A few questions about the 2023 CX-9

[JamesKim]

Good day, I am on the market for new cars, and have not yet decided which one to get. We are planning to trade Sienna to 3 row SUV.
I was thinking Kia or Hyundai, but too much markups, no dealer sells MSRP price
for either Telluride nor Palisade. And Toyota Highlander Platinum is hard to find around this area.

One day I saw CX-9 Signature has rear captain seats with center storage, which I thought it would be nice for my children, they can store their own stuff inside of
the console with individual cup holders. Since we are 4 family, 3rd row may be used rarely, most likely it will be used as storage area.


But a few things I have found while shopping XC-9. I don't use that much touch screen, but I do use steering wheel buttons a lot, Mode / Source, volume, change
radio stations, cruise control, and mute.

1. I see there is a Mode button on right side of steering wheel bottom side. Is this the button I can switch from FM/AM radio to Bluetooth / Carplay back and forth? How about changing radio stations? There are 3 radio stations I always listen, and I change the stations a lot, back and forth. Is there any button I can change the radio stations on the steering wheel? or should I use the rotary dial to get into a menu to change it?

2. My children are 10 and 12. Is 2nd seat area has enough space for kids? They always leave a small backpack on the floor so that they can easily reach their own stuff.

3. How easy it is to connect Bluetooth? I mean my wife use the Bluetooth all the time and the Sienna automatically connect the Bluetooth whenever she gets in the car, but it takes a few minutes, not instantly paired. But when not connected automatically, she has to manually go to the setting and have to try a few time to successfully connect.

 

[Dlcorbett]

1. Yes the mode button changes your sources. Also, you can change through the rotary as well. At first, I thought not having a touchscreen would be annoying, but the dial is actually quite intuitive. There's also shortcut buttons to get to main areas like music, and phone.

2. There is more than enough space for two kids, respectively. The second row is actually pretty roomy. It's not fs suv big, but it's still good.

3. Bluetooth is pretty easy. One thing I like, you can connect different phone to different sources. I use the bt to listen to music, so I'll keep my phone on bt for music, and connect my wife's phone for phone so she can take calls.

 

[gphin]

Agree with above comments. I also considered Telluride/Palisade but refused to pay the added markups. Glad I didn't as we have found this vehicle to exceed expectations. Have a touchscreen in our BMW but center console dial in the CX9 is just as or more convenient. Have over 20k miles on ours since purchase and no regrets.

 

[youri]

« How about changing radio stations? There are 3 radio stations I always listen, and I change the stations a lot, back and forth. Is there any button I can change the radio stations on the steering wheel? or should I use the rotary dial to get into a menu to change it? »

Once you set your favorite radio stations in the system, the forward - backward button on the steering should cycle through your favorite FM stations.

 

[MichalP]

Some clarification. The mode button on the right side of the steering wheel is only for cruise control activation.

For operation of the Bluetooth, audio and all the settings you mostly need to use the main knob in the central console. Like many said before. It is easy to reach and with a little practice very intuitive to use.

One very important function of the knob that is not really explained well in the manual is when you are listening to the particular source in order to change the track in the album or radio station you can simply just rotate the knob. I noticed that many reviewers are complaining that you need to go through several menus in order to change your radio stations. This is simply not true.

The arrows on the left side of the steering wheel on the other hand not always are for changing stations. For satelite radio for example the are being used to go forward or backwards within the song. To change Sirius xm station you just need to rotate the main knob.