Living la vida large. The Mazda CX-9 is something no one expected when it was first launched. Right on the breaking edge of the interest of large SUV’s when it was first launched in this country, few people gave the CX-9 many odds on its survival.
It was, after all, a seven-seater which arrived at a time when petrol was rumoured to be in for a massive price hike and there was no diesel option even on the drawing boards. The CX-9 was – and indeed, still is – an exclusive petrol-only SUV.
The market leader in the segment is an exclusive petrol offering, but it has the advantage of rental fleet business to shore up its 19 percent market share. The other contenders have in their favour, a mix of diesel or petrol engines.
Those of a statistical bent will note CX-9 closed off in 4th position for 2018 with 7.5 percent market share in segment, but did so without a diesel alternative, and without benefit of rental business.
In 2019, CX-9 fits within the Mazda product portfolio as an excellent example of SkyActiv technology, which embraces all aspects of vehicle design from optimised engines and transmissions, through to body and chassis dynamics.
The current iteration of the CX-9 runs a more compact and efficient petrol engine from the preceding 3.7 litre V6. Today, under-bonnet inspectors will find a 2.5 litre turbocharged inline four which generates slightly less kW power output but vastly increased torque than the thirstier six.
The SkyActiv-tweaked six-speed transmission also differs from the first-generation model, and the dynamics have also seen greater improvements, thanks to a longer wheelbase and shorter body, which has allowed for an increase in passenger cabin space.
Today’s CX-9 is also lighter than the original, making it less ponderous than the first-generation models and in terms of handling, a SkyActiv-enhanced AWD system as found across the CX-9 range should make this seven-seater Mazda an ideal; out to the back-of-beyond family tourer, with plenty of space, plenty of style and plenty of Zoom Zoom.
SkyActiv does embrace safety tech too. When it first arrived, the CX-9’s most dramatic safety feature – over the di rigeur ABS, multiple airbag, ESP suite – was a new thing called FCW, or forward collision mitigation system.
This basically sent out a radar beam from the front of the vehicle and if it ‘saw’ another object (vehicle, tree, whatever) it beeped and put a visual “brake” cue on the dashboard for the driver who should have pulled over for a nap about 45 minutes ago.
At the time, this sort of tech connected the car with the brakes as well on top-of-the-line $100k+ cars, but the CX-9 didn’t quite make this threshold. In a very short span of time however, Mazda has gone from intermediate school safety to university safety in one smooth generation of CX-9.
There is one other upgrade to the 2019 CX-9, which most will be unaware of. It is the one feature this vehicle needed to get Mazda’s biggest SUV onto the one, two, three pedestal it was this: TAKAMI grade.
We first saw TAKAMI grade with last year’s CX-8 and refreshed Mazda6, and what a difference the odd-sounding grade makes.
TAKAMI literally translates to “height or elevated place” it is effectively, the best and then one step higher –TAKAMI is higher than LTD, by virtue of the materials used.
We are seeing TAKAMI grade vehicles appearing in other Mazda product lines, but interestingly Mazda chose to showcase the new grade in its hero product passenger car – Mazda6 – and its hero SUV CX-9, which share the same engines and the same changes to the underpinnings – shorter body and a longer wheelbase.
What does this mean? Basically, TAKAMI grade lifts all Mazda models in keeping with the advancement seen through SkyActiv tech. Now Mazda’s have the spec to match the tech, which should restimulate consumer analysis when it comes to making informed buying decisions.
Specifications:
Body type Five-door SUV
Drive All-wheel drive
Engine type 4-cylinder, turbocharged petrol
Engine capacity 2488cc
Max power 170kW @ 5000rpm
Max torque 420Nm @ 2000rpm
l/100km (Combined) 8.8 litres
C02 emissions 206
Boot capacity 230 to 810 litres
ANCAP rating 5 star
Price $67,895
