2018 Mazda CX-9 vs 2019

What's the difference?

The CX-9 is big – too big for my little family. Yep, a CX-5 SUV would be better suited to us. But, nobody’s ever complained about too much room, and our Touring fit all of our gear and performed well during its holiday week with us - easy to pilot through the city despite its size and effortless on the highway with excellent fuel economy over the whole trip. Sure, the ride became a bit ‘jiggly’ on the backroads and this grade doesn’t have adaptive cruise control, but the great points far outweigh those few drawbacks.

The previous CX-9 was excellent and now the new one fills in many of the gaps which were missing such as the addition of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the safety tech standard across all grades and great ride and handling. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better large seven-seater all-rounder without stepping into the $100K prestige territory.

The Touring is the sweet spot in the CX-9 with its leather seats, 8.0-inch display and good price.

Could that be the world’s largest grille? Even by Mazda standards it’s big, but it suits the brand’s flagship SUV perfectly. Sure, the headlights seem a little too small for its face and the same can be said for the taillights and the rear of the car, but this is a stunning-looking SUV that has plenty of presence without going over the top.

Stepping up to the Touring grade gives that grille shiny teeth, too – chrome-look blades, while the Sport grade has black-coloured horizontal elements which look pretty ordinary. The Touring also has LED fog-lights.

How big is the CX-9? Seriously big – look at the dimensions: 5075mm end to end, 1969mm across and 1747mm tall. That’s longer than a Toyota LandCruiser Prado. Will it fit into your garage/parking space?

The Toyota Kluger is 210mm shorter at 4865mm long, a bit narrower at 1925mm wide and almost the same height at 1730mm tall.

Something smaller? Well the Kia Sorento is a 4780mm in length, 1890mm wide and 1690 high. Hyundai’s Santa Fe is 4700mm bumper to bumper and the Skoda Kodiaq is just a hair’s width less.

The Touring’s cabin is premium feeling with its leather upholstery and big display. This is a well-finished cockpit with a higher quality feel than all of its rivals except the Kodiaq.

Nothing has changed to the exterior of the CX-9 in this 2018 update – but that's a good thing, because this is a striking and beautifully styled SUV. More a tall, sleek wagon than upright boxy SUV, there's that in-your-face grille, the long nose the set-back cabin and the hatchback rear end. The only element which irks me are the taillights – they seem a bit small for that big bottom.

All CX-9s look almost identical on the outside, but you can tell the higher grades form their larger-sized wheels and LED fog lights.

There's not much in the way of a body kit, but there is that subtle roof top spoiler, that sculpted front bumper and the little shark fin antenna.

The cabin is a premium feeling place (have a look at the images) – this is Mazda flagship after all. Materials feel soft to touch even on the dash and door sills back and front, while there's a high-quality fit and finish throughout. With big interior dimensions this is also a roomy place, despite that sloping roofline.

The Azami LE is by far the most decadent grade with its nappa leather upholstery and real wood trim. Mazda was not able to tell me what type of wood has been used and could only go as far as confirming it was real wood, however, in the United States the top-grade CX-9, known as the Signature, uses a similar looking material and officially calls it rosewood.

Mazda also told me that the adhesives and materials used in the cabin were also chosen to minimise bad smells – not from the people in it but from the leather's plastics and glues. If only all car companies would care enough to do this – some new car smells make my eyes water.

At almost 5.1 metres long, nearly 2.0m wide and getting onto 1.8m tall you'll need a pretty big garage to house the CX-9.

The CX-9 is a seven-seat SUV, and while its third row is one of the very few that even I (at 191cm tall) can sit almost comfortably in, those back two seats really are for kids or small adults.

Climbing into those third-row seats is easier now, with the second row able to tilt further forward and the seat itself is easier to slide and tilt, too. That's part of the 2018 update.

Legroom in the second row is excellent. I can sit behind my driving position with about 10cm to spare between my knees and the seat-back.

Storage throughout the cabin is well considered. The centre console storage bin with its double-door lid is big and the Touring has a fold down rear armrest with storage and USB ports - that'll keep the kids happy. There’s also six cupholders (two up front, two in the middle and another pair in the back) and bottle holders in all the doors.

The CX-9’s boot has an 810 litre (VDA) cargo capacity with the third row folded flat. The Kluger can only manage a luggage capacity of 529 litres.

I had thought that with only three of us the CX-9 was going to be way too big but - as you can see from my bad photos - we could have done with more boot space.

The CX-9 does have an elevated ride height – it’s ground clearance is 222mm, which is higher than most SUVs. My toddler is at the age where he wants to get in and out of a car on his own, but that height proved a challenge for him and we did have one spill where he took the quick way down.

There are a stack of reasons to buy a seven-seater. You may have a big family and really need the third row, or you're just a small family that likes to pack a truck-load of gear for holidays while having a couple of extra seats just in case you're put on the spot after picking the kids up from karate and end up with more ninjas to drop home.

There are other seven-seaters where those third-row seats are just a bonus – the Santa Fe is a bit like that, but SUVs such as the CX-9, Kluger and Sorento offer much better room back there.

Even at 191cm tall I can sit in the third row comfortably, with just enough head and legroom. That said, I wouldn't want to be there for an epic road trip, but it's fine for kids and shorter adults.

Legroom in the second row is excellent – I can sit behind my driving position with about 10cm of space between my knees and the seat back – headroom isn't as generous as the Kluger or Sorento but there's still plenty, even for me.

If you're lifting babies and children into car seats you may find that coupe styling to the roofline makes the process a little harder – it did for me with our little one.

Also, this SUV is fairly high up. I've had my toddler do a face plant falling out of one while trying to climb in. Oh, don't judge me.

Entry into the third row is made easier by a 60:40 folding second row on rails. It's also good to see that the smaller foldable section is on the curb side of the car.

The CX-9's boot space with the third row down is outstanding at 810 litres (VDA) – the Kluger can only manage 529 litres and even with those back seats in place the luggage capacity is 230 litres, check out my video above where I demonstrate the size with a live human being.

Storage in the cabin is also excellent with six cupholders (two in the first row, two in second and the others in the third) and all grades above the Sport come with storage in the fold-down centre armrest, which also contains a USB port.

All CX-9s come with a USB port up front in the giant split-opening centre console bin and a 12-volt power outlet in the cargo area.

The Mazda CX-9's price has gone up but you're getting more features in return – and that goes for all grades in the range. Also, there's now a new grade and king of the Mazda CX-9 range – the Azami LE. Right, let's get into the details.

The most affordable CX-9 is the Sport at $44,990 (an $1100 increase) for the front-wheel drive version and another $4000 for all-wheel drive. Coming standard on the Sport for the first time is a head-up display and being introduced to the CX-9 range finally is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Other standard features include a 7.0-inch screen with sat nav, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, digital radio, three-zone climate control, LED headlights, black cloth seats and 18-inch alloy wheels.

The Touring grade sits above the Sport and is arguably the best value with its list price of $51,390  ($1100 increase) for the front-wheel drive and again $4000 more for the AWD. In addition to the Sport's features, the Touring comes standard with black leather seats (power adjustable and heated in the front), an 8.0-inch touch screen, proximity key, front parking sensors and LED fog lights.

The GT grade is getting into pricier territory with the front-wheel drive listing for $59,390 (an increase of $1000) and $4000 more for AWD, but along with all of the Touring's features it has a power tailgate, sunroof, 20-inch alloy wheels and heated second-row window seats.

The once-king-of-the-range Azami lists for $60,990 in FWD form (an increase of $4200), again $4000 for the AWD, but now there's a level above it – the Azami LE which is $66,490 and only available as an all-wheel drive.

What's the difference between them? Well let's start with what's the same. Both come with the GT's features plus adaptive LED headlights, heated steering wheel, a 360-degree view monitor, ventilated front seats, windscreen de-icer and a 7.0-inch centre digital instrument cluster.

What the Azami LE gets that the Azami doesn't is real wood trim panels on the centre console, nappa leather seats, box stitching on the steering wheel and different overhead console styling.

As a model comparison you could also take a look at the Toyota Kluger which ranges from about $45K to $70K. There's also the Kia Sorento which ranges from $43K-$60K and I'm going to throw in the Hyundai Santa Fe – it's not as big as the CX-9, but the new one is larger than the previous model and it's a seven-seater, too.

There’s only one engine in the range – it’s a 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol and even though that’s small and the all-wheel drive CX-9 is pretty heavy at almost two tonnes its output of 170kW and 420Nm is more than enough grunt.

No manual gearboxes here – just a six-speed automatic transmission, but it’s a smooth shifter that is keen to be playful and responsive in Sport mode.

All CX-9s have the same engine – it's a 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol that makes 170kW and 420Nm. That's simple isn't it? Also simple is this: all CX-9 have the same six-speed automatic transmission.

Every grade apart from the Azami LE comes with a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The Azami LE is purely all-wheel drive.

Mazda says the fuel consumption of the CX-9 all-wheel drive is 8.8L/100km after a mix of open and urban roads. On our little family holiday from inner Sydney to Jervis Bay and back we covered 600km and the trip metre was telling me it was using an average of 9.7L/100km. That’s within a litre of the serving suggestion which is excellent (especially for me).

We were 40 kilometres from Wollongong on the way home but the trip computer was telling me had 35km of fuel left in the tank. I made the mistake of announcing to everybody that we were going to see if we could make it, but then chickened out with five kilometres left in the tank and 10kms to go and ducked in to grab fuel. I didn’t want the family holiday to end on the side of the road.

Big car, big drinker? The CX-9 used to be back when it had a V6, but not any more. The turbo-four is efficient, with Mazda saying that front-wheel drive version will use 8.4L/100km, while all-wheel drives will use 8.8L/100km after a combination of open and urban roads. You'll also only need to feed it 91 RON – that's the cheap petrol.

My testing on the launch saw me use 10.3L/100km, according to the car's trip computer, but I was really getting into those roads and stamping on that accelerator like it was a funnel web spider, so for it still to be that low is great.

Adaptive cruise control is a brilliant thing, and once you’ve been let into the World of Tomorrow it’s a pain going back to regular cruise control – like on the Touring. Only the top spec Azami has adaptive cruise. First world problemos, as they say.

The CX-9's steering is excellent - light but with good feel even at low speeds in car parks. There’s a lot of good feels going on actually – the brakes and the pedals under your feet are placed well, the seats are comfortable as is every touch point – elbows, head rest, shifter.

There are also some not-so good feels – the ride was too often too ‘jiggly’, almost as though the car was oversprung. There were times on the trip where not-so-perfect roads equalled a ride that wasn’t composed with more bounce and roll than I’d expect – that type of thing works against you when you’re trying to get your toddler to sleep.

That engine also feels as though it has to work hard when it’s carrying a packed CX-9 up a steep hill – there’s plenty of power and it tore up every ‘mountain’ we encountered, but a new V6 or V8 would have done it without sounding like it was giving it everything.

Do you need all-wheel drive? It’s not vital, but the traction it provides is excellent. Front-wheel drive SUVs often struggle to get the power to the road in the wet, especially when climbing a hill. If I could afford the all-wheel drive I’d always get it – plus the mileage for both is almost the same in the CX-9 (0.4L/100km difference).

The CX-9 is happiest on the highway where it cruises effortlessly (with a comfy ride) and higher above mostly everybody else. The window sills were low enough for my toddler to see out, although the glass on the Touring grade doesn’t have a dark tint to shield against the sun.

A quiet, well insulated cabin made the trip down a fairly peaceful journey – apart from when everybody was screaming at each other, that is.

There is no way to make a 5.1m long, 2.0m wide, two-tonne SUV feel small in a supermarket car park and you'll feel its size particularly in multi-storey ones as you navigate the HMAS CX-9 up through the levels. I've lived with a CX-9 and I'm not ashamed to admit that I find it tricky to manoeuvre in tight spaces. But you have AEB, rear cross-traffic alert, parking sensors at the back and good visibility to make it as easy as it possibly can be.

Get the CX-9 out on the street, though, and it feels a lot less cumbersome. And on the open road the CX-9 is brilliant. Not only does it just much up miles in comfort, it has such great handling ability that it defies my logic.

In this update Mazda says it has refined the driving experience while making the SUV more responsive though suspension and steering changes. A thicker material behind the headlining in the ceiling has also been used to keep the cabin even quieter, too.

The result? A ride that's knocking on the door of German prestige SUVs and great dynamics.

Even on the 20-inch wheels and 50-profile tyres fitted to the Azami LE I tested at the launch, the ride was outstanding while the handling was excellent. Pushing the Azami LE hard in the corners should have had something of this size and weight leaning on its door handles, but a moment after entering the turn the CX-9 was able to compose itself, hunker down and hold its line in a controlled and planted way.

The Azami LE is all-wheel drive only, but the front-wheel drive version for the base grade Sport and the FWD Azami I drove felt just as composed with great body control and impressive handling ability for the class. In some ways the Sport being lighter and on smaller wheels and higher profile tyres meant the ride was more comfortable and acceleration a bit better.

That engine is a good thing, although part of me misses the old V6 from years ago for its smoothness and torque. The 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo has enough grunt and it's fuel efficient, but to me a six-cylinder suits this big flagship better.

Safety is another strong point of the CX-9 with its maximum five-star ANCAP rating and AEB which works forwards and backwards, blind-spot warning and rear cross-traffic alert. This update has made the advanced safety tech suite standard across the full range adding adaptive cruise control with stop and go feature, lane departure warning and traffic sign recognition.

For child and baby seats you'll find three top-tether anchor points across the second row and two in the third, while there are ISOFIX points in the back as well and two in the second-row window seats.

Under that boot floor you'll find a space saver spare wheel.

The warranty for the CX-9 is a three-year, unlimited kilometre agreement. Servicing is recommended every 10,000km or 12 months and costs the same regardless of whether the CX-9 is an all-wheel drive or front wheel drive. Services are capped and alternate from $329 for the first service to $371 for the second all the way up to the fifth service.

The CX-9 is covered by Mazda's five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty. Servicing is recommended at 12 month or 10,000km intervals. Servicing is capped and switch from $329 for the first visit, $371 for the next and then back to $329 for five services.