2018 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring Review: Powerful & Fun!

The 2018 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring is unlike any SUV you ever drove before. Yes, it’s big. Yes, it’s powerful. But it’s also super fun to drive. We got the chance to test drive one for a week. We drove it around our hometown in West Virginia and then to Washington D.C. Let me tell you, this car dominates the road!

I’m going to share my favorite features of this SUV, as well as a ton of pics of it and information you will need to know before you buy one. 

2018 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring Specs

First, let’s look at the quick stats of the Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring. The important stuff, like price and gas mileage!

• MPG – Up to 22 city / 28 highway
• Towing Capacity – up to 3,500 pounds
• MSRP: From $42,270
• Horsepower: 250 Horsepower
• USB Ports: 4 USB inputs, 2 in front 2 in back
• Three Zone Climate Control with Pollen Filter
• Rear Window Defogger With Timer

The Tech Features

There are way too many features for me to name in my post. But I’m going to highlight my favorites! If you want to do your research before you buy, read the complete list of specs on the Mazda website. 

Active Driving Display or Head Up Display

I seriously wish I had a way to take a video of this display while I was driving. All the information this display projects onto the road while I am driving are amazing! Here are a few things I relied on most with the Heads Up Display:

• Turn by Turn Navigation
• My speed (and alerts if I am speeding)
• Lane Assist (and alerts if I cross the line)
• Upcoming street names

I really miss this now that the Mazda went back. I felt like having the display on the road in front of me kept my eyes on the road and helped me stay more focused on my driving. 

Lane Assist

It’s almost embarrassing to admit that I used this feature! Yes, I tend to hug the shoulder when I drive. Lane Assist vibrates the steering wheel and puts an alert in the Active Driving Display when I cross the line. This is especially helpful when I am getting to know a new car. Eventually I got to know more about the Mazda CX-9 and didn’t cross the lines at all.

Heated Seats In The Back Too!

In the front, you can choose between heated and cooled seats. (My current minivan only has heated seats – I’m jealous!) It’s like luxury to never have to worry about a seat being too hot or cold. I’m never going to get a car that doesn’t offer this from now on, it’s way too nice to give up!

I was actually surprised that the back seats offer this too! Yup, so now anyone sitting in the back can control their own heated seats! 

Back Up Camera

This is a giant SUV, and I definitely realized its large size when I was backing it up. Thank goodness for the back up camera! This is especially nice when there are tall kids in the back that make it difficult to see. 

Infotainment

The display is all futuristic. It looks like it is rising out of the dashboard. When I first saw the screen, I was expecting it to hide in the dashboard every time I turned the car off and then rise up when I turned the car on. Sadly, this isn’t this case. It just sits there.

But what it does is still pretty phenomenal. It’s touch screen but also has a knob by the gear shift so the driver doesn’t have to take his/her eyes off the road. This is forward thinking! 

I like how intuitive it is.

One minor bit of honesty: I’m not a fan of the navigation. I prefer Waze or Google Maps. It’s a personal preference thing. I really like how the Google Maps interface looks and how Waze notifies me of traffic. 

Mazda CX-9 Storage Capacity

This thing can haul a lot of stuff and still have room for people! The seats are incredibly simple to fold down for more room. And when your hands are full of groceries, it has a button that will close the rear hatch. 

This could be good or bad, depending on your opinion.  The spare tire is located right behind the third row. It’s super easy to reach – which is fantastic! But…it takes room away from more storage space. I kept thinking about how much stuff I could fit in that space if they put the tire somewhere else. 

How Many People Does the Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring Seat? 

The 2018 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring comfortably fits 7 people. The third row is roomy enough for adults, but it only has 2 seatbelts.

The middle row can safely fit 3 people, or the middle seat has a console that can flip down with USB ports and cupholders. 

Mazda CX-9 Is Fun To Drive

I felt like such a badass driving this thing! It’s incredibly powerful and the ride is sooooo smooth! The steering wheel has everything I need:

• Bluetooth controls
• Active Driving Display Controls
• Cruise Control
• Control How close you follow cars on cruise control

Should I Buy A Mazda CX-9?

We got so many compliments as we drove this all week! You want the 2018 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring if: 

• You need to seat more than 5 people in the car
• You need plenty of storage space
• You want a large car with excellent gas mileage
• You like driving with power!
• Safety is important to you

This was my first experience ever driving a Mazda, and I am so impressed! I had no idea how fun it would be to drive, or how much I’d miss it when it went back. 

This is a ton of information – I hope it helped you! If you have any questions, you can ask me and I’ll ask the team at Mazda. (Leave questions in the comments here!) Please don’t forget to pin this post or share it to Facebook so you can find it again when you ned it.