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- 22 CX9 94 B3000
I was at my local dealer this weekend for service and they had a pre-release CX-50 on their showroom floor for a couple hours. I thought I would share my impressions.
First off, it wasn't available to drive, so no test drives. I'm not that familiar with the trim lines, but I am guessing it was one of the top trims. It had the upgraded leather and the massive panoramic moon roof. We have all seen the pics, so I won't bore you with what it looks like, But the Styling is nice, although I think the back is just kind of plain. There is a ton of room in the back. I would have to stretch just to touch the rear seats from the open back end. Also it's nice they have a way to stow the rear cargo cover in the spare tire compartment.
Unfortunately there were a couple of negatives too. First is the panoramic moon roof. Its a two panel system and only the front panel moves. Then it only opens about half of the depth of the panel. The actual opening is quite small, and I would say even smaller than a traditional non panoramic moon roof of something like a Subaru Outback, and substantially smaller than the opening of the panoramic moonroof of a Subaru Forester. If you get a CX-50 and opt for the upgraded package to get the moonroof, just be aware of how it operates.
The other negative that I has was the lack of headroom. I know they started with the CX-5, lifted it for more ground clearance, made it wider and lowered the roof a bit. I know they are aiming to compete more directly with the Subaru Outback, and I think they wanted it to look more like a wagon. But in doing so, they reduced the headroom. Now I am a taller guy (6'3") and a lot of my height is from the waist up, but when I tried to get in, I hit my ears on the door frame. My head almost touched the glass moonroof, and frame of the moonroof hit the side of my head. I know, this won't affect that many people, but I wanted to let you know what my experience was.
BTW, I am not a Mazda hater or a Subaru lover. Well I do really like Subaru's. I just traded in an 18 Outback for a 22 CX-9. My wife currently owns a Forester with the larger moonroof. All of them are great cars. And I think they have earned their reputation as two of the best car brands.
First off, it wasn't available to drive, so no test drives. I'm not that familiar with the trim lines, but I am guessing it was one of the top trims. It had the upgraded leather and the massive panoramic moon roof. We have all seen the pics, so I won't bore you with what it looks like, But the Styling is nice, although I think the back is just kind of plain. There is a ton of room in the back. I would have to stretch just to touch the rear seats from the open back end. Also it's nice they have a way to stow the rear cargo cover in the spare tire compartment.
Unfortunately there were a couple of negatives too. First is the panoramic moon roof. Its a two panel system and only the front panel moves. Then it only opens about half of the depth of the panel. The actual opening is quite small, and I would say even smaller than a traditional non panoramic moon roof of something like a Subaru Outback, and substantially smaller than the opening of the panoramic moonroof of a Subaru Forester. If you get a CX-50 and opt for the upgraded package to get the moonroof, just be aware of how it operates.
The other negative that I has was the lack of headroom. I know they started with the CX-5, lifted it for more ground clearance, made it wider and lowered the roof a bit. I know they are aiming to compete more directly with the Subaru Outback, and I think they wanted it to look more like a wagon. But in doing so, they reduced the headroom. Now I am a taller guy (6'3") and a lot of my height is from the waist up, but when I tried to get in, I hit my ears on the door frame. My head almost touched the glass moonroof, and frame of the moonroof hit the side of my head. I know, this won't affect that many people, but I wanted to let you know what my experience was.
BTW, I am not a Mazda hater or a Subaru lover. Well I do really like Subaru's. I just traded in an 18 Outback for a 22 CX-9. My wife currently owns a Forester with the larger moonroof. All of them are great cars. And I think they have earned their reputation as two of the best car brands.
