Did you catch the subtle rear bustle on the Mazda CX-9?
Last week it was the Sainted Claudia who couldn’t find enough good things to say about the Kia Rondo. This week, it’s yours truly raving about Mazda’s CX-9. If you have a bunch of folks to haul around and you love to drive, this is the one.
Understand that we are long-time minivan owners. We have a large family ranging from kids to seniors and lots of places to take them, so a minivan makes sense. Yes, I am an unreconstructed sports car racer and Indy car fanatic, but the minivan is an imminently practical answer to a question confronting many clans – how we gonna get everybody there without a fleet of vehicles?
But minivans aren’t known for fun driving, right? Neither is the other alternative, the sport-utility vehicle. However, you aren’t out of luck, Mario, cauz the CX-9 is a cool-looking seven-seater that can actually handle curves and move down the road with genuine enthusiasm. Mazda calls it a cross-over SUV, but minivan fans can easily love it, too.
Start with the outside where the exterior styling of the Mazda 6 based CX-9 bears a clear familial resemblance with the slightly smaller CX-7 and the Ford Edge. The windshield and front fascia are steeply raked and the roofline arches, sweeps rearward and culminates in a bit of a bustleback. Nice touch.
Inside, the CX-9 surprises and delights with a very roomy cabin that easily accommodates seven adults and impresses with a distinctly up-market appearance. I found myself continually marveling at the spaciousness and being, well, surprised and delighted by how good the interior looks.
Mazda knows the key to a great passenger cabin – making it look for luxurious than it costs.
The CX-9 is bigger and wider than a Ford Explorer and shares the Edge’s 3.5 liter V-6 good for 263 horsepower. This is a big, two-tons-plus vehicle, but the 0-60 mph time of 7.77 seconds is for real. Ride and handling are spirited and confidence-inspiring, so long as you remember you aren’t behind the wheel of a Miata, of course.
One downside of the CX-9 is it gets pricey if you go for a highly optioned version like my lovely dark blue tester. For this, I would definitely splurge because nobody ever said being the family chauffer has to be boring.
