Just picked up 2018 CX-9

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2018 Mazda 3
I picked up a pre-certified 2018 Mazda CX-9 signature with 13,300 miles on the odometer.

I paid $31,800 for the car and got the extra 12 month/12,000 mile precertified warranty so I will get 4 yr/48,000 miles from 2018.

We have a 2018 Mazda 3 hatchback that we love but having to shift cars around because kids in college left us with a 5 spd 2008 Mustang. That ain't happening so my wife and I traded that in to get the CX-9. The price we found was too good to pass up.

We test drove the CX-5 and loved it but the second row seating was tight and the new prices for a new GT CX-5 wasn't far off of a used CX-9. We made a 3 1/2 hr drive to look at and eventually buy the CX-9 because finding a low mileage used CX-9 signature was very difficult. Making the 3 1/2 drive home with the CX9 with two of my kids in back I was able to make a preliminary evaluation

Pro's:
1) Comfortable drive , Cabin noise on highway rivals my 2005 Lexus LS 430.
2) plenty of room
3) Love the adaptive cruise control
4) powered liftgate. my wife always wanted one.
5) Beautiful interior with the signature model. Love the rosewood interior trim. .

Cons:
1) Steering seemed a bit weird. I thought it was due to the lane keeping assist.
2) 20" tires. Not much of a con but I prefer 18".
3) mpg sucks but I knew going in that it wouldn't be like my Mazda 3.
4) AWD mandatory. Why couldn't I get a FWD in this package?

I've heard issues with paint but didn't see any issues with the used model we bought.
 
Congratulations! I have a 2018 as well, which I purchased new in December of 2018 and have close to 36K miles on it now. I have the lane keep stuff to an absolute minimum and that will hopefully help. My MPG is pretty good - not a Mazda 3 (we have a 2017) but much close to the CX-5 than I thought it would be. I am getting around 24.3 MPG overall, which I am happy with.
 
Mazda_CX-9_Purchased.jpg
 
The car enthusiast in me kinda hurts you had to get rid of a Mustang, but it was for the better. 😝

A friend of mine rode in a CX-9 before, and he said it was very comfortable. Felt like he could live in one like an RV because it was so big. Very upscale as well. Then again most modern Mazdas are.

Congrats on your "new" ride!
 

I have the same color. One thing I would play with is the emergency braking system. When it comes on, it comes on hard. Set it to the way you drive and the conditions you drive in. I had it come on once or twice in the beginning - with cars turning right but the system thought they were still in front and I was accelerating to go around. I thought that if a car was close behind me they would have crashed into me. You can go into the settings and set it to how you want.

I did get rear ended (I was stopped at a light and the person was on phone) and a year later, still having issues with the paint from the body shop. So I highly recommend not getting into an accident!
 
The steering shouldn't be weird. Check the tires' cold inflation pressure. Set it to the pressures shown on the placard on the driver's door jam. Try the steering with the lane keeping switched off, although I always have mine on and it's not weird. Try rotating the tires (one could have an internal defect but may be OK on the rear). If nothing else works, get a 4-wheel alignment check. If that's OK, have the dealership check the electric power steering system.

Try Craig's list or elsewhere for someone who would like to swap their 18" wheels & tires for your 20s.

I'm getting about 26 mpg on the highway.
 
The steering shouldn't be weird. Check the tires' cold inflation pressure. Set it to the pressures shown on the placard on the driver's door jam. Try the steering with the lane keeping switched off, although I always have mine on and it's not weird. Try rotating the tires (one could have an internal defect but may be OK on the rear). If nothing else works, get a 4-wheel alignment check. If that's OK, have the dealership check the electric power steering system.

Try Craig's list or elsewhere for someone who would like to swap their 18" wheels & tires for your 20s.

I'm getting about 26 mpg on the highway.

thanks.

Do you have FWD or AWD?
 
Hi Tradosaurus, Recently bought one in the Houston area. 2018 cx9 touring with premium package 30,000 miles. paid 24G. perfect condition. Was saving up for something " more pricey " but with the uncertain economy; I decided on the CX-9 which has the best performance/quality and dependable for the " cheaper price". I was upgrading from my 170,000 mile 2007 CX-9 touring.

I must admit that the 2007 had some features that I prefer over the 2018 model.
2007: DEFINITELY prefer the 6 cyl over this 4cyl with turbo. Quieter, smoother, more powerful, etc. etc.
2007: I'm barely getting better gas mileage from the 2018 model.
2007: Interior was definitely roomier from front to back.
2007: BETTER BRAKES! The pads and rotors look great on 2018; but doesn't want to stop this SUV.
2018: VERY annoying safety features. Maybe these are for poor drivers with no quick reflex performance skills. 2018 drives like a Driver's Ed instructor is in the passenger seat with his own steering wheel and brake pedal fighting against me! I have a sneaky suspicion that these features are still ON even after turning them off in the infotainment settings. The TCS button actually turns that feature off.
2018: Need to find instruction on Disabling ALL-Time running lights or go to dealership to get this done, (per manual). How the hell can I go stealth at night when the freakin lights never go out? HaHa.
Oh, and mine is a FWD model.
 
Hi Tradosaurus, Recently bought one in the Houston area. 2018 cx9 touring with premium package 30,000 miles. paid 24G. perfect condition. Was saving up for something " more pricey " but with the uncertain economy; I decided on the CX-9 which has the best performance/quality and dependable for the " cheaper price". I was upgrading from my 170,000 mile 2007 CX-9 touring.

I must admit that the 2007 had some features that I prefer over the 2018 model.
2007: DEFINITELY prefer the 6 cyl over this 4cyl with turbo. Quieter, smoother, more powerful, etc. etc.
2007: I'm barely getting better gas mileage from the 2018 model.
2007: Interior was definitely roomier from front to back.
2007: BETTER BRAKES! The pads and rotors look great on 2018; but doesn't want to stop this SUV.
2018: VERY annoying safety features. Maybe these are for poor drivers with no quick reflex performance skills. 2018 drives like a Driver's Ed instructor is in the passenger seat with his own steering wheel and brake pedal fighting against me! I have a sneaky suspicion that these features are still ON even after turning them off in the infotainment settings. The TCS button actually turns that feature off.
2018: Need to find instruction on Disabling ALL-Time running lights or go to dealership to get this done, (per manual). How the hell can I go stealth at night when the freakin lights never go out? HaHa.
Oh, and mine is a FWD model.

Did you text drive the car before you bought it? You seem unhappy with your decision and based on your gripes for you should of just kept your 2007.
I love my 2019 GT. Based on numbers it’s faster than your 2007. It’s definitely a smoother power delivery.
interior should actually be a little bigger on this generation.
The brakes are actually really good. Strongly praised by magazines. Maybe you have different pads on there causing an issue?
Why would you want to drive at night with no lights on? There is no need and not safe one bit.
 
Hi Tradosaurus, Recently bought one in the Houston area. 2018 cx9 touring with premium package 30,000 miles. paid 24G. perfect condition. Was saving up for something " more pricey " but with the uncertain economy; I decided on the CX-9 which has the best performance/quality and dependable for the " cheaper price". I was upgrading from my 170,000 mile 2007 CX-9 touring.

I must admit that the 2007 had some features that I prefer over the 2018 model.
2007: DEFINITELY prefer the 6 cyl over this 4cyl with turbo. Quieter, smoother, more powerful, etc. etc.
2007: I'm barely getting better gas mileage from the 2018 model.
2007: Interior was definitely roomier from front to back.
2007: BETTER BRAKES! The pads and rotors look great on 2018; but doesn't want to stop this SUV.
2018: VERY annoying safety features. Maybe these are for poor drivers with no quick reflex performance skills. 2018 drives like a Driver's Ed instructor is in the passenger seat with his own steering wheel and brake pedal fighting against me! I have a sneaky suspicion that these features are still ON even after turning them off in the infotainment settings. The TCS button actually turns that feature off.
2018: Need to find instruction on Disabling ALL-Time running lights or go to dealership to get this done, (per manual). How the hell can I go stealth at night when the freakin lights never go out? HaHa.
Oh, and mine is a FWD model.

The turbo-4 is down on power on paper, but new generation out accelerates the old one in just about every metric (0-60, quarter mile, etc.). The V6 sounds nicer and probably wins in the NVH area.

You should probably get the brakes checked. The new generation has similar stopping distances as the old one. Did you have upgraded pads/rotors on the 07?

The new version is undeniably smaller inside. I looked at a 2016 when they first came out and this was a deal breaker for me. It was definitely nicer inside than my 2010 (particularly the Signature trim) but with 2 little kids and 2 large dogs I couldn't make it work.
 
jal142, Thanks for your experience with the brakes. I think I will see if my 18 brakes are original or at least get them checked??? no noises and don't look worn, but you never know. I never had brakes better than the OEM on my 07, didn't need brake pads until 107,000 miles! That's incredible because I am not a gentle driver. Interior definitely smaller! I made custom mats for 07 and they dwarfed the interior of 18 and had to make a new smaller one for cargo area. I like some of the safety features on the new one and dislike some of them. My 07 didn't have any features other than the crappy TCS which you couldn't actually turn off like the new ones. I like that. Only been driving it for 2 months, we'll see.
 
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