 2010 Mazda CX-9 GT. Click image to enlarge |
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2010 Mazda CX-9
Pardon me, but does this Mazda make me look fat?
It’s hard not to appear big in the hips, when your maximum passenger complement comes in at The Magnificent Seven. Crossovers, SUV’s, and station wagons masquerading under either designation continue to wrestle with how to be a van.
  2010 Mazda CX-9 GT. Click image to enlarge |
Much like the rumble seat of old, the third row on vehicles such as the CX-9 needs to make a decision; are you an accessible seat treat, or a fair-weather novelty? This week, Inside Story tackles the three rows, and the overall comfort and convenience within the 2010 Mazda CX-9 GT, with an as-tested MSRP of $50,125. (Prices shown do not include freight, taxes, regional or promotional incentives.)
It’s not that often that this section begins with a beeline towards the driver’s door pod, until you see the design that practically every manufacturer has failed to embrace. Instead of inserting the control pod in the expected door panel/armrest combo sculpture, Mazda has placed the window lifts and exterior power mirror toggle at a unique angle, known as ‘vertical’. The design does a great service in keeping the driver’s line of sight in touch with the roadway, instead of armrest level.
Venturing inward, a dash-mount switch bank to the left of the driver houses the Blind Spot Monitoring, Traction Control System, power hatch release, and the angle adjustment for the GT’s HID headlamps.
The three-spoke tilt/telescoping wheel holds tabs for audio, Bluetooth phone connectivity, and cruise control. The headlamp switch includes an Auto detent, while the wipers are rain-sensing up front, with an intermittent sweep for the rear wiper. Note the front wiper design, a fiend for flexibility, which should keep streaks to a minimum. The gauge cluster keeps in tune with the Mazda love it/hate it red-faced illumination, accented by blue-tinged back-lighting. Information includes engine coolant temperature, and gear selection for the manual floor-shift operation of the 6-speed automatic.
   2010 Mazda CX-9 GT. Click image to enlarge |
The Navi head unit option dumps the CD changer capacity from six to one. It’s not the most attractive screen display, though the legibility is still above the norm for this price bracket. The screen also provides rear camera views. HVAC can be tailored for driver and passenger, as well as the rear cabin. With the rear system unlocked, second row occupants are free to adjust their climate preferences.
The top-mount LED display details front climate zone temperatures, average fuel economy, and the current audio selection. The GT’s intelligent key provides a traditional twist set-up on the column, with a removable cover for the actual key.
As attractive as the clam shell centre console lid looks, it’s a little to high and mighty, as in quickly finding your right-hand elbow during spirited steering inputs. Even if it could slide out of the way, the tunnel itself would still interfere with your flesh and bone. Inside, an auxiliary audio input is paired with a 12-volt DC powerpoint. This makes two powerpoints in the front cabin, with the second found below the HVAC controls, with an open cell phone-sized cubby. A flock-lined drop-down coin tray is located below the safety systems switchbank, to the left of the driver. The unique door panel designs do not eliminate the bottle holders for the front and second row passengers. The second row armrest houses a sizable flip-top compartment, with a dual cinchless cupholder of good depth. The front passenger cupholder is revealed via a flip-top door, with a removable sizing cincher. The locking glovebox is quickly overwhelmed by the lump of tree that is the owner’s manual. On a positive note, the rear of the glovebox is easily removed, for access to the fuse block and cabin air filter assembly. Even third row passengers are hydration-blessed, with dual cupholders on each side panel.
 2010 Mazda CX-9 GT. Click image to enlarge |
Visors receive backlit vanity mirrors with protective sliders. Speaking of sliders, both visors use separate sunblocker panels. The interior rear-view mirror is an auto-dimmer, and still finds enough real estate to house the Homelink transmitter switches. The sunglasses holder is of respectable sizing. The sunroof deflector seems robust, at first glance. Closer inspection reveals a meagre spring tension system, usually seen on Cousin Ford products. Topside, provisions exist for future racking systems. Even with a satellite radio roof nub that can be seen from space, the CX-9 did a stellar job of dropping the signal.
GT has its privileges, such as three-driver memory, plus power lumbar for the driver. Even the front passenger seat is a power glide/recline. Front seats get two-step heat, with a switch that actually understands that turning the key off does not always have to involve the cancellation of the heat function.
As for the second and third rows, let’s start with row three. The Mazda system for engaging and folding the seats into the floor enjoys the simplicity of one fabric pull tether: seamless, quick, and downright trick. While the access to the third row looks respectable, the overall operation is downright binding. Serious oomph is required to move the reclining second row into any position, so much so that Mazda should consider a power sliding system for the GT trim. The second row middle seat position uses a removable shoulder belt, with an overhead stowage.
    2010 Mazda CX-9 GT. Click image to enlarge |
There’s a quality flatness that arrives from the fold of both second and third row seating. Cargo fans, both stuff and people, will appreciate the ample space provided, even when the third row is in use. Tie down points are located throughout. A power hatch closure accompanies the manual pull. Flip-out bag hooks are found on both cargo area walls. Note the third 12-volt DC powerpoint on the passenger side. A shallow storage well is found beneath the cargo area floor, still accessible with the third row in place. Note the jacking tool stowage.
Tools up top, plus a handy storage well. That can only mean one thing; the spare will be an underbelly dirt doughnut. Mazda will change that tire for you, during the first three years of ownership, with no mileage restrictions.
The 273-horsepower 3.7-litre DOHC V6 is the expected shoehorn fit; note the netherworld depths of the alternator’s location. At least the brake master cylinder reservoir is purpose-built for this cram-fest. Best-scenario fuel figures for the CX-9 AWD are 14.0 L/100 km city, and 9.6 highway. In an urban-heavy cycle, the CX-9 returned a figure of 16.2 L/100 km. Burp.
You have arrived. That’s the tag line for the Mazda Canada web site summary, though pinning the expectations of a luxury halo vehicle onto this beast falls into what we at Inside Story call “a stretch”. At 50 large, kissing Cousins Flex and MKT get feature rich, and with MKT, actually start to live up to this wonderful arrival feeling; a downright pity, considering the well-thought-out design elements of the CX-9 that more vehicles in any price bracket desperately need. Was the MPV really so bad? Perhaps it’s time that Mazda considers a return to the sedans that previously carried the designations of 9, with some EcoBoost savvy from the Blue Oval. There’s a 50-grand Zoom-Zoom we can get behind.
Next week: Lexus HS 250h
