2014 Mazda CX-9 vs 2014 Honda Pilot

[jcsammy68]

I am somewhat leaning more toward the CX-9, but my wife likes the Honda Pilot because of its reliability and spaciousness. She is not thrilled about its looks though. How does the ride quality of your CX-9 Touring compare to the Honda Pilot?

 

[IslandTractor]

I am somewhat leaning more toward the CX-9, but my wife likes the Honda Pilot because of its reliability and spaciousness. She is not thrilled about its looks though. How does the ride quality of your CX-9 Touring compare to the Honda Pilot?

The CX9 is every bit as reliable as the Pilot/MDX. Only weak point is the Ford made transfer case for the AWD version which is covered by an extended warranty.

 

[tex2670]

I am somewhat leaning more toward the CX-9, but my wife likes the Honda Pilot because of its reliability and spaciousness. She is not thrilled about its looks though. How does the ride quality of your CX-9 Touring compare to the Honda Pilot?

Consumer Reports rates the CX-9 as highly reliable. The first few MYs were more dicey but now, it's right up there with Honda and Toyota. My car is a '12, and if the Hyundai Santa Fe was out when I bought my car, I would have seriously looked at that too.

 

[911jason]

Seems like I remember seeing quite a bit of negative about the Pilot's reliability. I don't think it stacks up to the rest of their lineup. Nothing to substantiate that though.

 

[jcsammy68]

Do you like your CX-9 GT? How is the ride quality? External and Interior colors? AWD or FWD? If FWD, how does it handle in ... rain... we have snow in New York? Why did you choose a CX-9?

 

[911jason]

I'm overall very happy with my CX-9 GT. Ride quality is a bit harsh, but I think it's because of the low profile 20" tires and the sporty handling. It's a worthwhile trade-off for me. I never drove the Touring or Sport models, so I can't compare, but if that is an important aspect for you, maybe consider one of those models with the higher profile 18" tires. I have the meteor gray and really like it. Mine is FWD, but I live in SoCal and we've been in a drought since before I bought it, so I have very little experience in the rain to speak of. I think the sound system's audio quality is actually pretty decent, especially after the speakers have had a few months to break in. I don't have the Bose. Worst aspect for me is the iPod integration -- takes about 3-5 minutes to start playing after plugging it in, every single time. Will not resume playback where you left off, or even in the same playlist. So annoying that I went back to burning MP3 disks and haven't plugged my iPod into the car in months.

 

[tex2670]

Do you like your CX-9 GT? How is the ride quality? External and Interior colors? AWD or FWD? If FWD, how does it handle in ... rain... we have snow in New York? Why did you choose a CX-9?

I love mine. The ride quality is awesome--1000x better than my old '04 Pilot. Pretty quiet given that it has 20" wheels. The Highlander was a bit more plush (I looked at the '12), but the CX-9 rides great. Mine's red/sand, with AWD.

I have not been happy in the snow at all--very long stopping distances, even with 1-2" of snow. I just had to replace the tires, and I got Bridgestone Dueler 422 Ecopias, instead of going with the OEMs. The Ecopias have much better ratings in the winter categories in Tire Rack, so I'm hoping that solves the issue.

But--I don't know that I'd get another one if I had to replace it today. Since I got my '12, the Pathfinder, Santa Fe and Highlander are all new, and I'd be really hesitant to buy a car with a design that dates back to the '07 model year, with tech that hasn't been truly brought to modern day specs (my '07 Lexus Bluetooth integration works much, much, much better than my '12 CX-9's). However, you could probably leverage that to a sweet price on the CX-9, if you decided that's the way you wanted to go.