Motor Trend MAZDA CX-9 LONG-TERM UPDATE 5: HOW THE INTERIOR IS HOLDING UP

[drive]

https://www.motortrend.com/cars/maz...a-cx-9-touring-awd-long-term-update-5-review/

I've had my 2018 CX-9 for almost 3 months. I still leave the plastic film on the piano panel. So far, I'm getting about 9.6 km/l, city/hwy driving with 80% city. If its 50/50, it goes around 10.6 to 11 km/l. Still gets lots of compliments of the low-torque power and interior finish. Only feature I wish they had (and I need) is front camera so I can gauge the distance a little closer as parking can be tight around here. Also, yeah, still waiting for Android Auto to be available without spending too much. My friend said that my rear breaks is showing a bit of uneven wear, I will have the mechanic check it out in my first oil-change coming up. Other things are nitpicks, maybe a few more cup-holders would be nice. The 2018 has side mirrors that can be electronically folded, which is a bonus feature over previous years. I'm still waiting to see how long my tires will hold-up/last and my brakes, that seems to be one of the issues that has been talked about. As far as turbo lag, rarely ever experienced that. Never experienced system failure or having to reboot my Infotainment or car shutting down or strange error codes - yet. Knock on wood. I guess if this car run like this for 5 years with only regular maintenance, I would be more than satisfied. Again, the fun to drive factor (for SUV) can't be overstated. Lots of magazines and online blogs got it right - this is car/SUV i rather drive if given a choice. And our company has a few sedans/SUV to choose from...

 

[tex2670]

Solution: Buy a Signature.

 

[Srad600]

A quote from the article

" The leather and other soft surfaces have withstood the abuse that a vehicle takes after driving 27,000 miles in less than a year. The one glaring exception to this observation, though, is the heavily scratched piano black finish on the center console and door armrest. As good as piano black may look in a design sketch, it just doesnt make sense to use it on a surface that takes so much abuse. I would rather have more durable but less attractive textured black plastic on those surfaces than for it to look like a cheap pair of road-worn sunglasses that flew out of someones car onto the highway."

Ummm, no thanks! That's just silly. Rather than take care of a nicely finished piece, he'd rather see cheap looking plastic so he can abuse it without regard? I'm really glad he does not design cars for a living! (nervous)

 

[Benhui86]

I wipe my interior down with interior detailer on a regular basis and the black trims stay nice looking minus some minor swirls from just normal wear. Nothing a plastic polish can*t take out if I really wanted it to shine.

 

[JPL]

I wonder why automakers haven't figured out a way to make scratch resistant piano black plastic. Does seem to scratch even when relatively soft objects rub it. Not like we're rubbing our keys on it. It's seemingly more vulnerable than sunglass lenses.

Unlike the writer, most of us don't want hard, cheap, dull, 1990's plastic in the name of durability.

 

[sm1ke]

The 2018 has side mirrors that can be electronically folded, which is a bonus feature over previous years.

The 2018 has power folding mirrors? I have an 18 Sig and I was sure that it didn't have that feature.

Lots of magazines and online blogs got it right - this is car/SUV i rather drive if given a choice. And our company has a few sedans/SUV to choose from...

Out of curiosity, what other cars were you able to choose?

 

[tekz]

The 2018 has power folding mirrors? I have an 18 Sig and I was sure that it didn't have that feature.

In Australia, NZ and other Asian markets like Taiwan, Malaysia and Phlippines, the CX9 GTs have power folding side mirrors. Unfortunately here in NA they're not available.

 

[warwick5s]

Eh, the Signature still has the piano black surrounds most likely to get scratched - immediately surrounding the shifter and door switches.

I went GT instead of Signature because I didn't like the color of the leather, but I've definitely looked into swapping the wood trim over.

 

[sm1ke]

In Australia, NZ and other Asian markets like Taiwan, Malaysia and Phlippines, the CX9 GTs have power folding side mirrors. Unfortunately here in NA they're not available.

Interesting.. might have to look into ordering the parts. PFM would be nice.

 

[thewraith]

That's a simple piece to wrap w/carbon or whatever your choice of vinyl wrap color is. Try wrapping the interior of a Nissan GT-R, that was HELL.

 

[drive]

The 2018 has power folding mirrors? I have an 18 Sig and I was sure that it didn't have that feature.




Out of curiosity, what other cars were you able to choose?

Like others said, folding mirror feature is only available for some markets. It wasn't avail for 2017 here but I guess enough people complained about it because very narrow streets and hard to park places and almost all new cars here have e-folding mirrors so Mazda had to do something. I guess its one of few benefits of living in SEA. But everything else is worse! SUV and cars cost more here than US and other regions. Usually 20% to 40% luxury tax on top of MSRP. So if you got your Mazda CX9 for $40K, I probably paid $55K USD here. And yeah, much less choices and trims. They only offer one color (black) leather interior here. I wanted the beige. ALso, I only had about 10-15 choices of SUVs vs 30-40 choices in US.

These were the SUV I looked at that were within my budget.
1)Tiguan ALL Space / Skoda Kodiaq.
2)Mits Outlander
3)Nissan X-Trail
4)Lexus NX200/Toyota Rav4
5)Honda CRV
6)Hyundai Sante Fe/Kia Sorrento
7)Pegugeot 5008
8)Audi Q3 (Q5 and Q7 were way too expensive).
9)BMW/Benz/Volvo SUVs were too expensive, cost almost twice what that cost in the states.
10) Only Ford SUV avail here is Kuga. Pass. No GMC cars here.
11) Subaru Outback.

It came down to wanting 7 or 5 seater. Even tho many people say they rarely use 7 seater, I do use it, but I want 7 seater because it seats 5 very comfortable. Many times, I have 4 other pax and 1 would sit in 3rd row all by himself and 2 takes the 2nd row while one sit in the front - everyone is happy and very spacious. I use it for 7 pax a few times a month. So even tho 7 seater wasn't crucial, it was top 3 features I wanted.

My #2 choice was Kodiaq and maybe #3 ALL SPACE, even tho I consider them very similar. Next was Santa Fe / Sorrento, but they cost almost as much as CX9 here. Tho Korean maker has better warranty, I believe in Japanese engineering and I like the outside refined looks of CX9 better.

For 5 seater, it was Lexus NX200 but it was a dressed up RaV4 platform, didn't feel like paying 18K USD extra for almost same engine performance (NX 200 model here use same engine as RaV4). Also liked the Outback alot for its 4wd and fun to drive factor. Lexus drove like my 10 yo Nissan car, that's why I just couldn't consider it. If Outback made a 7 seater, I may have bought that instead of CX9, but they don't sell 7 seater Subs or Toyotas here. 7 seater Lexus were almost twice price of CX9 so it was no brainer to pass!

I wish I had more choices. But I like CX9, like I said, just wished it had 360 camera so I can see the front in tight spaces and Android Auto. I had some reservations about the DI Turbo, but I guess I will know in time if its a good engine. But so far, it such a nice car to drive, I can't go back to other cars, even my moms new VW Passat TSLine feels "cheap" inside compared to my CX9. My friend also bought a Tiguan All Space, the interior isn't as nice as CX9 and not as fast either, but he didn't get the diesel turbo. Tho I do like ALL SPACE's tight feel and overall infotainment and 360 camera. VW/Kodiaq is a tight car to drive, it was my 2nd choice for 7 seater. My friend who bought the Tiguan wished he had bought the CX9 instead.... But many buy German cars here for its status/reputation, even tho the maintenance will sure cost more in the long run, according to many experts blogs here that did the math.