Went to our Mazda dealer with wife today and checked out the new CX-9. They have a Snowflake White Pearl Touring with Premium Package on the showroom floor. We also looked a Machine Gray CX-9 Signature AWD parked at outside. Both of us think this new CX-9 looks beautiful! The salesman said the selling price is MSRP right now and they have another 2 GT's and and Touring's in the back.
Firstly I verified that 2016.5 CX-5 GT doesn't offer 2-position memory driver seat and 6-way power passenger seat. What kids_dad said earlier was false.
Secondly, "8-way power driver's seat with power lumbar support" clearly stated in CX-9's sales material is false advertising! The driver seat definitely has only 6-way adjustments: seat slide, height adjustment, and seat recline. Mazda CX-3, CX-5, Mazda6 all say "8-way power driver's seat with power lumbar support" and they all have front height adjustment of seat bottom function which support the seat bottom tilting. So why the same 8-way power driver's seat on most expensive CX-9 from Mazda has in fact is "6-way" power driver's seat with power lumbar support?
Thirdly, still can't get over the high-and-wide front center console. The shift level in fact blocked the HVAC control while in Park position.
Finally, the all-black interior design in white CX-9 makes me feel everything is so dark inside and hard to see things in the cabin. I really wish Mazda can offer more color selections such as gray for interior, not just using black color to cover everything inside the cabin.
I guess the totally redesigned and soon to be released 2017 Acura MDX is worth the wait to check it out. At least Acura finally dumped the ugly thick chrome bar at front and rear as their signature design for Acura. The new front fascia from 2017 MDX looks different and much better than current ones.
I sat in one yesterday for the first time. It was a bit of a disappointment. It's very cramped in the cabin. I too was turned off by the massive center console. Being 6'3", my legs rest against it. The outward visibility seems less than before. The rear seating space is aweful, especially the 3rd row.
Storage in the rear is bad too even with the 3rd row folded, it seems to have no more capacity then my CX-5. The seats didn't fold completely flat like Gen 1 CX-9 did.
I sat in a Touring w/tech package. The wheels looked too small for the car (18"). The car was designed with the 20's in mind and anything smaller looks awkward.
I was really excited for this car to come out. I must say I'm disappointed so far. Maybe a test drive will change my mind, but I doubt it. I can't see spending $40k on something with marginal advantages over my CX-5 that I paid $27k for 4 years ago.