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Pretty much sums up what it is. Somewhat ancient, fun to drive, reliable but bad mileage and not the most crash worthy SUV out there anymore.
It's a shame then that the new CX-9 is tipped to come fitted with a 2.5 litre turbo engine. Hope you don't have to rev the guts out of the thing to get it to perform...
Considering how new turbo engines are nowadays, there should be a good deal of low end torque but the question is, will it be able to successfully haul a CX-9 around--even if its been Skyactiv'd and is lighter--without constantly digging into the turbo? I much prefer a V-6 over a turbo four just because its much smoother and its easier to keep it from getting overly stressed, and there's no turbo there to suck down a lot more fuel than necessary when accelerating. One's driving style is going to be a big factor for sure, but from what I've gathered from my car shopping when I bought my '14 3 S is that some of these turbo engines--especially the sub 2.0-liter ones don't really deliver in the real world (case and point Hyundai/Kia, Ford Ecoboost, Mini(just got downgraded), Nissan(the Juke), and GM). The only turbo motors that seem to do ok are the brands that have had them awhile like VW and Audi.
Hate the mpg bashing my 9 gets...if you are easy on the throttle and actually use the manual mode in city driving the mpg is as good as ANYTHING else in this class! Driving dynamics as good as BMW for 1/2 price.. can't wait for updated model!
I'd say the mpg bashing is deserved. That is the main weakness of the vehicle IMO. It doesn't even get the same mpg as a minivan and has much less room. Don't get me wrong, I loved my CX9 but it wasn't a fuel efficient vehicle. I don't see what playing with manual mode in the city would do to help. Over the five years I owned mine, city mpg was in the 15-16 range consistently except worse in winter and highway cruising at 65 maxed out at about 22mpg. Not stellar unless you are using a Suburban as the comparator.
Don't know how u guys drive..... I do a lot of highway cruising for my sales job. Last week was 25.5 between the Poconos to Philly and NYC! My minivan best was 26 in the same area!