Montanaman
Montana/Arizona
- :
- 2018.5 CX-9 AWD GT
I just pulled in from a 1325 mile road trip from north Phoenix ,AZ to my home in Montana and thought I would share some stat's and thoughts if anybody wants to know about long haul towing with this sled.
Ours is a 2018 GT AWD that now has 9200 miles. Payload was approximately 600 lbs ( 2 medium adults, two small dogs, a bunch of gear and a loaded Thule Force medium top box. We were towing a Kendon dual motorcycle trailer with a BMW 1200 GS on board. That combined set up with some extra gear is about 1800 lbs. So adding in the weight of the vehicle ( about 4500 lbs full of gas) we had about 7000 lbs going down the road. Temps were in the mid 30's to mid 50's fahrenheit and dry pavement. I ran 91 octane premium the whole way.
Total computer MPG for 1325 miles of mostly interstate with speeds between 65 and 80 was 17.5 MPG. (I did not have time to do the proper fill up and divide method as there were too many stops but I know the computer is almost dead on). Anyway I was pleasantly surprised and was expecting less to be honest. We took the old 2016 CX-5 GT AWD on exact same trip with the same exact load heading south in December and the total was a flat 17 mpg. I find that a bit surprising. The whole trip is countless elevation changes ranging from 2000 ft to 7000 ft crossing the continental divide many times. It's up and down both ways so it's a fair comparison.( Beginning elevation is the same and both ends.) Anyway I thought the gas mileage was very good considering all that. That top box probably hurts more than the trailer to be honest. I think it's because even though the CX-5 is lighter, that engine has to work harder more often under those conditions. That's the best guess I got anyway.
As far as performance the CX-9 was great. There were only a couple of times when it needed to catch it's breath going up a long steep hill at 70-75 mph but all that torque really helps. It felt more effortless that the CX-5 by a good measure. It's got to be the turbo. There were times when it I would think it would have to kick down a gear or two, but it didn't have to downshift to maintain the speed. Pretty impressive. I think it could tow another 1000 lbs but I don't think I would go beyond that if your cabin is loaded unless your driving from Michigan to Florida or something relatively flat. Bottom line is the thing had plenty of power with all that extra weight.
Misc. thoughts. The ride was not as great as I thought it would be but I think I have to blame that on the trailer and the extremely lousy road conditions. Our interstates are thrashed and after the winter we had all over the west they are really bad. I think you definitely give up some ride quality with the 20" wheel set up. I'd like to drive one with the 18"s and feel the difference. I will say the interior did start to feel a little cramped after 5-6 hours in there. It doesn't feel a lot bigger than the old CX-5 to me. But a lot nicer. I can see why people pick on it for that reason. Not a real issue for us as we are not big people but it does have it's limitations. Seat comfort was good but I don't think any seat is going to feel great after long stretches like that. A thigh extender would be a big plus. Heated seats and steering wheel were great as it is still winter here in the Rockies. It will probably be new windshield time already because they seem to be made out of sugar glass or something. Either that or we've just been unlucky. 9200 miles and big chips in a few places.
That's about it.. sorry for the long post but thought it might be helpful to someone who is on the fence about towing with this rig and what kind of mileage you might get. So far I am a satisfied customer. The other cool thing (maybe not for Mazda) is I saw only one other late model CX-9 the whole 3 day trip.
Ours is a 2018 GT AWD that now has 9200 miles. Payload was approximately 600 lbs ( 2 medium adults, two small dogs, a bunch of gear and a loaded Thule Force medium top box. We were towing a Kendon dual motorcycle trailer with a BMW 1200 GS on board. That combined set up with some extra gear is about 1800 lbs. So adding in the weight of the vehicle ( about 4500 lbs full of gas) we had about 7000 lbs going down the road. Temps were in the mid 30's to mid 50's fahrenheit and dry pavement. I ran 91 octane premium the whole way.
Total computer MPG for 1325 miles of mostly interstate with speeds between 65 and 80 was 17.5 MPG. (I did not have time to do the proper fill up and divide method as there were too many stops but I know the computer is almost dead on). Anyway I was pleasantly surprised and was expecting less to be honest. We took the old 2016 CX-5 GT AWD on exact same trip with the same exact load heading south in December and the total was a flat 17 mpg. I find that a bit surprising. The whole trip is countless elevation changes ranging from 2000 ft to 7000 ft crossing the continental divide many times. It's up and down both ways so it's a fair comparison.( Beginning elevation is the same and both ends.) Anyway I thought the gas mileage was very good considering all that. That top box probably hurts more than the trailer to be honest. I think it's because even though the CX-5 is lighter, that engine has to work harder more often under those conditions. That's the best guess I got anyway.
As far as performance the CX-9 was great. There were only a couple of times when it needed to catch it's breath going up a long steep hill at 70-75 mph but all that torque really helps. It felt more effortless that the CX-5 by a good measure. It's got to be the turbo. There were times when it I would think it would have to kick down a gear or two, but it didn't have to downshift to maintain the speed. Pretty impressive. I think it could tow another 1000 lbs but I don't think I would go beyond that if your cabin is loaded unless your driving from Michigan to Florida or something relatively flat. Bottom line is the thing had plenty of power with all that extra weight.
Misc. thoughts. The ride was not as great as I thought it would be but I think I have to blame that on the trailer and the extremely lousy road conditions. Our interstates are thrashed and after the winter we had all over the west they are really bad. I think you definitely give up some ride quality with the 20" wheel set up. I'd like to drive one with the 18"s and feel the difference. I will say the interior did start to feel a little cramped after 5-6 hours in there. It doesn't feel a lot bigger than the old CX-5 to me. But a lot nicer. I can see why people pick on it for that reason. Not a real issue for us as we are not big people but it does have it's limitations. Seat comfort was good but I don't think any seat is going to feel great after long stretches like that. A thigh extender would be a big plus. Heated seats and steering wheel were great as it is still winter here in the Rockies. It will probably be new windshield time already because they seem to be made out of sugar glass or something. Either that or we've just been unlucky. 9200 miles and big chips in a few places.
That's about it.. sorry for the long post but thought it might be helpful to someone who is on the fence about towing with this rig and what kind of mileage you might get. So far I am a satisfied customer. The other cool thing (maybe not for Mazda) is I saw only one other late model CX-9 the whole 3 day trip.
