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The new Mazda CX-9 is one stunning three-row SUV with a capable engine, rich interior, and a galore of features offered in an affordable package.
If you're someone looking for a family vehicle with decent passenger hauling capacity, a well-furnished interior, and decent power, modern three-row crossover SUVs should be the ideal type of vehicle for you. They are smaller and lighter than three-row crossover SUVs and are easy to handle and park inside the city. They also offer decent power, towing, and cargo capacities, which make them great performers for modern families.
While most three-row crossover SUVs emphasize offering buyers practicality, the Mazda CX-9 steps up its ante with a sharp character, a sumptuous cabin, and a bonkers number of standard features. Mazda has recently launched the 2023 CX-9 to take on some well-established names like the Kia Telluride and Ford Explorer. The 2023 Mazda CX-9 arrives with a starting price of $38,750 and a set of five trims. The most pressing question remains, "Which Trim of the 2023 CX-9 Serves Best?"
Mazda has stuffed all trims of the 2023 CX-9 with plenty of standard features, making each trim a bang for the buck. However, we recommend the Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring because it is cheaper than the Signature model and for its excellent price-to-power and feature ratio. Below, we tell you the best 2020 Mazda CX-9 trim to buy this year.
Related: This Is The Best Feature Of The 2023 Mazda CX-9
Under the hood, all CX-9 trims have the same Skyactiv-G 2.5 Turbo four-cylinder engine coupled to a six-speed automatic gearbox with manual mode. The Skyactiv engine also has two additional tuning options. When using regular 87 octane fuel, the engine produces 227 hp and 310 b-ft of torque; when using premium 93 octane fuel, the power figures rise to 250 hp and 320 lb-ft of torque.
Mazda claims that the CX-9 accelerates from zero to sixty miles per hour in 7.1 seconds and gets 22 MPG in the city and 28 MPG on the highway. Packed with a 19.5-gallon fuel tank, the CX-9 offers a range of 507 miles on the highway.
Related: These New Three-Row SUVs Have The Best Gas Mileage
Mazda has thoughtfully designed the CX-9’s cabin to offer sufficient space and comfort to the occupants. Although the most affordable trim is filled with features and creature comforts, Mazda has equipped the upper-costlier models with a bigger roster of features to upgrade the existing level of comfort to a richer level.
To start with the design, the CX-9 Grand Touring’s cabin is designed to offer good functionality and homely comfort inside. The dashboard design is sleek and is covered with soft leatherette materials to elevate the overall appeal and hide the plastic surfaces. In addition, some interior parts, like door panels, center armrests, and other cabin parts, are decorated with wooden inserts and uniquely designed aluminum trim. The controls are intuitive, tidily placed, and made of good quality plastic.
The CX-9 GT’s cabin offers impressive space, with 135.8 ft3 and space for seven passengers on offer. The GT’s cockpit offers plenty of adjustment options so that the driver and the front passenger can adjust according to their preference. The cockpit features a 7-inch LCD cluster and a leather-wrapped, heated steering wheel mated to a power-adjustable steering column.
The front features an 8-way power driver seat and a 6-way power front passenger seat with lumbar support, two-position memory, heating, and cooling. The second row comes standard with foldable and heated bench seats, but you can upgrade to heated captain’s chairs as a no-cost option. The seats come covered with soft leather, and they offer superb support for longer durations.
The GT’s front row is roomier, with 40.1-inches of headroom and 41 inches of legroom. The second row offers 35.8-inches of headroom and 39.4-inches of legroom for delivering adequate space to taller passengers. The third row, however, offers only 35.4-inches of headroom and 29.7-inches of legroom, making them ideal for teens and children.
Mazda has equipped the CX-9’s cabin with an impressive set of infotainment features. All models feature a 10.25-inch full HD touchscreen, voice command function, Pandora radio, automatic 911 emergency notification, HD Radio, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and a wireless charger.
The GT model, being the second most expensive trim, adds more value with a 12-speaker Bose premium audio system, HD Radio, SiriusXM satellite radio, SiriusXM Traffic and Travel Link, and most importantly, a navigation system with voice and destination assist system.
Like every other Mazda vehicle, the CX-9 is highly safe. Mazda has built on a reliable platform, which has helped the CX-9 acquire the "Top Safety Pick+" in the 2022 model year. All trims come equipped with a blindspot monitor with rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeps assist, lane departure warning, smart city brake support with pedestrian detection, front collision warning, radar cruise control with stop and go, and plenty more features.
The GT trim adds a 360-degree camera, front, and rear park assist, driver attention monitoring, smart braking, an active driving display (HUD), and traffic sign recognition. So, buying the GT trim will offer more driving control and better safety.
The 2023 Mazda CX-9 offers decent cargo capacity with a spacious cargo trunk mounted at its rear. With all three rows in place, the rear offers 14.4 cubic feet of standard cargo space, enough for loading two to three medium-sized bags. The third-row seats, once folded, provide 38.2 ft3, sufficient space for loading the belongings of five passengers.
However, if you need more space, the interior offers a massive 71.2 cubic feet of total cargo space behind the front seats. In addition to these, the GT model offers a rear power liftgate with hands-free function as standard.
Apart from the CX-9 itself, we recommend you outfit the car with all-weather floor mats, an interior lighting kit, and a cargo tray. In addition, if you intend to take the CX-9 on an adventure, the optional Thule Canyon Kit would be useful.
Sourav hails from Siliguri, a city very close to the Himalayas in the northern part of West Bengal, India. Anything that has to do with wheels fascinates him. He has a soft spot for Lexus and BMW. He rides a Royal Enfield Thunderbird and is often seen with his group of friends in nearby hill stations. He also loves doing photography and making music. After working with CARHP and CAR INDIGO for more than 15 months, he joined HotCars to continue in automotive writing. He's currently crushing upon the Triumph Tiger 1200.