Mazda CX-9 2018 Review

It has been more than 12 months since the Mazda CX-9 emerged as the Carsales Car of the Year. During that time, Mazda has performed a light nip and tuck on its seven-seat SUV, bringing minor equipment changes, additional tether points and the installation of G-vectoring control technology familiar with the Mazda6. The changes coincide with a minor price increase.

There’s a good reason for our mid-review re-shuffle. Mazda has updated its popular seven-seater – and in the interest of staying abreast of the latest developments, we recently swapped out of the impressive red front-drive Akera and into a white all-wheel drive GT.

First, though, the changes, which concentrate on the fitment of automatic power-folding side mirrors, additional tether points in the third row pews, improved sound damping in the cabin and the addition of G-vectoring control to improve stability.

There’s also an upgraded autonomous emergency braking system, which now functions between 4-80km/h, instead of 4-30km/h.

The changes were fortuitously timed for Mazda, allowing the updated model to sneak into the 2017 Carsales Car of the Year awards. Impressively, the CX-9 came away with another win in the SUV under $50,000 category.

It was pipped at the post for the major gong this year in a close call, but it remains a compelling proposition nonetheless.

A child seat has been added since the last report and there have been multiple visits to IKEA and the like to make work of the car’s cavernous cabin. At last count we clocked 3500km in our pristine white example.

There have also been multiple opportunities to test the full seven-seat capacity of the CX-9, which made for some interesting observations.

First things first, though, what do we think of the update? It might read as superficial but the truth is the latest round of tweaks help to improve the appeal of the CX-9.

The two added tether points in the rear-most seats is probably the most meaningful change on face value, allowing the potential installation of two extra child seats. The G-vectoring control technology also enabled added sportiness to the CX-9’s handling, as you’ll read further down.

The CX-9 might be touted as a genuine family SUV, but the truth is it feels right at home with one child once you install the requisite seat, throw the pram in the boot and all the other paraphernalia.

Whereas smaller SUVs demand the front passenger put their seat forward in order to fit the rear-ward facing child seat, the CX-9 poses no such dramas. In short, a car this big is ideal for travelling in relative comfort, if we’re honest.

Equally, the CX-9’s boot comfortably swallows a full-size pram and necessary bags for a day trip or week away. One criticism is the absence of a cargo blind, which would ideally protect kiddie items from the sun and from prying eyes when you duck into the shops.

Having a child seat to contend with didn’t stop your correspondent from filling the CX-9 to the brim after a trip to IKEA. Even with the seat taking up one middle-row passenger seat, the 60:40 split-folding arrangement allowed the corresponding seats to stow completely, affording enough space for a 1.8-metre package of flat-packing goodness.

The run into Christmas also allowed us to test the CX-9’s full seating capacity, when yours truly got roped into designated driver duties. There were no complaints from the six other correspondents as the CX-9 gently loped along with an estimated 550kg on board.

Even the rear bleachers offered relative comfort for two average sized adults over a 45 minute journey – though, granted, both admitted by the end they wouldn’t want to cover the Hume Highway in such a fashion.

At full capacity, the CX-9’s four-cylinder engine feels the added weight. While still sufficient, it’s clear the 2.5-litre loses some of its perkiness and as such cannot quite deliver the punch from a standstill, making more work of the six-speed automatic.

Some other bugbears remain, like the absence of Apple CarPlay and the finicky infotainment system. Fuel use is a constant consideration, too, we’ve piled on thousands of kilometres, mostly with two people on board, and the reading still hovers around 10.0L/100km.

Note: this latest consumption figure is marginally up on the two-wheel drive version of the CX-9, which clocked an average of 9.2L/100km according to both the trip computer and our own independent testing. Both are well up on their claims.

The results are impressive. Making small, benign adjustments, it is clear the G-vectoring control tightens the 5.0-metre long SUV’s cornering ability appreciably and allows it to further shrink wrap its considerable dimensions.

The upshot is that the CX-9 maintains its position as arguably the most manoeuvrable and agile seven-seat SUV offering on the market.

Stay tuned for our final long-term report in the coming weeks.

Long-Term Tests
motoring.com.au aims to make your choice of vehicle easier. Our Editorial section does this via our mix of news, international and local launch reviews, as well as our seven-day tests.

From time to time we also take the opportunity to spend even longer with a vehicle. These longer-term tests can be as short as a couple of weeks, but more recently we’ve settled on a three-month period as indicative of ‘normal’ ownership.

Long-term tests give our staff writers and contributors a chance to get to know a car as an owner would. While the car is with us, we pay for fuel, the servicing, and generally use and live with the car as a new owner would.

We believe long-term tests give car buyers a deeper insight into the vehicle on test, but also the qualities behind the brand and nameplate. The extended period also allows us to touch base with the dealer networks in question.

It comes as no surprise that manufacturers tend to have a love-hate relationship with long-term tests. Three months is plenty long enough to fall out of love with the latest and greatest, and start to nit-pick — just like real owners do.

2018 Mazda CX-9 GT AWD pricing and specifications:
Price: $62,790 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 170kW/420Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 206g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP