This weekend my family made a quick blast up to Sacramento, California, in the 2008 Mazda CX-9. For this trip, my youngest daughter brought a friend along, so we got to try it out with five aboard. Since we're kind people, we didn't make anyone sit on "the hump" for the 1,000-mile round trip. The CX-9's split-fold third row got a real-world tryout...
Since this was to be a three-day, two-night trip, we could get by with condensed luggage. With the biggest suitcases alongside (two carry-on roller bags,) my eldest daughter volunteered to take the back seat. Frankly, I think she liked the idea of a private space to herself and easy access to her stuff.
It all fit well, but everything was soft sided and malleable. I don't think we could travel for more than three nights like this--not unless we planned on doing laundry along the way and left everyone's favorite pillows behind. With our usual complement of four family members, we could stay out for weeks.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 10,976 miles
altimadude00 says:
10:53 PM, 04/ 6/08
I remember taking month long journeys in my family's 1989 Plymouth Grand Voyager. It just seems to me that (although it was just four people in it) we were more comfortable in our van. It looks like they've stuffed the Mazda to the gills.
Which is the better road tripping machine? Dodge Grand Caravan or Mazda CX9?
samuraichkn says:
11:13 PM, 04/ 6/08
im pretty sure the caravan would be slightly better suited for a 5 person road trip. however, the cx-9 is far better looking and better to drive in imo. i would take the cx-9 over most minivans though
7driver says:
11:44 PM, 04/ 6/08
Caravan or CX9? Use the 80/20 rule. If 80% of the time you need to carry 5+ people but need more luggage space than what's available for a roadtrip only 20% of the time, get the CX9 plus a roof rack. If more than 20%, then get the Caravan. This assumes you find the CX9 more attractive than the Caravan outside of the carrying capacity, of course.
ahightower says:
06:50 AM, 04/ 7/08
Yeah, I just don't get it. You can't even fit a week's worth of groceries back there. And cargo space aside, I think it would be a nuisance to fold that seat all the time. Much prefer the Buick's 2nd row buckets so that you can walk through to the rear.
I guess if the third row comes into play only occasionally, it would be nice to have this over the CX-7 which only gets 1 mpg more. But nobody with three or more kids would want to live with this thing on a daily basis.
So, how was the third row seat comfort for your older daughter, once she got back there?
actualsize says:
08:54 AM, 04/ 7/08
She liked it, actually. It's a 50/50 split, so width wasn't a problem. And I made sure not to stack stuff right up to the edge of the folded seat, leaving her a ledge for her things. Never heard a peep out of her.
But the middle row occupants were 9 years old, so I was able to slide those seats forward a notch to make sure she had legroom back there. Had they been adults, she'd still have fit but might have felt cramped. The lack of a walk-through does make it cave-like.
Her only complaint was that the diameter of the cupholders was too small for the 20 oz. bottles of water we bought along the way--the smallest size sold in most gas station mini-marts.