When one drives in a daily basis in a city with traffic and ppl stressed out because being late to where they have to go etc.. driving stops being a pleasure,
Pleasure was something I had every time I stepped into my car , no matter where I was going.. it was always fun to drive ...that word pleasure disappeared from my mind when I had to drive my wifes suv... plus things have changed in the big cities and cars have evolved on that way . we are now driving boring suv's designed for everything but for the joy driving.
When I purchased my cx9 , 6 months ago, I had already tried every suv that was sold in my country between 40 to 52k US. this included :
ford explorer limited
dodge Durango
Chevrolet traverse
land rover discovery sport
Honda pilot
kia Sorrento
Hyundai santa fe
jeep cherokee
As I tested all these cars to make a decision, ( I was replacing a hyudai santa fe v6, which was great) I wasn't happy with anyone, all of them were lacking something, yes all were big, and spacious and almost all had 7 seats and all were silent and with powerful enough engines for their size. but they were lacking something, something that would make a suv more for me, to enjoy to be happy as I am every time I step into my car ( hatch back) something designed with me in mind and to enjoy .. ... none of the above had that, none gave me that grin in my face while I was driving.. none had something different.
Then when I had already decided on the Honda pilot because it was enormous and was by far the fastest when u pressed the accelerator, ( no other factor ) I had a call from a rep ( that had started to work at mazda) that I have known from several years telling me that they had just received the 2017 mazda cx9 ( in peru the new cx9 came as a 2017 model) and he would like for me to drive it cause hew was sure it was the perfect suv for me.
ok deal, ill go , this guy had prepared the suv for me to test and had only 45 kms on the odometer, a beautiful metallic red colour ( has a very fancy name that I cant remember) I saw the design and was radically different from the others, it was lower , long very long, with a grill that made the suv look aggressive, sporty and again, big.. one could see from the outside that the rear seats were kind of high and very comfy, making a huge difference from the other suv that are designed so they can fold and be super spacious and super practical but making it uncomfy for the rear passengers (unless u opt for captain chairs) also you could see that the tires were sider than usual for the segment, which are ussualy narrower because wide spoils the aerodynamics and consequently also the gas consumption . hmmm the first impression was going good, my mind was accepting the differences with all the other suvs and my smile started to shine . the sales guy started noticing that my attitude went from... hmmmphhh to .. hmmm...
I stepped inside the cx9 and I noticed that the seats were comfy, that the leather had a nice smell, that the cabin was gorgeously designed to be ... wait... NOT FAMILY PRACTICAL, but inviting , comfy, luxurious, a place that invites u to be , that gives u the feeling of performance , that every button is in the right place, the steering wheel ,, damn!!!... its in the right position to drive!! not to give more space to other things... this is an alfa romeo ? or an suv? ( talking about the driving position) .. hmmmm .. yes my smile started to grow... .. .. the gear selector is in the perfect place .. for driving, close enough to the steering so you can quickly change a gear and get back ur hands to the steering wheel.. and high enough so in some cases u can rest ur hand on it .. ( only well designed sport cars have this) ooh!! the original aluminum looks great... and cold to the touch!
as for then ... I noticed my face had a big smile and that the sales guy noticed soo.. I went back to my now hypocrital hhmmmpphhggg face.. and asked.. engine?? same all v6 290 hp? ... nope .. !! 4 cylinder turbo.... turbo?? (lets say that in peru we have very high roads up to 16,000 feet high while crossing the andes and non turbo engines no matter how powerful really struggle) .. really?? so he handed me the keys ..
oh!!... as I suspected, the sound.. damn it was like turning on a blender ( dull 4 cylinder sound) , hmmm that was a downside.. ok lets go .. ... closed the door and suddenly it felt I was on a submarine, s***.. this is supper silent.. rep immediately answered double glass windows in the front .. ok... grabbed the gear selector and put it into drive.. hmmm.. with my fake hmmmpphhhggg face .. well this is not a slow suv... torque is inmediate.. suddenly passing cars going at 2000 rpm while accelerating was even starting to be fun, there was no need to lower the gear... hmmm ok ok .. no I cant fake this face any more... lets get back to the smile... suddenly a round about was close so I accelerated and wnet ittno it at around 100 kmh and suddenly I felt something I only feel on my other car.. the back was there.. the front of the car was glued and I had this eagerness to get into the curve and try to loose the tail... and see what happens.. ( just to have the feeling to do it because a car gives u the confidence is a lot) front glued, back tailing , took my foot out of the accelerator tail started to move, put the foot back tail was in again.. .. damnnn.. this fieels like a sporty hatchback ... nice!!! steering precise , gear selector usable ... miata like sturdiness to roll... what is this????? !!!... I laughed..loudly and my expression was unmistakable.. soo??? the rep guy asked...
damn I'm having fun!! .. ok ok the blender sounding engine wasnt that bad so it didn't spoil the moment.
brakes... ?? gees.. damn good.. !! ok lets go to the highway... 180.. 190... 200.. 210 ... hey wheres the limiter.. ... no limiter said the rep guy.. 218kmh I managed.. on a 4 cyilindre quite as a tomb suv that felt so sticked to the floor It felt kike a bmw or Porsche.. ..damn this is nice!!
ok ok .. lets got to the mountains.. ok he said.. u pay for the gas.. ok ok ill pay..
100 meters above sea level.. great.. 20 mins later 2000 .. great .. 45 mins later 3500 great.. 1 hour 45 mins later 4900 ( 16000 feet ) high and the mazda engine was at a walk in the park passing every suv car truck etc with any effort .. curves?? this is the suv to have for a mountain road.. damn!! in out easy .. sliding like a hatch back. controllable .. press the accelerator out u go.. take the inside the tail follows... ..
ok enough.. lets have lunch!!
down we went again .. curves... braking points.. acceleration.. great.. yes brakes were giving up when we went out.. but if not.. the suv would not have been of this world.. yes the brakes gave up ..lets give the excuse that they were brand new and had to settle.... but no car will manage to go down these moutains really fasut with out having the brakes heated to the red zone.
nope..
ok .. convinced.. there is nothing like this on this price range.. go q7 or range rover or bmw x5 .. .. or jaguar ( haven't driven it yet) nope .. no lexus.. lexus aren't drivers cars ..
back to the mazda store.. .. ok .. where do I sign???,...
so there, this is when I got my smile back after years of a dull face while driving the family suv.. now I have a deal with my wife that I use the cx9 every Wednesday and shell use my car that day ( that never had happened before, no way!)
so.. if u want practicality.. go buy ur Honda ... u want to have fun , the kids to be really comfy ( family of four) in the back.. .. ur 6 year old telling u dad faster dad .. faster !! hehe.. and ur 13 year old daughter.. dad I'm going to puke.. and ur wife chatting over the phone cause she doeasnt feel that ur going that fast .. then.. .u understand what I mean. pay 70k or buy a cx9 ..
MY smile is back!!!!
M
Pleasure was something I had every time I stepped into my car , no matter where I was going.. it was always fun to drive ...that word pleasure disappeared from my mind when I had to drive my wifes suv... plus things have changed in the big cities and cars have evolved on that way . we are now driving boring suv's designed for everything but for the joy driving.
When I purchased my cx9 , 6 months ago, I had already tried every suv that was sold in my country between 40 to 52k US. this included :
ford explorer limited
dodge Durango
Chevrolet traverse
land rover discovery sport
Honda pilot
kia Sorrento
Hyundai santa fe
jeep cherokee
As I tested all these cars to make a decision, ( I was replacing a hyudai santa fe v6, which was great) I wasn't happy with anyone, all of them were lacking something, yes all were big, and spacious and almost all had 7 seats and all were silent and with powerful enough engines for their size. but they were lacking something, something that would make a suv more for me, to enjoy to be happy as I am every time I step into my car ( hatch back) something designed with me in mind and to enjoy .. ... none of the above had that, none gave me that grin in my face while I was driving.. none had something different.
Then when I had already decided on the Honda pilot because it was enormous and was by far the fastest when u pressed the accelerator, ( no other factor ) I had a call from a rep ( that had started to work at mazda) that I have known from several years telling me that they had just received the 2017 mazda cx9 ( in peru the new cx9 came as a 2017 model) and he would like for me to drive it cause hew was sure it was the perfect suv for me.
ok deal, ill go , this guy had prepared the suv for me to test and had only 45 kms on the odometer, a beautiful metallic red colour ( has a very fancy name that I cant remember) I saw the design and was radically different from the others, it was lower , long very long, with a grill that made the suv look aggressive, sporty and again, big.. one could see from the outside that the rear seats were kind of high and very comfy, making a huge difference from the other suv that are designed so they can fold and be super spacious and super practical but making it uncomfy for the rear passengers (unless u opt for captain chairs) also you could see that the tires were sider than usual for the segment, which are ussualy narrower because wide spoils the aerodynamics and consequently also the gas consumption . hmmm the first impression was going good, my mind was accepting the differences with all the other suvs and my smile started to shine . the sales guy started noticing that my attitude went from... hmmmphhh to .. hmmm...
I stepped inside the cx9 and I noticed that the seats were comfy, that the leather had a nice smell, that the cabin was gorgeously designed to be ... wait... NOT FAMILY PRACTICAL, but inviting , comfy, luxurious, a place that invites u to be , that gives u the feeling of performance , that every button is in the right place, the steering wheel ,, damn!!!... its in the right position to drive!! not to give more space to other things... this is an alfa romeo ? or an suv? ( talking about the driving position) .. hmmmm .. yes my smile started to grow... .. .. the gear selector is in the perfect place .. for driving, close enough to the steering so you can quickly change a gear and get back ur hands to the steering wheel.. and high enough so in some cases u can rest ur hand on it .. ( only well designed sport cars have this) ooh!! the original aluminum looks great... and cold to the touch!
as for then ... I noticed my face had a big smile and that the sales guy noticed soo.. I went back to my now hypocrital hhmmmpphhggg face.. and asked.. engine?? same all v6 290 hp? ... nope .. !! 4 cylinder turbo.... turbo?? (lets say that in peru we have very high roads up to 16,000 feet high while crossing the andes and non turbo engines no matter how powerful really struggle) .. really?? so he handed me the keys ..
oh!!... as I suspected, the sound.. damn it was like turning on a blender ( dull 4 cylinder sound) , hmmm that was a downside.. ok lets go .. ... closed the door and suddenly it felt I was on a submarine, s***.. this is supper silent.. rep immediately answered double glass windows in the front .. ok... grabbed the gear selector and put it into drive.. hmmm.. with my fake hmmmpphhhggg face .. well this is not a slow suv... torque is inmediate.. suddenly passing cars going at 2000 rpm while accelerating was even starting to be fun, there was no need to lower the gear... hmmm ok ok .. no I cant fake this face any more... lets get back to the smile... suddenly a round about was close so I accelerated and wnet ittno it at around 100 kmh and suddenly I felt something I only feel on my other car.. the back was there.. the front of the car was glued and I had this eagerness to get into the curve and try to loose the tail... and see what happens.. ( just to have the feeling to do it because a car gives u the confidence is a lot) front glued, back tailing , took my foot out of the accelerator tail started to move, put the foot back tail was in again.. .. damnnn.. this fieels like a sporty hatchback ... nice!!! steering precise , gear selector usable ... miata like sturdiness to roll... what is this????? !!!... I laughed..loudly and my expression was unmistakable.. soo??? the rep guy asked...
damn I'm having fun!! .. ok ok the blender sounding engine wasnt that bad so it didn't spoil the moment.
brakes... ?? gees.. damn good.. !! ok lets go to the highway... 180.. 190... 200.. 210 ... hey wheres the limiter.. ... no limiter said the rep guy.. 218kmh I managed.. on a 4 cyilindre quite as a tomb suv that felt so sticked to the floor It felt kike a bmw or Porsche.. ..damn this is nice!!
ok ok .. lets got to the mountains.. ok he said.. u pay for the gas.. ok ok ill pay..
100 meters above sea level.. great.. 20 mins later 2000 .. great .. 45 mins later 3500 great.. 1 hour 45 mins later 4900 ( 16000 feet ) high and the mazda engine was at a walk in the park passing every suv car truck etc with any effort .. curves?? this is the suv to have for a mountain road.. damn!! in out easy .. sliding like a hatch back. controllable .. press the accelerator out u go.. take the inside the tail follows... ..
ok enough.. lets have lunch!!
down we went again .. curves... braking points.. acceleration.. great.. yes brakes were giving up when we went out.. but if not.. the suv would not have been of this world.. yes the brakes gave up ..lets give the excuse that they were brand new and had to settle.... but no car will manage to go down these moutains really fasut with out having the brakes heated to the red zone.
nope..
ok .. convinced.. there is nothing like this on this price range.. go q7 or range rover or bmw x5 .. .. or jaguar ( haven't driven it yet) nope .. no lexus.. lexus aren't drivers cars ..
back to the mazda store.. .. ok .. where do I sign???,...
so there, this is when I got my smile back after years of a dull face while driving the family suv.. now I have a deal with my wife that I use the cx9 every Wednesday and shell use my car that day ( that never had happened before, no way!)
so.. if u want practicality.. go buy ur Honda ... u want to have fun , the kids to be really comfy ( family of four) in the back.. .. ur 6 year old telling u dad faster dad .. faster !! hehe.. and ur 13 year old daughter.. dad I'm going to puke.. and ur wife chatting over the phone cause she doeasnt feel that ur going that fast .. then.. .u understand what I mean. pay 70k or buy a cx9 ..
MY smile is back!!!!
M