Mazda's Sexy CX-9

The new, stylish, safe, and speedy 2008 Mazda CX-9 is one of the most impressive crossovers on the road today

by Thane Peterson

Editor's Rating:

The Good: Quickness, distinctive styling, safety, ergonomics

The Bad: Fuel economy, price

The Bottom Line: Dollar for dollar, the hottest of the new crossover SUVs

Reader Reviews

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Up Front

"Trucks seldom earn a berth on our all-stars list," notes Automobile magazine. Yet, there's the 2008 Mazda CX-9 amid the Corvettes, BMWs, and Mercedeses on the magazine's newly released annual Top 10 vehicles list, which is included in the January issue. The CX-9 is described as a "deviant crossover with the devil in its heart."

The prose is a bit purple, but the description is fairly accurate. In designing the CX-9, Mazda has accomplished a difficult feat. It's a seven-person people-hauler that's safe, stylish, and spacious enough for carpooling and hauling bulky loads on the weekend—but also terrific fun to tool around in.

Driving Mazda's new crossover SUV, moreover, just became a little more fun. The CX-9 only came out a year ago as a 2007 model, but for '08, the company has juiced up its V-6 engine, raising its horsepower rating by 10 to 273 hp. The original CX-9 was quick; the '08 is a bit quicker. Adding to the new Mazda's driving appeal, the more powerful engine is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission with a manual function that lets you do the shifting yourself.

The CX-9's exterior styling reflects its sportiness. The big, 20-in., alloy, spoked wheels on the upscale Grand Touring model (18-in. wheels are standard on other versions) look like something designed for a Hot Wheels toy. The windshield is raked sharply forward, and the side windows become progressively narrower as they move toward the back above the vehicle's sculpted flanks.

The CX-9's safety rating, on the other hand, is decidedly mainstream suburban. The vehicle comes standard with stability and traction control, antilock brakes, and cabin-length side curtain air bags. It also earned five-star ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for both passenger and driver in frontal collisions, as well as for both front and rear passengers in side collisions, and a four-star rating for the risk of rollover.

The CX-9 has a few downsides. It isn't cheap, for one thing. The most basic Sport version starts at $29,995 with front-wheel drive and $31,295 with all-wheel drive. Next up the ladder is the Touring model ($32,210 FWD/$33,519 AWD), and top of the line is the Grand Touring ($33,950 FWD/$35,250 AWD). Start adding optional gear, such as a $2,650 rear-seat entertainment system with an upgraded Bose audio system, and the tab can easily top $40,000.

Fuel economy isn't great either. The '08 CX-9 is rated to get 15 mpg in the city and 21 on the highway with AWD, and 16 city and 21 highway with front-wheel drive. In 500 miles of mainly highway driving in my all-wheel-drive test vehicle, I only got 18.3 mpg. To my surprise, though, the owner's manual recommends inexpensive regular gasoline, rather than premium.

Still, rising gasoline prices haven't kept the CX-9 from being a hot seller. Mazda sold 22,501 CX-9s in North America during the first 11 months of 2007, which the company says "exceeded expectations." That's good news for troubled Ford (F), which controls Mazda.

The CX-9's sales are a drop in the bucket compared with Toyota's (TM) Highlander (BusinessWeek.com, 8/30/07), which saw its U.S. sales fall 4.5% to 113,164 during the same period. But the Mazda isn't far behind the 24,560 Buick Enclaves (BusinessWeek.com, 8/24/07) that General Motors (GM) has sold so far this year, though the Enclave only hit the market in June and is selling at a faster monthly clip.

Behind the Wheel

I liked the feel of the CX-9 from the first moment I slipped into the driver's seat. Mazda aims to become known for its fun-to-drive, sporty vehicles, and the CX-9 is a classic of the genre.

This is a big, heavy honker of a 4,500-lb. SUV, but it moves fast. I timed the CX-9 at about 7.6 seconds in accelerating from 0 to 60.