I received this car for one week to review in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.

I haven’t been a fan of Mazda’s in the past but the CX-9 has really surprised me. It is a 7-person SUV with a third row perfect for zooming around in. Mazda is known as the “Zoom Zoom” brand and this model did not disappoint.

Features:

• Roomy – this model does have a third row and was roomy enough for my family of five. I will say for teens and adults, it would be tight for the third row but for occasional trips it is nice to have the option to fit those two extra people back there.

• Small trunk – So I found this trunk to be too small for us if we had the third row up but luckily the seats folded down super fast and easy. For quick grocery trips it is fine but when I did a big grocery run, I had to put the seats down to fit everything. Also, my son plays hockey and his hockey bag would not fit back there with the seats up.

• SKYACTIV 2.5T Turbo Engine – I found this car had nice pickup and zoomed around my town nicely.
• Controls pop up on window – Look closely at the picture below and you can see the speed limit (45) and the navigation directions (turn right in .3 miles) – If its not the map then its your speed that pops up. Super convenient to not keep your eyes off the road.

• Nice controls for heat and butt warmers

• Rain-sensing windshield wipers – This is a feature that I found because some drops landed on the windshield and it was a nice surprise.
• Rear controls for heat/air – This is so nice so the middle row has good airflow and can control it themselves

• LED headlights with auto on/off – yeah for not remembering/forgetting to turn the lights on!
• Sporty design – I feel like it was much bigger too on the inside that it looked

• Great warranty – 60 month/60,000 mile powertrain and 36 month/36,000 bumper-to-bumper
• Tire pressure monitoring system – Do you check your tires regularly? I don’t and honestly getting a flat tire freaks me out. I love that this alerts the driver to low tires.

• Powerful BOSE speakers everywhere

• Keyless entry – This is becoming pretty standard and I love it. Being able to keep my car keys in my purse or pocket means I don’t have to dig them out. You just push a button on the door when you are nearby and it senses the keys.

• USB and Outlet

• Push Button Engine Start – Again this becoming standard but it goes along with keyless entry and is a convenience thing.

• Touch-Screen Navigation/Entertainment System – This navigation was super easy to use and I didn’t need a manual to figure out. It is a little weird to get used to sitting up on the dashboard but it is at a good viewing angle. Most of the time though you use this knob in the middle to control it.

• 20 MPG City and 26 MPG Highway
• Sensors everywhere – Backup, lane departure, brake support and more!

• All-weather floor mats – This is an extra cost but honestly one that I think is worth it and will keep your car looking better for longer.

While many features are becoming standard on cars, it is nice to not have to pay for so many extras. This car was about $48,000 loaded with the features above (and then some) and I think you do pay more for having the third row. While I did mention how small the trunk was I did like that we had the option to cart around my kid’s friends with us to activities when we didn’t need the trunk. Overall, the car drove nicely and even my husband said it was a smooth ride.  I feel like it drove the best out of all the Mazda’s I have driven and had features I didn’t expect from a Mazda.

Check out the 2017 Mazda CX-9 to learn more.