Hi Everyone
I'm considering purchasing a CX-9. But I have one concern with the car (well, a second concern besides the infotainment touchscreen lockout)....
You see I'm 6'8" and mostly leg. I have always had trouble finding cars that fit me.
Currently I drive a 2013 RDX with 170,000 miles and I've loved it but it's time to move on. My number one choice for a new car based solely on emotions would be the current RDX. But... it's got too many question marks with reliability for my liking. So the pragmatic part of me stopped me from pulling the trigger.
I've now driven a dozen different possible vehicles in the hunt for something comfortable for me. The Honda Passport fits me well and it's a smart/reasonable choice.... BUT I don't love it the way I want to love my car.
Pretty much everything else that I've driven is either boring, or isn't up to my standards, or has reliability concerns, or the infotainment sucks, or I can't afford it with the trim level/features I desire. (I really thought the Kia Sorento was going to be the right one for me, but after test driving it the second time, I realized the ride is too stiff for the long haul.)
The CX-9 is currently at the top of my list of candidates. Mostly because I love driving it. Though it doesn't quite give me the same goosebumps that the RDX does behind the wheel, it's a great machine that would at least keep my passion for driving alive.
The big BUT is that huge center console. My big leg is constantly up against it and I've never had to live with that in a car before. The latest RAV4 and Venza do the same with huge center consoles. The difference is, with those Toyotas the console is more angled and thus not making contact with a large area of my leg. But buying a Toyota definitely means my love of driving would diminish.
Frustratingly, the CX-9's center console is not angled, it's entirely parallel to my leg for a large section and leaves me with no ability to shift my leg on long trips. I'm worried that this is going to be a problem on road trips. It's the kind of thing that's hard to predict without driving that amount of time.
I previously owned a Mazda and I couldn't keep it for the long haul, because the driving position wasn't comfortable enough on long drives. I'm worried about a repeat of that.
But I think I have the solution...
I've studied the center console and I think that if I remove plastic cover on the driver side of the console, I’m betting I would gain another 1 to 2 inches of leg space. I'm pretty sure the console is that big for styling reasons and not for engineering reasons.
I would cover the exposed guts of the console with some black fabric so that it's not exposed and looking stupid. I am fine with the compromise in interior appearance. And I can replace the panel at trade-in time.
So to be clear, I'm not asking about the feasibility of this, because I know I can take that panel off. But I need to know whether or not it would be worth it (before buying the car). And that means finding out if there's anything under the cover that would prevent me from gaining those valuable few inches.
Has anyone been inside the console of the 2016+ CX-9? Even better... got some pics of what it's like in there?
I did find the article below, which at least shows me how I would get started accessing the left panel. But they didn't need to remove the left cover for their project, so you can't see what's on the left side of the console.
www.mazdas247.com
Thanks
-Chris
I'm considering purchasing a CX-9. But I have one concern with the car (well, a second concern besides the infotainment touchscreen lockout)....
You see I'm 6'8" and mostly leg. I have always had trouble finding cars that fit me.
Currently I drive a 2013 RDX with 170,000 miles and I've loved it but it's time to move on. My number one choice for a new car based solely on emotions would be the current RDX. But... it's got too many question marks with reliability for my liking. So the pragmatic part of me stopped me from pulling the trigger.
I've now driven a dozen different possible vehicles in the hunt for something comfortable for me. The Honda Passport fits me well and it's a smart/reasonable choice.... BUT I don't love it the way I want to love my car.
Pretty much everything else that I've driven is either boring, or isn't up to my standards, or has reliability concerns, or the infotainment sucks, or I can't afford it with the trim level/features I desire. (I really thought the Kia Sorento was going to be the right one for me, but after test driving it the second time, I realized the ride is too stiff for the long haul.)
The CX-9 is currently at the top of my list of candidates. Mostly because I love driving it. Though it doesn't quite give me the same goosebumps that the RDX does behind the wheel, it's a great machine that would at least keep my passion for driving alive.
The big BUT is that huge center console. My big leg is constantly up against it and I've never had to live with that in a car before. The latest RAV4 and Venza do the same with huge center consoles. The difference is, with those Toyotas the console is more angled and thus not making contact with a large area of my leg. But buying a Toyota definitely means my love of driving would diminish.
Frustratingly, the CX-9's center console is not angled, it's entirely parallel to my leg for a large section and leaves me with no ability to shift my leg on long trips. I'm worried that this is going to be a problem on road trips. It's the kind of thing that's hard to predict without driving that amount of time.
I previously owned a Mazda and I couldn't keep it for the long haul, because the driving position wasn't comfortable enough on long drives. I'm worried about a repeat of that.
But I think I have the solution...
I've studied the center console and I think that if I remove plastic cover on the driver side of the console, I’m betting I would gain another 1 to 2 inches of leg space. I'm pretty sure the console is that big for styling reasons and not for engineering reasons.
I would cover the exposed guts of the console with some black fabric so that it's not exposed and looking stupid. I am fine with the compromise in interior appearance. And I can replace the panel at trade-in time.
So to be clear, I'm not asking about the feasibility of this, because I know I can take that panel off. But I need to know whether or not it would be worth it (before buying the car). And that means finding out if there's anything under the cover that would prevent me from gaining those valuable few inches.
Has anyone been inside the console of the 2016+ CX-9? Even better... got some pics of what it's like in there?
I did find the article below, which at least shows me how I would get started accessing the left panel. But they didn't need to remove the left cover for their project, so you can't see what's on the left side of the console.
Guide - 2nd Gen CX-9 Center Stack Disassembly
Shoutout to @youri for providing the service manual instructions. They aren’t the worst I’ve ever used but I’ve also seen better. Hopefully I can do a better job at showing what needs to happen. Tools needed: - long flathead screwdriver - short flathead screwdriver - automotive panel pry tool...
Thanks
-Chris
