Exterior

The CX-9 manages to avoid the chunkiness of many SUVs, in part because of its angular nose and car-like honeycomb grille. The SUV's beltline rises as it heads rearward, and the sides are free of cladding. Sport and Touring models have 18-inch wheels, while the Grand Touring version wears 20-inch wheels. Available features include a power liftgate, high-intensity-discharge headlights, rain-sensing windshield wipers and turn-signal repeaters in the side mirror housings. CX-9s have a four-wheel-independent suspension and front and rear stabilizer bars.

    See also:

    Moonroof
    The moonroof can be opened or closed electrically only when the ignition switch is in the ON position. WARNING: Do not let passengers stand up or extend part of the body through the open moonr ...

    The Inside
    Because of its preproduction status, Mazda warned that there might be some imperfect trim pieces in the cabin, but our CX-9 held up well to our scrutiny. Sport models have cloth seats, and the fir ...

    Transmissions
    The 2.3-litre MZR petrol comes standard with a new five-speed manual transmission that employs multi-cone synchronizers and a new cable shift system, which reduces shift effort and provides for sh ...