2020 Mazda CX-9 vs 2021

What's the difference?

Tell you what, there's rarely a dull moment in this gig. Well, you might think this is terribly dull, but jumping from the newest Mazda, the CX-30, to the big fella CX-9 was an interesting experience. 

Probably not for the obvious reasons - the CX-9 is Mazda's largest SUV, with seven-seats and the company's powerful 2.5-litre turbo. It's interesting because the CX-9 signalled the start of Mazda's current generation design, with it's slim headlights, simpler surfacing and truly excellent interior.

The CX-9 is probably more than halfway through its lifecycle now, so moving back to the start of the design shift made for some interesting observations.

And due to its age, Mazda's insights over the last few years meant a little re-jig of the range, with the Azami LE disappearing and the plain-old Azami taking over at the top of the of the offerings.

The second-generation Mazda CX-9 may have been on sale in Australia for nearly five years now, but it remains the second best-selling large SUV using unibody construction (as opposed to old-school, off-road-focused body-on-frame).

That said, it is getting on a bit, so Mazda’s given it an update with a twist for 2021, hoping to inject a little bit more life into its flagship model.

And when we say twist, we mean it. After all, who would’ve thought there’d ever be a six-seat CX-9? Well, we’ve checked it out to see if it’s the version we needed all along. Read on.