2018 CX-9 Touring Premium vs GT?

T

tiddi

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Mazda6
Long time reader, first post. Family is growing so moving up to 2018 CX-9 and need some advice.

The Touring w/ Premium Package is quite tempting, ends up ~$3.5k less than the GT for foregoing the following: 20 wheels, HUD, adaptive headlights, heated 2nd row seats and steering wheel, driver seat memory, aluminum interior trim, and roof rails.

Dont get me wrong - I want all those :) but having a hard time justifying the value for the price. At the same time I literally cant find anyone whos gotten Touring Premium; all I see are people talking about GT and Signature.

What am I missing, and what do you guys think?!
 
Not much of a difference once you haggle in the monthly payment.
 
We chose the '16 Touring with Premium for the same basic reasons you describe. The extras on the GT were nice, but not must haves, and the Premium package seemed to be a good compromise between the two.
 
If you think long term 3.5k price wouldn't matter much. Recently had CX 5 with hud as a loaner. It was so useful. I naturally used only the hud to drive. Don't have to bend your neck down or to the sides. I felt so much relaxed because of the hud. Think you will be driving this CX 9 for next 10-15 years.
 
tiddi said:
Long time reader, first post. Family is growing so moving up to 2018 CX-9 and need some advice.

The Touring w/ Premium Package is quite tempting, ends up ~$3.5k less than the GT for foregoing the following: 20” wheels, HUD, adaptive headlights, heated 2nd row seats and steering wheel, driver seat memory, aluminum interior trim, and roof rails.

Don’t get me wrong - I want all those :) but having a hard time justifying the value for the price. At the same time I literally can’t find anyone who’s gotten Touring Premium; all I see are people talking about GT and Signature.

What am I missing, and what do you guys think?!
Click to expand...

I think, as to value, $3,500 for all those options is right on the money; moving up to 20" wheels and tires isn't cheap. Whether it is worth it to you to have those options for that extra price is another matter.
 
Also some of the interior trim/padding is different: specifically the knee rest on the driver's side of the center console is either hard plastic or not cushioned on the Touring compared to the GT. Same goes for the center armrest. There may be some other areas too where the padding/cushioning is less on the Touring but I only spent about 10 minutes driving it when I was considering between that and GT. Ultimately I went for the GT (2017 model as this was back in August before 2018 models came out).

I did prefer the ride of the 18" wheels on the Touring compared to that of the 20" wheels on the GT, but the GT just looks so much nicer on 20s. And it was only really noticeable on rough sections of road - for highway cruising I did not really notice any difference. Tire prices for 255/60/18 vs 255/50/20 are not all that different either, so not a major expense for replacing 20s vs 18s.
 
Thanks for all the replies! I also like the look of the 20 wheels way better and that was my primary motivation, shot down by DW, but the HUD did seem useful and the adaptive headlights were pretty nice. The rest of the add-ons are not super useful or valuable to me.

I am leaning towards GT, now need to convince DW :), perhaps with the point that its more appropriate to ammortize the $3.5k over time, as I can see having the car for 10yrs.
 
It's well worth the $3,500. The visual improvements alone make it look like more than the $3.5K difference. It simply looks a lot more expensive with the 20's and don't forget the chrome trim pieces that add a lot of character to the front lower bumper and on the side of the vehicle. On the Touring, it's just cheap looking grey plastic. Even if it were $6K, I'd still get at least the GT.
 
JPL said:
It's well worth the $3,500. The visual improvements alone make it look like more than the $3.5K difference. It simply looks a lot more expensive with the 20's and don't forget the chrome trim pieces that add a lot of character to the front lower bumper and on the side of the vehicle. On the Touring, it's just cheap looking grey plastic. Even if it were $6K, I'd still get at least the GT.
Click to expand...

The wheels were my main reason haha, yeah, going with the GT...

It's interesting you speak of the cheap looking grey plastic - I was at the dealer lot today and was debating between the Red and Gray GT... the Red was actually really nice, I think I liked it best even though I'm not a red car guy... But the plastic arch around the wheel wells popped out so much, and other plastic too, and it made the car look cheaper in that way. Same plastic on the Gray just kinda blends in with the paint. I think it'll be a Gray GT.

On that note, great offer locally, currently $2500 cash back, including ownership loyalty bonus, and just got a quote for the Gray GT at $38k after rebates!
 
signature has a different kind of leather, also they have added some real wood that looks fab plus a cool led light in the from of the car that surrounds the fron grill. , but at the end that's about all the signature adds .. in my perspective, what really adds on looks, performance and comfort and its really worth an extra money is the 20 inch wheels, that really give an extra shot in performance added to the great looks, and the chrome the special front lights that have a daylight light that looks fab , and interior lightning, the aluminum interior is great as well.
if u have the means go witht he 3.5k extra .. ull enjoy the difference.
here is a link of a motor trend review that talks about the difference of the wheels and tires. http://www.motortrend.com/cars/mazda/cx-9/2016/2016-mazda-cx-9-touring-fwd-first-test-review/
 
Gatuno said:
signature has a different kind of leather, also they have added some real wood that looks fab plus a cool led light in the from of the car that surrounds the fron grill. , but at the end that's about all the signature adds .. in my perspective, what really adds on looks, performance and comfort and its really worth an extra money is the 20 inch wheels, that really give an extra shot in performance added to the great looks, and the chrome the special front lights that have a daylight light that looks fab , and interior lightning, the aluminum interior is great as well.
if u have the means go witht he 3.5k extra .. ull enjoy the difference.
here is a link of a motor trend review that talks about the difference of the wheels and tires. http://www.motortrend.com/cars/mazda/cx-9/2016/2016-mazda-cx-9-touring-fwd-first-test-review/
Click to expand...

Its weird but I dont like the signature because of the leather color... if they had it in black leather, Id consider it. But to your point, the GT gets the bigger wheels, trim etc, so the extra from the signature is primarily the leather and wood. Just waiting for quotes on the GT at this point :)
 
tiddi said:
It’s weird but I don’t like the signature because of the leather color... if they had it in black leather, I’d consider it. But to your point, the GT gets the bigger wheels, trim etc, so the extra from the signature is primarily the leather and wood. Just waiting for quotes on the GT at this point :)
Click to expand...

if u get the wheels on the gt , go for it !!
 
tiddi said:
Its weird but I dont like the signature because of the leather color... if they had it in black leather, Id consider it. But to your point, the GT gets the bigger wheels, trim etc, so the extra from the signature is primarily the leather and wood. Just waiting for quotes on the GT at this point :)
Click to expand...

And that's the main reason I got the signature. Best leather color ever made IMO.
 
JPL said:
And that's the main reason I got the signature. Best leather color ever made IMO.
Click to expand...

My previous car had an all black interior. After a while, it got depressing. Before buying the Mazda, I wasn't sure about the Signature interior colors... It grew on me, now I love it. I also like the texture.
 
Bargained down to 40k OTD price on the Gray GT! That was around 37.5k price and almost 15% off MSRP. I did ultimately opt for the 0% financing for 63 months and gave up 1k cash rebate but pretty happy!
 
tiddi said:
Bargained down to 40k OTD price on the Gray GT! That was around 37.5k price and almost 15% off MSRP. I did ultimately opt for the 0% financing for 63 months and gave up 1k cash rebate but pretty happy!
Click to expand...

Congrats on your purchase Tiddi. I am excited to give an offer tomorrow on a Red GT.
 
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