Will I be disappointed with rear carseat room?

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2016 CX-5 w/ Tech/Activsense
I currently have a 2016 Mazda CX-5 which I bought new. It's been a great car. I have an almost 1 year old and as we start to venture out more we could definitely use a larger car to lug all his stuff with us. Besides limited cargo space, the room between the carseat and the passenger seat is pretty tight. Right now my wife has the passenger seat pretty far up in order to accommodate the top of the carseat. Luckily my wife is short so it could be worse.

It looks like the 2021 CX-9 GT has the same interior dimensions. Am I going to be disappointed with the room on the cx-9? Obviously I need visit a dealer to check it out in person but I thought I would see what people think first. I read maybe that front passenger dash is moved forward a little so maybe the front isn't as tight feeling?
 
I don't think the rear seats in the CX-5 slide fore and aft, but the seats on the 2nd gen CX-9 do. You should be able to slide the seat back manually so that it's closer to the 3rd row.

I don't have measurements, but here are some pics. First one is with the rear seat all the way back (how I usually have it). Second pic is the front passenger seat to show available room.
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Go sit in one.
...and take the child seat with you, long story short.

I just noticed the OP was comparing to a 2021 CX-9, not CX-5, so I deleted my CX-5 comparison post. The OP said "no difference in interior dimensions". That's a basic misunderstanding from the get go, especially with the 9"s second row sliding seats.
 
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I can’t compare directly with the cx-5. But the passenger seat in my cx-9 with the car seat behind it is about at the same spot as my driver seat. So it isn’t tight and doesn’t feel like the car seat is an issue. The cargo space in the CX-9 is miles ahead of the CX-5 though.

That being said the cx-9 like all mazdas right now is smaller than the competition at the same price point. I wanted a larger 5 seater so i am happy with it and the plus of the car outweight the space negative in my opinion. But if you compare with a Telluride or Pilot they are bigger than the CX-9.

I am pretty confident the CX-9 is larger than the CX-5, which is also smaller than its own competition ( CR-V, Tiguan, etc)
 
Thanks everyone for setting me straight. I was going off the listed interior dimensions and I must have overlooked that the 2nd row seats could be moved a little bit.

I do plan on going to check them out in person with the car seat, but right now my local dealer only has 1 CX-9 and its not the trim/color that I would want. Not sure if its supply problem or because the 2022s might be coming soonish.

@youri I am basically also looking for a larger 5 seater. I don't really care about the third row at the moment, just want more trunk space.

Thanks @HardRightEdg @erhayes @sm1ke
 
@mackworth - went through this recently as well moving from an infant carseat (Uppababy Mesa) to a toddler (Nuna Rava). Tried the "tank" Clek, but placing it behind the driver seat (where we want it right now) was just too tight.

Word to the wise:


1. Bring your carseat and try before you buy! Buckle up that carseat into your old ride and new ride, whatever it may be. Also if a new carseat is in your realm, find a great baby store and have them fit a demo into yours. We bought a Diono without trying on Amazon and it ended up being a complete disaster...

2. My pics if it helps any with our 2019 CX-9 GT. I'm 5'10" and like my driver seat further back.

3. A roof rack option or hitch for a rear cargo box might work too. Definitely something i'll consider on the next CX-9 we look into once this lease is up.

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3. A roof rack option or hitch for a rear cargo box might work too. Definitely something i'll consider on the next CX-9 we look into once this lease is up.
I'm no expert but towing your child's car seat behind your CX9 doesn't sound like the first option I'd consider, :LOL:
 
I'm no expert but towing your child's car seat behind your CX9 doesn't sound like the first option I'd consider, :LOL:
LOL :ROFLMAO: - whoops! What I meant by that was with the amount of space a carseat takes up in the CX-9 it can lead to creative packing styles...or just the need for more room for stuff.
 
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