My eldest, 17, is saving up for a car, but until she gets it, we share my SUV. I usually like to test-drive cars during a road trip, but this time I welcomed the opportunity to drive the 2018 Mazda CX-9 around town.
It was quite a relief not to have to coordinate schedules with my daughter. I was, for seven days, free to come and go as I pleased, and she didn’t have to ask me whether I needed the car (I feel I always do!) or not.
I love red cars, and this one is Soul Red Crystal Metallic, and looks just as fabulous or more in person as in the photos.
I thought I would mainly drive on my own, but the premium Bose sound system and the leather seats with climate control attracted the entire family.
We ended up going to a photo shoot for a client all together, and I asked my husband to take some photos of the kids and me.
My husband enjoyed the leather-wrapped steering wheel and the 6-way manual adjusted driver’s seat.
The MAZDA CONNECT™ Infotainment System was a big hit with everyone too.
It includes Multifunction Commander control, Pandora® internet radio integration, SMS text message audio delivery and reply and E911 automatic emergency notification.
The 2018 Mazda CX-9 safety features
I’m a big fan of safety features, and this is some of what the CX-9 packs in:
- Advanced front airbags with seat belt-use, passenger-weight sensors
- Front side-impact airbags and side-impact air curtains with rollover protection
- 3-point seat belts for all seating positions
- Front seat-belt pretensioners with force limiters
- Anti-lock Brake System with Electronic Brake force Distribution & Brake Assist
- Dynamic Stability Control with Traction Control System and Trailer Stability Assist
- Rearview camera
- Advanced blind spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alert
- Smart City Brake Support
- Side-impact door beams
- Engine-immobilizer anti-theft system
Also read: The 2017 Mazda 6, a smooth drive with a sleek design
Driving the 2018 Mazda CX-9 felt easy and even fun
I enjoyed a few solo trips too, like when I went to Lido beach in Sarasota for the morning, and driving it felt easy and even fun.
My regular car does not have the power button to open and close the hatch so I always love little pleasures like this that make hauling my beach umbrella and bag in and out of the car much easier.
The same goes for grocery shopping or taking the kids to their sports practices, when having to lug bags in and out of the trunk.
When we travel on the road, we sometimes need extra sitting room, especially when my sister comes to visit.
This time, since it was just us riding around our home town, we didn’t have to pull out the extra row of seats in the back. The Mazda CX-9 seats seven and we’re a family of five.
If I had to mention one thing I may not have liked about the car, for some reason we often had to open and shut a door again because it didn’t close the first time.
It happened more than once, and may have just been a glitch in this one vehicle. Maybe we’re just used to our regular cars and didn’t shut the doors with enough force.
It may be one of those things you just have to get the hang of over time.
But all in all, as an SUV lover, this was a fantastic drive and of course I wish it were all mine.
As usual, a huge thank you is due to MAZDA for allowing us to use and review their fabulous cars.
The entire family gets really excited every time we get one of these hot wheels to try out.
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