SUV Review: 2021 Mazda CX-9

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This is the top of the line Mazda. It has the highest MSRP of any vehicle Mazda will sell you, out-pricing even the most highly optioned of MX-5 RFs. But I wanted to know if the most expensive CUV sold by Mazda was also its best. Do you really get what you pay for?

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The CX-9 starts at $40,300 and comes in five trim levels GS, GS-L, GT, Kuro, and Signature. My tester was the top-trim Signature model which rang in at $52,300. The bottom three trims are seven-seaters with two, three, two seating and the top two are six-seaters with a permanent second row console. Second-row captain’s chairs are optional on GS-L and GT models. The Signature trim gets rosewood interior trim, special stitching on the steering wheel, piping and quilted stitching on the seats, and “upgraded” dual exhaust tips. You also get a leather interior in chestnut brown or pure white Nappa leather and an illuminated grille. The light-up grille is surprisingly tasteful and I see this becoming a larger trend on premium CUVs.

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No matter which trim you choose, you get the same powertrain and that’s a 2.5L turbocharged I4 paired to an automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. Mazda claims the engine makes 250 hp and 320 lb-ft of torque. And it does make that power if you run it on 93 octane which I assume very few will do. The more relevant figures are the 227 hp and 310 lb-ft it makes on 87 octane regular gas. Whichever fuel you choose, that’s a decent amount of power and a lot of torque from a four-cylinder.

It’s not just the engine that feels athletic, the CX-9 is a three-row that’s never been told it’s a three-row. Many CUVs this large can feel a little truck-like in normal driving but the CX-9 drives just like a big car. The visibility is good, the engine is willing, and it’s absent the porcine heft that you’d find in some of its larger contemporaries. If you’re someone that needs a lot of space but doesn’t like the way a big car/CUV feels, then the CX-9 should be high on your list to consider.

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And while the driving experience borders on exciting, the color palette is anything but. There are just six colours on offer and most of them are rather drab. Soul Red is the clear standout (a $450 extra) but the others are guaranteed to get lost in a parking lot. Normally I don’t complain about colour options but Mazda works so much harder than most mainstream brands to instill its cars with a sense of design that I find it odd they don’t have a similar enthusiasm for interesting colours. Regardless of what hue you choose, the CX-9 looks smart. Our tester wore a $300 coat of appropriately named “Machine Grey” paint.

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But three-row CUVs are all about interior accommodation and in this respect the CX-9 impresses. The rear two rows of seats fold completely flat if you ignore the optional rear-seat console sticking up among the folded seats like a low tropical island. But if one desires ultimate utility, you can simply select the second-row bench or delete the console. The third row seats are raised and lowered by hand without the assistance of electric motors. (Good heavens no! Must we use our hands?) While electric folding seats would be nice, I am sure it would add weight back into the car that Mazda is so careful to keep light on its feet.

The CX-9’s seats are mostly comfortable. They’re wonderfully soft, well trimmed, and in our Signature tester, they feature beautiful quilted stitching and accent piping. My only complaint with them is that no matter how I adjusted, it felt like the seat bottom wasn’t long enough and that my knees were too far from the edge of the seat bottom. Could just be a quirk of how I am shaped as a human but I haven’t noticed this issue in many other cars.

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The CX-9 also has a surprisingly good stereo. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the sound system in the CX-9. It easily surpasses the stereo found in some German CUVs that cost multiple times as much. It’s possibly one of the best stereos you can buy at this price point.

Overall the CX-9 is a fine flagship for the brand and it has all the hallmarks of what we love about Mazda. I like the unique exterior design, the user-focused interior, surprisingly good audio system, and its athletic handling. The CX-9 is the most car-like three-row crossover I’ve driven and I think that the people who will enjoy it most will be ones migrating from a smaller car, who want the extra space but don’t want to feel like they are captaining a ship.