Monthly Update for December 2016 - 2016 Mazda CX-9 Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Monthly Update for December 2016 - 2016 Mazda CX-9 Long-Term Road Test

Our new 2016 Mazda CX-9 arrived partway through December, but it accumulated a significant number of miles straight away thanks to a holiday road trip to Oregon.

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kirkhilles1

23 HP change with Regular vs Premium? Wow. Seems hard to believe.

longtimelurker

87 to 93 octane is a big jump...cylinder pressures at higher rpm (which is where the difference is...no torque difference) mean that it will boost higher with the much better grade of gas. And this is even more pronounced in hot weather.

cameronr

Tracy's spot-on about being annoyed at the seat heaters staying on. Worse are vehicles (like the Ridgeline) with toggle switches, requiring a certain diligence to ensure settings are turned off after use. But at least the controls are prominently displayed somewhere near the dash. The worst offender of hidden seat controls, in my mind, was the Highlander. The dial was located aft of the shifter, just in front of the armrest. It's just not a typical place your eyes focus. I can't remember how many times I brought it back to the office after a weekend and saw the seat heater turned up full blast. Maybe full-time owners would train themselves to check these physical switches and dials, but it seems needlessly complicated to not have a multi-mode button that resets when the car is turned off.

s197gt

The seat heaters in our 2011 are terrible. On a really cold day they take forever to heat up. It has been a common complaint on the forums and it appears they refuse to fix it.

Also, the fuel mileage reports on the forums are generally not good. I really have no issues with the 'ol 3.7 Ford V6. Has enough power and I can get 20-22 mpg highway at 75-80 mph (depending on headwind). I'm giving up around 50 hp and gaining more torque (which it doesn't need) for 2 or 3 mpg??

The new CX-9 is a beautiful vehicle and the driving dynamics are great but... as of right now I don't see us upgrading to the next gen.

bankerdanny

On the other hand, if she's still at Edmund's, Donna the Seat Heater Queen is undoubtedly thrilled that the seat heaters don't reset when the key is turned on. I know I wish my SRX did that.

As far as fuel economy goes. My 2009 SRX V6 wouldn't get 23 with that load even on the flat roads of Illinois. So 4 full grown adults with luggage up and down mountains? 23 sounds pretty good.

ahightower

Toggle switches for seat heaters are great, IMO. Our Pathfinder had them, and you knew the heater would come on with remote start. In our new Kia, the seat heater turns off every time, yet the steering wheel heater sometimes does come on with remote start...