SUV with Soul - Mazda CX-9

Seven-passenger capability has always been the mark of the “big” car. I recently wrote a profile on a gentleman who is restoring a 1946 Packard seven passenger sedan, and asked the opinion of a suburban housewife and SUV fanatic about the seven passenger Land Rover LR3.  Seven passengers seems to be a magic number - maybe because it’s room for one U.S.-standard nuclear family plus one pair of grandparents, or two adults and a basketball team. Who knows?

As a Mazda enthusiast, I was interested to drive the CX-9 for a few days in California’s fabulous central coast region. I’d never driven the CX-9 before, and was curious to see if Mazda’s “Always the soul of a sports car” slogan held true even in the biggest vehicle they offer.

The CX-9 carries five people easily in a standard four-door plus hatch SUV arrangement. The rear cargo area folds up to reveal additional seating for two in a forward-facing third row. The car comes with a 3.7-liter V6 engine, making 273 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque, and this power is delivered through a nicely-built 6-speed automatic AWD transmission. Mazda offers rachet-shift capability as standard equipment, but really, the CX-9 isn’t that kind of car. And that’s OK, because the car is just fine in Drive mode.

For as large as it is, the CX-9 does drive well. I took it over the treacherous Highway 17 to Santa Cruz a couple of times and it’s sure-footed and powerful whether you’re headed up the hilly curves or down. It’s sized right for the freeways in the valley and perfectly pleasant cruising down Highway 1 to Monterey. And when it was time to organize a big crew for a dinner expedition, it was nice to be able to say “Well, we could take three cars, or just pile into the CX-9 and go together.”

The interior of the CX-9 is nice - not a speck of fake wood grain in sight. Just a well-made plastic dash with convenient, usable controls. The car comes with air, cruise, navigation, nice stereo with 6-disc changer and satellite, rear-view camera, heated power leather seats with memory, Bluetooth, zone climate control, keyless entry, xenon HID headlights, fogs, DVD player, 110VAC outlet, and rain-sensing wipers - in short, all the stuff that you want and expect in a top-of-the-line SUV north of $50,000.

But that’s the real deal-sealer on the CX-9 - the base sticker price is just $34,655. With all the options above, the car I tested was stickered at $41,180. And that’s rolling on 20s with pearl metallic paint - sweet!

Fuel economy in the CX-9 is estimated at 15/21, and that matches what we got in 4 days of driving around the greater bay area. That’s not bad for a vehicle of this size and weight.

But does it have the soul of a sports car? That depends on where you think a sports car’s soul lives. If you believe as I do that a car’s soul is all about being fun to drive, tight, and well-built, then a CX-9 meets the standard. It’s not an MX-5 or RX-8 of course, but comparing apples to apples the CX-9 beats the roof rack off of any other seven-passenger SUV for a great driving experience. And it does it for about half the going price, which is another Mazda specialty.