CX-9 lets suburbanites ditch safari dreams

Dan Carney • E-mail

After a decade or so of preparation, Americans have discovered that even though many of them own rough-and-tumble four-wheel-drives, most of them are not going to be summoned away on safari.

It’s time to pack up the brush guards and switch off the roof lights. The Crocodile Hunter is dead, and so are the bush-whacking fantasies of many suburbanites. They are abandoning long-standing favorites like the Ford Explorer in search of better fuel economy, tauter handling and a more car-like driving experience.

Suburban drivers still want their three rows of seats to pack in soccer teammates, but they want it in a vehicle that doesn’t have quite the thirst for fuel of a muscular, V8-powered SUV. Automakers are rushing to meet that demand with a host of crossover vehicles, which blend the ride and style of a passenger vehicle with the practicality of a SUV.

Mazda has jumped into the game early with the stylish and thoughtfully detailed CX-9. With three rows and seven seats, this full-size crossover SUV is larger than the popular two-row, five-seat CX-7, which was released late last year. Both wagons share similar racy looks, shunning the box-it-came-in SUV uniform.

After a decade of turning up their noses at anything that looked too much like a station wagon and too little like an armored personnel carrier, customers are embracing wagons. The crossover segment has grown to 15 percent of the overall U.S. vehicle market, while SUV sales are slumping, down from a high of 17 percent in 2003 to 14 percent in 2006, according to the Power Information Network, which tracks industry data.

Mazda The interior of Mazda’s CX-9 wins the prize for ingenuity and convenience with its nicely designed second- and third-row seats.

The CX-9’s engine power output is about average for the crossover segment, giving it quick acceleration, and its interior is nicely appointed, with good materials and a flowing style that make it a solid threat to near-luxury competitors from Acura and Volvo, although the Honda Pilot and the Toyota Highlander are its true natural enemies. Think of the CX-9 as an upmarket contender, like the VW Touareg, but with a lower price — starting at $29,035 — and better gas mileage.

The top-selling example of the old guard, the Ford Explorer, gets 15 miles per gallon in the city and 21 on the highway in the EPA’s fuel economy test in two-wheel-drive form, with either the standard V6 or optional V8 engine.

The CX-9, with its comparable family-hauling utility but reduced trailer towing capacity, is rated 18 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway. In day-to-day driving you can reasonably expect to get 16 mpg for the Explorer and 19 mpg for the CX-9, so you’ll enjoy nearly 20 percent better gas mileage without trading away any car pool practicality.

Inside the CX-9’s passenger cabin, Mazda wins the prize for ingenuity and convenience with its second- and third-row seats.

The second row is split 60/40, so the center and right seats are in one unit and the left seat is separate, and both sides slide fore and aft, letting the occupants divide the available leg room as needed between the second row and the third “way back” seat. The second row seats also recline, letting passengers find a comfortable angle instead of having to sit as upright as a Sunday School teacher.

More importantly, the CX-9’s second-row seats feature fat, easy-to-reach handles on the sides of the seatbacks that release the seats so they can slide forward and out of the way when someone wants to climb into the third row. Too often, SUVs and crossovers don’t have sliding seats, or it’s hard to find the release mechanism. Fixed second-row seats make third-row access hard, and it’s impossible to adjust the legroom between the rows, as needed.

MORE FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT

The Driver's Seat Section Front

Automakers turn to safety to sell cars CEO lays out ambitious Chrysler road map Plug-ins rev up; are consumers ready? As Toyota tips, VW steers for the top Battle of the ultrapremium automakers Toyota's reputation takes a pounding Saturn’s sudden death marks end of dream Automakers go ‘camo’ to thwart spy shots Automakers to lose stars in new crash tests Mazda giving green twist to rotary engine The Driver's Seat Section Front   Add The Driver's Seat headlines to your news reader: