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Used 2019 Mazda CX-9 Consumer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

The automotive press loves the CX-9, here’s why…

Tom D, 04/17/2019
updated 10/14/2024
2019 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring 4dr SUV (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
173 of 175 people found this review helpful

The CX-9 is smaller than most vehicles in this segment but since I’m the only occupant 98% of the time it meets my needs. It’s arguably the best looking in terms of design and has the most luxurious interior of any other crossover in its class avoiding the excess of cheap plastic so common in other rides. The leather is superb, there’s real aluminum trim on the doors and dash, the knobs for the infotainment system are beautifully machined aluminum that you’d expect to see in German import costing thousands more. I was reluctant to move from a V6 to a turbo 4 cylinder but Mazda’s tuned this engine to perform and you’ll never notice the difference thanks to bountiful torque. You’d hope for better mileage but my experience in mixed driving so far is about 22-25 mpg. The chassis and suspension deliver exceptional handling and a quiet ride overall. Most autos today in the upper level trim include a suite of safety features which depending on the maker can be intrusive but not the Mazda. Lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise, reactive braking, blind spot monitoring, etc. are engaging and actually help you drive more safely rather than annoy you. The controversial engine start/stop alleged fuel saving feature is NOT found on the CX-9. The head’s up display is outstanding providing speed, speed limit info, safety suite feedback, and turn-by-turn directions from the nav system (unless you’re using Android Auto or Apple Car play for navigation). A 12 speaker Bose stereo is better than any factory system I’ve experienced in years. It’s not all perfect; the front cockpit is a little snug (more like a sports car than a SUV/mini-van), the front seats could have more adjustment and longer cushions for better thigh support (not a problem for me but taller drivers might notice), third row seating is a penalty box for other than small children (I just folded them down and expanded my cargo capacity), and interior cabin storage is very meager. The HVAC seems a little slow to heat/cool the interior but acceptable (the ventilated cooled seats do work very well), and the infotainment/nav is kind of clunky to use, looks dated in appearance (your opinion will depend on what your last car was), and is quite slow to boot up. I’ve never had a 360 degree camera so the Mazda’s is a useful novelty but as others have noted the resolution is poor which is surprising given how far miniature camera tech has advanced the past few years. The piano black trim around the shifter and door window switches is so fragile it will scratch just looking at it. Finally, if you’re into physical media the CX-9 does not offer a CD player available. Overall after a month of ownership I am enjoying my new Mazda and recommend it to those who need a crossover/SUV with more room than the 2-row models, but will rarely if ever need to put passengers in the very back. I researched mid-sized 3-row crossovers for over a year before making this purchase and highly recommend anyone shopping for any new vehicle spend a lot of time studying owner’s forums to get the straight scoop on potential problem areas. The Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring (FWD) beat out the Toyota Highlander Limited Platinum and Honda Pilot Touring in my evaluation. One Year Update: I've owned my CX-9 GT for just over a year now and it's been a trouble free pleasure to own. I've had no difficulties with this SUV and have a little over than 7K miles on it. Rides and handles great and the performance from the 4 cylinder turbo engine is brisk. My only annoyance is the sluggish boot up of the infotainment system; occasionally it won't load all of the Sirius/XM stations. Mileage on mostly rural backroads and highways is 22-24 MPG. 2 YEAR UPDATE: I'm starting on my 3rd year of ownership of the 2019 CX-9 GT with FWD and as I'm retired and with reduced activity in 2020 due to Covid only have 11,000 miles on the odometer. So far it's been a great vehicle, comfortable and sporty to drive for an SUV. Maintenance has thus far been routine oil/filter changes. The only thing I've had an issue with are the automatic folding side mirrors. Sometimes when the car is unlocked and the mirrors are fully deployed when I open the door they will either close completely or start to close then reopen. They never do this when the car is running or I'm driving, just when parked and the engine is off. There is a TSB about the auto folding mirrors which my VIN is covered under but the dealership couldn't reproduce the problem and couldn't find anything wrong. Other than that it's been a good experience. 3 YEAR UPDATE: I'm a little over 15K miles on my CX-9 and it continues to perform just fine. On the last routine service I had the original battery checked and it failed; the dealership replaced it under warranty. I'm still on the OEM tires. Mileage this past winter has varied from 22-25 MPG which is as good as I get. One red flag for potential pre-owned buyers is that on the Mazda 24/7 owners forum I'm following an ongoing thread about issues with this generation CX-9 with the turbo 4-cyl. Some owners are having coolant leaks due to an engine defect which requires a major repair and in some cases an entire new engine. It seems earlier model years or those with higher mileage are involved but I'm monitoring this situation closely. Caveat emptor. 4 YEAR UPDATE: I've got a little over 20K miles on my 2019 CX-9 GT FWD and continue to enjoy pretty much trouble free motoring. The electric folding mirrors continue to do strange things, the passenger side mirror stopped folding all the way in when locking the vehicle for a few months this past winter and the dealer couldn't find a problem. Lately it has been operating normally? Mileage remains about the same around 22-23 MPG and occasionally 24-25 on longer highway trips. As mentioned last time, engine problems with this generation Mazda CX-9 turbo 4 are well documented on owner's forums like Mazda 24/7; specifically a coolant leak due to a cracked cylinder head or an oil leak with both often requiring a complete engine replacement costing thousands. This is happening in higher mileage CX-9's and since they are out of warranty the owner is having to eat the cost in most cases. There are TSB's out on this known problem but no recall and affected owners are not happy. I'd advise anyone considering buying a used 2016-2022 CX-9 to do some homework on these owner's forums and know what you are getting into. I plan to ride this out until I replace my car in early 2025 since I don't drive that much and hope the lower mileage and wear and tear will spare me this problem. 5-YEAR UPDATE: Not much else to report, at ~24K miles I continue to have no difficulties with this vehicle other than the few issues with the side mirrors I've reported on before. Once in awhile the Sirius/XM tuner fails to boot up and I have to stop/re-start the car or go online and have Sirius/XM send the authentication code to the radio but this a rare occurrence. I still plan to replace it come spring 2025. 5.5 YEAR UPDATE: I'm at ~28.5K miles and am not having any problems other than what I've documented above. Mileage remains unchanged. My plan is to replace this vehicle at the 6-year mark in February. I will not be getting another Mazda because of the engine issues described earlier in other CX-9's and I looked at the CX-90 and find the interior storage space to be even worse than the CX-9.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Interior
4 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
4 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

Undercover Luxury SUV

Leroy Johnson, 11/02/2018
2019 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring 4dr SUV (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
162 of 166 people found this review helpful

I love my new 2019 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring trim SUV. The interior is on par with luxury brand SUVs. I looked at the Acura RDX and MDX and couldn’t justify paying the extra money for a vehicle with comparable equipment for 10K more. The ride is very quiet with very little if any road noise. My 2016 RDX had much more road noise. The handling is impressive but the ride is a little stiffer than my Acura. I think that is due to the fact Mazda concentrates on handling first then comfort. The ride is still very comfortable and bumps are absorbed nicely. The heads up display is my favorite feature. You literally never have to take your eyes off the road with all the information displayed on the heads up display. The sign recognition is awesome. The overall styling (which is very subjective) is very classy and compares to more expensive SUV with fit and finish. Power is adequate but nothing to brag about. If speed is important than there are probably better choices. I personally like the overall balance between the ride, handling, quiet Interior, power, and styling (inside and out). The Mazda CX-9 is a great SUV with plenty of room for most and all the bells and whistles most luxury SUVs in higher trim level posses. If you want to spend the money for a luxury brand name go for it. If you want the most value for your money and still get all the bells and whistles, then you can’t beat the CX-9.

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5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

Richard, 09/29/2018
2019 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
90 of 92 people found this review helpful

Just picked it up after owning a cx5 for a year. Where I felt the cx5 lacked, the cx9 picks up the slack in refinement and luxury. It is truly a joy to drive. Styling inside and out is well thought out and outside of the same old same old in mid sized suv’s. The addition of the ventilated front seats is what I was waiting for. Apple car play is another plus. This car is a head turner. My only wish is that the driver seat had a couple inches more in width for us big fellas!

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5 out of 5 stars

Love at first drive. Long term affair

Mike Knibbs, 06/06/2019
updated 06/10/2020
2019 Mazda CX-9 Signature 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
62 of 63 people found this review helpful

I’d owned a grand Cherokee (nice power, ok ride, poor fuel, poor seats) and a Yukon (great utility, good power, blah driving, aweful gas mileage). Test drove Honda Pilot, Ford Explorer). Dismissed Volvo and Audi on cost and reliability. No opinion of Mazda till I drove it. Instant smiles. Now, a year or so in. I still smile. The torque is delightful. Like a diesel without clatter and smoke. It pulls, it has superb throttle response in traffic and really nice midrange response. It does not like being pushed hard. It gets a little buzzy or rorty. Nothing really objectionable but it’s not throaty like a good V8 or rev you like a good v4 or straight 6. But it’s damn good. Seats are good but not class leading. But I regularly drive from San Francisco to Bandon, Oregon (8 or 9 hours) and get out with no fatigue. That’s a combo of ride, quiet and seat comfort. Would buy again without hesitation.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
4 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

Amazing bang for the buck!

Cfed57, 06/11/2019
2019 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
24 of 24 people found this review helpful

I leased a grand touring model with AWD in black with beige/black gut. My wife and I went to a car show and was wowed compared to many models. We immediately went to a dealer and test drove it. We were hooked. I’ve driven more expensive name brand models and dollar for dollar this truck is comparable but mostly exceeded expectations. Fit and finish is excellent. The drive is addictive. The car company is strictly Japanese owned and made. Once Ford got out of the picture the quality and engineering has excelled. My only regret is I wish I went for the signature model. Too many features to list in grand touring. You will not be disappointed.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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