Considering a CX9-advice?

[67walkon]

This is a little premature, but I'm taken with the looks of the CX9. My company provides vehicles for us and right now I'm driving a leased Infiniti M45. The M45 is probably the nicest car I've ever owned and I love it, but it gets lousy mileage and isn't any good for hauling anything except 4 people.

My wife and I own a second home about 11 or 12 hours away by car. I'm turning 60 in a few months and we want to start spending more time there as the next few years go by. Also, I like to ride a road bike and it is virtually impossible to transport one in the M45. Finally, our youngest just left for college and he has been driving the family SUV, so we don't have anything good to go to Home Depot or Lowes, etc.

I'm looking for a car that I can put my bike into without taking wheels off, that is comfortable for long trips, has lots of cargo room and is still reasonably decent to drive, and, since I want to quit working in a couple of years, something I can keep for a long, long time.

The CX9 looks good on the road and on paper, except for gas mileage, but everything else beats the socks off the Pilot and Highlander. I'm mildly tempted to check out the CX9 and maybe the CRV, but I'm not sure how comfy they would be on road trips or if I can get the bike in them easily. Probably we don't need 100 CF of cargo capacity since we have enough essentials at both houses.

What do you owners think?

 

[chiurw]

We test drove the GMC Acadia, Subaru Tribeca, Acura MDX and Hyundai Veracruz but after we test drove the CX9, it was a clear choice. The handling and performance of the CX9 was above its competitors in similar price range.

We have taken the CX9 on several road trips and it is a very comfortable and quiet SUV. We average 22 to 25 mpg on the highway but only get 13 to 16 mpg in the city. The 2nd and 3rd row seats fold and create a flat floor for loading long items so your bike will fit with the wheels on.

Maintenance has been minimal...just oil changes. The only issues I had with the CX9 has been the fake aluminum trim easily chipped/scratched which was replaced under warranty, squeeling rear brakes that were replaced under warranty, and an annoying rattle from the center console that I fixed myself.

 

[vikefan7]

and an annoying rattle from the center console that I fixed myself.

How did you fix that annoying rattle by yourself? I've got the same issue...

 

[chiurw]

How did you fix that annoying rattle by yourself? I've got the same issue...

Sorry...don't mean to hijack this thread. Just click on my username and search for other postings I have made. There is one titled "Rattles".

 

[Richardd]

67walkon: We are trying to help you and you didn't reply back.(hump)
I just bought my 2009 CX-9 Touring, with the moon/roof pkge, Roof rack, crossbars, and wheel locks. and I installed a Draw Tite hitch and I have a Swagmann TXC, two bike on order. I ride a street bike and MTB bike.
I use the car for work. Delivering Windows and Door.
I had 7 people in the car and no problems, (the people in the third row was tight, but the ride was very good, per my son and girlfriend)
I did test drive the Subura Forester and I liked it, but it was to small and trebecca, I didn't like the ride. I drive the New Hyundai and did like the ride, but, when going over rough ride, the front wheel, felt like the wheel was not there. I drive the Sante Fay and, to much over steering. (pulling when stepping on the gas..

I did one more test drive on the Toyota New Crossover and I would have bought it, but the price was about $3,000 for a stander one. I did see that the car used, better plastic and the fit was much clean then the CX 9.

I chose the CX9 because, I like the ride, handling and all that it offers. I have about 1450 mile on it and the only that is wrong is the airbag light goes on. See, problem with airbag light Post.

Good Luck(2thumbs)
67walkon

 

[Mx5+Cx9]

I think you'll find it quite enjoyable on your 11 to 12 hour drives to your 2nd home. Our first longer road trip on our CX9, we went from Richmond, BC to Westbank, BC in the Okanagan. about 5 hours one way. The CX9 handled beautifully. A great touring vehicle for sure. Fuel mileage isn't great though. On our trip we averaged 17mpg, on mostly highway driving, although it was twisty at some parts with various elevation changes. So, not your typical US freeway 65-70mph cruises. As for cargo space, I don't know if it'll fit a bicycle w/ wheels on since I haven't tried, but we fit gear and clothes for 2 adults, a toddler and an infant, including a high chair and a stroller. So, with the 3rd row down, we were able to fit quite a bit of stuff in the back.

 

[67walkon]

Your comments make me want to give the CX9 serious consideration. I love the looks of the car, although I wonder if it is bigger than what we need. Like most people, 90% of my driving is 1 person. But for hauling stuff around, including my bike or the never ending Home Depot runs, the CX9 looks great.

Has anyone looked at the Toyota Venza? It is a little smaller but also looks appealing.

 

[vikefan7]

Have you taken a look at the Nissan Murano? If you don't need to regularly haul 4 or five people and have a buttload of cargo area that would have been on my short list.

 

[SeCX-9]

Your comments make me want to give the CX9 serious consideration. I love the looks of the car, although I wonder if it is bigger than what we need. Like most people, 90% of my driving is 1 person. But for hauling stuff around, including my bike or the never ending Home Depot runs, the CX9 looks great.

Has anyone looked at the Toyota Venza? It is a little smaller but also looks appealing.

How about the Mazda CX-7? Like a CX-9, but a bit smaller. Lots of Zoom Zoom with the Turbo.

 

[67walkon]

I haven't looked at the Mazda's, except when the dealership was closed, because I have a few months to go.

The Murano is also interesting. I don't care for the way they look, but the last car my wife got was a Nissan and I was very impressed with the Murano on the showroom floor. I don't know that it has as much cargo room as a Highlander or the Venza or even the CX7.

There are lots of good choices out there, but I really like the looks of the CX9 best of all of them.

 

[benben01]

For the money, the previous generation Infiniti FX35 is a bargain too. You can probably find a very low milage or a leftover 08' loaded for under 30K.

 

[bmorgan9119]

Go for it

I am in a similar situation as you. My company car is a CX9 and I LOVE THIS CAR. When the company lease is up - I plan to buy it. It is the most comfortable, smoothest, and best handling car I have ever drove - and its darn sexy too !

 

[sjg]

About to get a CX-9

We've been looking at the CX-9 and a bunch of it's competitors for well over a year. We're about to purchase a CX-9 Touring AWD. It is the best car out there for us but I've been impressed by some others.

First the CX-9 drives great. It drives small for such a large car. The price seems right given the level of standard features and the various options seem reasonably priced.

The second contender was the GM offerings (Enclave, Acadia, Outlook and Traverse). These are impressive cars. They don't drive as well as the CX-9 but they still drive well and they're a bit bigger than the CX-9 so it's quite an achievement that they drive as well as they do. We decided against them because of the following: Price-Even the Traverse was significantly more expensive than the CX-9 with similar content and the incentives on 2009 CX-9s make the difference even larger. Size- The CX-9 is a couple inches smaller here and there but we didn't need the extra room or 8th seat offered by GM. Seating- The tilt and slide feature of the 2nd row is cool in the showroom but probably not with car seats installed. The CX-9 seems like we'll have limited access to the 3rd row with car seats in the 2nd row but that's better than no access.

We really liked the Tribeca too. We're coming out of a Legacy GT Wagon and you could tell that the Tribeca is related. It drives great. Maybe even better than the CX-9 but it's smaller. Too small for us. The 3rd row is a joke. Also, the mileage is disappointing. Not really any better than the larger options from other companies.

The Ford Flex is also intriguing. Maybe the best driving of the bunch but it's big. I park on the street in NYC and am dreading fitting the CX-9 into spots. The Flex would be even worse. Also, I'd like the added ground clearance for getting through snow and the Flex is more like a car in this regard. Also, this car has the worst headrests I've ever seen. Maybe they're safe but you cannot sit back in the seats unless you tilt your head down. I've heard they're correcting this for 2010.

Honda Pilot. This appealed to me because it's a little smaller than the CX-9 yet seats 8. But it doesn't drive well, has awful braking performance, is pretty pricey and is styled like an Isuzu Trooper. Also, the smaller size doesn't get you any real mileage gains. (Subaru and Honda should be ashamed that they show up to the party with smaller vehicles that don't deliver any better fuel economy.)

The Hyundai Vercrux is nice but also a little small on the inside. This car was barely on the radar screen to begin with so the size made it easy to pass up.

Toyota Highlander has nice power and efficiency but the fact that the third row doesn't split was a deal breaker. Toyota says most people don't care about this. Well I do and every other competitor offers it so we didn't even test drive the Toyota.

There are several great alternatives out there but they're all a little different. It's a great time to be looking at 3 row crossovers because they haven't all become clones like the minivan market. For us, the CX-9 looks to be perfect but I can see different people being really happy with each of these cars.