Need a three-row SUV? Uninspired by your options? The Mazda CX-9 might be it.

Who doesn't love perfect lighting? (Image c/o Mazda USA.)

It was 2018. My wife and I received the news that we would be expecting our first bundle of joy by Thanksgiving.  What does that mean to most suburbanites?  Well, in the U.S. it apparently means that its time to shop for an SUV.  No matter that a traditional sedan can still handle almost everything you need, or that a modern luxury-sport wagon (see 5-series and E-class) can haul everything a crossover SUV can, while being 10x better to drive. Nope, apparently the high seating position and road presence of these modern family haulers lends itself as the default answer for your soccer-mom needs. Are we going off-road with all this ground clearance and utility? Oh, you meant the speed bumps at Whole Foods....sigh...

I know a little about cars and what's available out there. I also know that a modern day car-based three-row crossover is not the do-it-all answer that most people think it is. In fact a mini-van is still king in this arena.  But I'm also no dummy and I know how the saying goes: "Happy wife, happy life."  So SUV it was.

Here's the caveat: No matter the brand - luxury or mainstream - three-row SUV's in general are promoted by describing their spaciousness, utility, practicality, and.....that's about it.  Unless you are cross-shopping in the $70K+ ball park where there are some genuine performance-minded options, the driver typically has to deal with mundane steering, ho-hum acceleration, and wallowy ride manners that will put not just the occupants to sleep, but the driver as well!  Make no mistake, there are plenty of great driving two-row SUV options now. However, I learned that if you look for it, you can find a three-row SUV that does not conform to the stereotypes.  It keeps the driver in mind. It inspires confidence in case the road gets a little twisty or an opening on a two-lane road presents itself. It doesn't break the bank. It doesn't sacrifice much in space and utility to its competitors. It just knows that more often than not, there will be one to three people in the car, not 7, and so it should be designed accordingly.

2 rows down. Errands are so easy now. Insert eye-roll.

Enter Mazda.  Going off of their driver-focused formula for years, Mazda decided it was time to punch upmarket.  In 2016, it revealed the redesigned CX-9, it's flagship SUV.  Their new approach to car design, called "Kodo", has taken the brand to the next level.  Rave review after rave review on its exterior and interior styling, as well as the driving dynamics to back it up, definitely perked my attention when I first saw it at the L.A. Auto Show three years ago.  This new design language has now permeated through Mazda's entire lineup with the 3 and 6 sedans, and the award winning CX-5 all receiving the same essential look and feel: clean lines, high quality materials, and distinct, handsome styling that sets itself apart without any manufactured gaudiness.  Having a Mazda badge as opposed to a luxury marque allows it to compete at the price points of the likes of the Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, VW Atlas, and Nissan Pathfinder.  But get in it, drive it, observe the fit and finish of the interior, the quality of the paint, and the performance of the drivetrain, and you'll realize that you are now comparing this thing to competitors in the premium brand arena.

Fun fact: the second row slides fore and aft, and one seat can be pushed forward to access the rear while a car seat remains in place. Clever. (Image c/o of Mazda USA)

For an SUV priced around $43K, equipped in Grand Touring or Signature trim levels, it's a looker. Proportioned quite handsomely with nicely finished 20" multi spoke wheels to fill up the wheel wells, led lighting inside and out, and clean styling cues, the Mazda feels unique to the segment. Soft touch materials on the dash and doors, knobs and buttons with weight in their movements, real aluminum as opposed to plastic with paint, and perforated leather that is quite supple and comfortable for long drives; to me this all felt like sitting in a Japanese Audi. Only the current iterations of the Volvo XC60 and XC90 are more universally lauded in their interiors. (Side note: the Volvo options were high on our list, but I paused to wait and see how their now Chinese built drive trains will hold up over time.)

In all black its quite austere and a bit claustrophobic. Going two-tone opens it up nicely, IMO.

It was a couple of years after I started to see these models on the road that my wife happened to take notice.  Parked on a side street near a cafe in Newport Beach, she saw the new Mazda and asked: "Is that the CX-9 from the auto show you dragged me to?"

I confirmed, as we slowed down to take a closer look. "What do you think of it?" 

"I like it," she responded. "Looks pretty good. Hmm..."

From then on, I knew that we'd probably end up in one.

And so we ended up choosing a "Grand Touring" trim level CX-9 in Machine Grey with Sand Interior. The dark exterior paint looks elegant at dusk when the rest of the LED lamps switch on.  The interior has just the right amount of contrasting color in the cabin to break up the austerity of black on the dash, console, roof, and floor.  The proportions are excellent for a big vehicle. The transmission shifts smoothly and is always in the right gear given the driving situation. And that engine: Holy cow, I didn't know a turbo 4 cylinder can move a big SUV like this and chirp the tires off the line on command.

Kudos to Mazda's tuning engineers in recognizing that the majority of SUV buyers are going to want to feel the surge of power at lower and mid-range RPM levels and are never going to reach peak power at high RPMs like the competition's V6's do.  Even I was skeptical of its ability until my first test drive. Hustle it along, and the CX-9 does that thing that German cars do when you move quickly - its size starts to shrink while it eats up the road. And after we did buy it, one of the first things we did was carry 7 adults through the hills of Malibu on a hot summer day while the car, sorry, SUV, performed admirably without any signs of strain.

Is it perfect? No. There are some configurations and settings that don't make sense to me, the AWD system is old-school technology (so much so that we opted with FWD) and the front seat cushion is slightly shorter than ideal for my frame. Some of the competition has also since caught up to the CX-9, now that is approaching 4 years since its debut (i.e. the 2017+ Acura MDX performs quite respectably, but without the character of the Mazda). But mainly, its still too big for my taste as a daily driver. That's no fault of Mazda though; they have simply provided their version of what the market is asking for. And the qualms I've had with some of the features have been rectified with the 2019 updates, so Mazda is showing that they do listen to the feedback of their customers. Plus the wife loves it, so who am I to complain?

If you have to get yourself into an SUV, and like me you dread what its going to be like to drive, I would highly suggest checking out Mazda's latest offerings. And then go compare it to the usual competition. If you find it the same as we did, then you too might become a fan as you leave the dealer:  "Zoom zoom", baby.