Transitioning from cx5 to cx9

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2014 CX5 GS FWD
Hello fellow members,
I have been driving a cx5 for nearly 7 years and am thinking of moving up to the cx9. Have any cx5 drivers made the move into the cx9 world? if so, how is your experience? which vehicle do you prefer? pros and cons with your experience.
thanks in advance!!!
 
I went from a 2014 CX-5 to a 2018 CX-9. The CX-9 is a bigger car but handles great and makes long trips a breeze. We bought ours last December and already have close to 24K miles on it.

The older generation CX-5s were noisy and a bit spartan. The CX-9 is whisper quite and very luxurious. It is even nicer than the CX-5 Signature. The rear seats in the Cx-5 are pretty simple and plan but but nicer on the CX-9. We rarely use ours with the 3rd row up but rather use the back for more storage. In this regard, it is a huge improvement over the CX-5.

The power in the CX-9 as compared to the older NA CX-5 is intoxicating. When you want to move, you move and fast. I also am very happy with the mileage. With my old CX-5, I average 26.4 MPG. With the CX-9, I am close to 24. For a much bigger car with a more powerful engine, it is a tradeoff I am will to make. One road trips, I can generally get 450-475 miles before filling up. At most, I put in 17.5 gallons, which means there are 2 gallons in reserve.

We still have our CX-5 and it is still a good car. But we never take it on long trips and use it for just in town stuff. The only regret is not getting waiting for the 2020, as it seems to have everything and more!
 
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Thanks Dougal for your input, much appreciated! As the driver does it feel more spacious than the cx5? I plan on testing it out soon, but the middle console looks huge! wondering as i am 6'4" so space is of the essence.
 
Thanks Dougal for your input, much appreciated! As the driver does it feel more spacious than the cx5? I plan on testing it out soon, but the middle console looks huge! wondering as i am 6'4" so space is of the essence.

Yes, the CX-9 feels much more spacious. I never had much of an issue with the CX-5, but once you get back into the CX-5, it feels really small. The center console is big and gives a tight feel. You will have to test for yourself to see if your 6'4" frame is comfortable.
 
Yes, the CX-9 feels much more spacious. I never had much of an issue with the CX-5, but once you get back into the CX-5, it feels really small. The center console is big and gives a tight feel. You will have to test for yourself to see if your 6'4" frame is comfortable.

Thanks for the great info! I'll take one out for a test drive and may even wait for the 2020's to arrive
 
Hello fellow members,
I have been driving a cx5 for nearly 7 years and am thinking of moving up to the cx9. Have any cx5 drivers made the move into the cx9 world? if so, how is your experience? which vehicle do you prefer? pros and cons with your experience.
thanks in advance!!!

I never owned a cx-5 but had one as a loaner and really did not like the feel of it, but the cx-9 fits very nice.
 
We had the last gen CX-5 ( GT AWD) great little SUV. No problems other than the LED headlights going which were thankfully replaced under warranty. It didn't feel to small until I drove the CX-9. There is quite a bit of difference in road presence and over all feel. We are smaller people so the CX-9 does not feel cramped but I have heard that if your over 6 feet with long legs space can be an issue. I'd like to throw the new CX-5 with the turbo around. I bet it's fun but very limited cargo room on that one. Old one had a bit more.
 
Went from a 2016 CX-5 GT to a 2019 CX-9 GT and couldn*t be happier. Similar driving feel just with more room, nicer finishing and more grunt when you put your foot down.
 
We traded a 2015 CX-5 for a 2019 CX-9 Touring.

Differences I would say from CX-5 to CX-9:
1.) Front Seats
For me, and other folks that have medium to wide shoulders, the upper bolstering of the front seats is a bit tight. The seats themselves are not necessarily bad, but the upper bolstering is more aggressive. Someone else said leg room and I tend to agree. For such a large vehicle (close to 200") the front seats could be a bit roomier. The seats themselves are very adjustable and leather seems better than our old CX-5 GT with parchment.

2.) Power
The 2.5 turbo is a great engine and many share this sentiment. Its power comes on even and smooth, lag is all but non existent. Its not extremely quick off the line (not bad) and it has good pickup on the highway going from 60-80. It pulls nice and sounds ok. It is smooth at idle and just feels well engineered and purposeful. Time will tell on reliability but I think some folks with 2016/17 model years are high mileage with no issues. The NA 2.5 in the CX5 always felt overwhelmed.

3.) Handling/AWD
This is a bit of a mixed bag for me. The extra power in the turbo seems to cause more wheel spin when pulling from a stop and going above 50% throttle. You can feel torque steer and the AWD seems a bit delayed to adjust power. Its not terrible but definitely there. Assume the AWD systems from the 5 to the 9 are the same, possibly its the extra power from the turbo that causes the slippage/torque. Once you are moving though, the 9 is better hands down. IMO the wider tires account for the difference. On the highway the 9 feels planted at all times. Our old 5 seemed to have a slight shake and need more corrections at the wheel. The handling in the 9 overall is improved. One thing Mazda seems to do better than most competitors is steering weight/feel. The CX9 is just about as perfect a weighting feel as you would want in an every day driver. Not too light, not too heavy.

4.) Size
This is obvious as the CX9 is one of the longest 3 row SUV's you can get, but the difference is situational. We have 2 garage bays and there was a good 6 inches of clearance on both sides of the mirrors in the 5. Its a risky task getting the 9 in without the mirrors folded, maybe 2 inches on each side. On the road it doesn't feel that large but in parking lots and stop and go it does.

5.) Build quality/Reliability
I wouldn't say build quality is better than our old CX5's since we had no issues, but it seems to be more robust if that makes sense. When you close the door in the 9 there is a thud and it feels substantial. The 5 had more of a hollow feel. I believe they have added more insulation to newer 5's so it might be similar with the same model years, but compared to your current 5 its going to feel like a step up. Infotainment dial is the same, and I liked it in both models. The rear seat is also a bit larger and nicer in the 9. Touring and up comes with pull down shades. If you have kids its a nice touch. I had a rattle that started after a few hundred miles. Had it fixed on my first oil change last week. The headliner was loose, there is Velcro that holds it in place around the sunroof and it wasn't attached properly. It was a 10 minute fix and the service tech said they had seen this in others so something to watch out for. Other than that no rattles. I know some had mentioned tailgate rattles but I have none.

All in all, I think its a pretty good bang for your buck if you want to get something larger. If you don't need larger I would test drive a CX-5 with the turbo. I still think the 9 will handle better due to larger tires and longer wheelbase, but it is big. Overall I am happy with my purchase. Wish the seats were a bit larger but I can live with them. Only a bother on longer trips. I dig Mazda design and reliability since they ditched Ford.

Good luck with your new car search.
 
We traded a 2015 CX-5 for a 2019 CX-9 Touring.

Question for you.. when you mentioned corrections at the wheel, did you mean while navigating a long curve, or did you mean that it was a little harder to keep it tracking straight? Just wondering. I've driven my dad's old Highlander and his new Equinox, and while both cars are good for what they are, I do find myself doing very minor corrections going around long bends. I've noticed that I rarely ever find myself making those corrections on the same roads when I'm in my CX-9, and I think it's because of the GVC that comes standard on all 2018+ CX-9s.
 
Question for you.. when you mentioned corrections at the wheel, did you mean while navigating a long curve, or did you mean that it was a little harder to keep it tracking straight? QUOTE]

I would say both, but only comparing at highway speeds 65+ mph. CX5 steering had a slight shake and needed more driver input, could have been tires or alignment, and I don't really remember how it drove brand new but definitely wasn't like the CX9. It wasn't a white knuckle affair, like you hear with people that have lifted jeeps or trucks, but it wasn't a smooth and true as the CX9. I've had our CX9 up to 100 mph on long highway bends and its planted, no shake, feels like I am going 60. In city speeds, or anything under 50 mph there isn't much difference.

That's why I say this vehicle is at home on highway. I assess that the wider tires account for some of this. For reference point the Acura MDX in most setups only has 245's, all versions of CX9 have the 255's only difference from sport/touring to GT is rim diameter.

CX9 has some flaws, a few subjective and some objective, but its objectively really good on highway. If I was doing long highway trips frequently an the seats fit my body type this would be at the top of the list. They can be had for a really good deal relative to other makes. Especially this time of year.
 
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