model 2017 and I badly wanna buy it but with the stop and go function. and the salesmen don't know and have no idea. And As well If there is a way to check if the TSR is there (Traffic sign recognition), Stupid ideas like bringing a stop sign inside the showroom in front of the car to check if the car front camera will read it and show it on my HUD are welcome.
Click to expand...
Don't know about the stop sign but something fell off a truck and I was slow reacting and the brakes came on before I could react shocked and impressed me, I probably would have been able to stop in time but I was really impressed.
 
So far the infotainment has been flawless in my '18. Even has surprised me from a functional perspective. Before buying, I had reservations about the whole rotary knob operation over pure touchscreen but now I see it as a pretty good system. Very easy to learn.
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K
Length of first gen CX-9?
Replies
0
Views
302
kornholio
K
U
Bought a CPO Mazda CX-9 and vibration at highway speeds
Replies
8
Views
600
uos
U
C
Need Seat Deep Cleaning Help (2018 CX-9)
Replies
6
Views
781
Agape_365
A

Latest posts

Back