2012 Mazda CX-9 Overview Change Vehicle

This 2012 Mazda CX-9 review explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2012 CX-9, and includes Mazda CX-9 safety, reliability, and fuel economy ratings.

You know how most three-row SUVs aren’t very much fun to drive? The Mazda CX-9 is quite entertaining, and simultaneously possesses most of the qualities that make family crossovers so popular in the first place. Key competitors include the Chevrolet Traverse, Dodge Durango, Ford Explorer, GMC Acadia, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Veracruz, Kia Sorento, and Toyota Highlander.

Mazda installs new second- and third-row seat headrests to meet new regulations, modifies the third-row seat padding, and shortens the free satellite radio subscription from six months to four months. Otherwise, the 2012 Mazda CX-9 carries over without change, which means if you can find a 2011 model gathering dust on a dealer’s lot, you should take the discounted model.

Mazda keeps it simple when it comes to choosing a 2012 CX-9. Sport, Touring and Grand Touring models are available, each offered with front- or all-wheel drive.

The CX-9 Sport is nicely equipped considering its size and starting price. The features you expect to find on a family crossover SUV are present, including power windows with automatic front window operation, power door locks with remote keyless entry, power side mirrors, a leather-wrapped tilt/telescopic steering wheel, cruise control, a trip computer, and a six-speaker stereo with a CD/MP3 player. The CX-9 rides on 18-inch aluminum wheels, and features dark tinted rear privacy glass and LED taillights, as well as cloth upholstery, piano black interior trim, and floor mats. Triple-zone automatic climate control with a pollen filter is also included, along with Bluetooth hands-free calling, a manual driver’s seat height adjuster, and an outside temperature indicator.

The thing is, when you buy the CX-9 Sport, your options are limited. An eight-way power driver’s seat, heated front seats, heated side mirrors, satellite radio with four free months of service, and Crystal White Metallic paint are the only factory extras on the Sport model.

To gain access to more options, you’ll need to buy the CX-9 Touring. It comes with leather upholstery, an eight-way power driver’s seat, a four-way power front passenger’s seat, heated side mirrors, and auto-off headlights. The expanded options menu includes a Bose Centerpoint surround sound audio system, Bluetooth music streaming capability, a CD changer, a power moonroof, a power tailgate, and Mazda’s Advanced Keyless Entry and Start system.

The CX-9 Grand Touring represents a fairly significant upgrade. The keyless entry and ignition system is standard on this model, along with a Blind Spot Monitoring system, rain-sensing wipers, automatic Xenon HID headlights, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, electroluminescent gauges, ambient cabin lighting, a HomeLink universal remote, an anti-theft system, and three memory position settings for the driver’s seat. The Grand Touring model is visually set apart by 20-inch alloy wheels, fog lights, extra chrome trim, turn signal indicators embedded into the side mirror housings, and on the inside, fake wood trim.

Options for the Grand Touring model mirror the Touring, but this version of the CX-9 is exclusively offered with a rear-seat DVD entertainment system and a 115-volt power outlet, a navigation system with a reversing camera and real-time traffic reports, and a Towing Prep Package with heavy-duty radiator and transmission cooling and a 3,500-lb. tow capacity rating.

Dealers can install additional accessories on any CX-9. Highlights include an auto-dimming rearview mirror with an embedded rearview camera display, remote engine starting, roof rails, a cargo cover, a cargo mat, and a cargo net.

Every 2012 Mazda CX-9 is equipped with a 3.7-liter V6 engine making 273 horsepower. What’s more important is the CX-9’s torque curve, which provides a minimum of 250 pound-feet of twist anywhere between 3,000 and 6,000 rpm, which makes the 4,400-lb. SUV feel more energetic than you might suspect. Peak torque of 270 lb-ft is available at 4,250 rpm.

A six-speed automatic with a manual shift mode is the only transmission available. It drives power to the front wheels. If you get the all-wheel-drive model, power is delivered to the front wheels until they start to slip. At that point, up to 50 percent of the engine’s power can be distributed to the rear wheels.

Fuel economy is not a Mazda CX-9 strong point. The EPA estimates it will get 17 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway with front-wheel drive, and 16-city/22-highway with AWD.

The 2012 Mazda CX-9 comes standard with six airbags, four-wheel ventilated-disc antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist, traction control, and stability control with roll control technology. A reversing camera is included with the optional navigation system on the Grand Touring model, but dealers can also install one that’s integrated into an auto-dimming rearview mirror on any model. Mazda makes a Blind Spot Monitoring system standard on the CX-9 Grand Touring.

It’s too bad that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) hasn’t put the CX-9 through its updated crash-test program. The only rating provided by the NHTSA pertains to its ability to resist a rollover accident at a 4-Star level.

The reason it’s too bad there aren’t more NHTSA ratings is because in tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the CX-9 receives a Marginal rating for its ability to protect against injury in a rear-impact collision, and a Marginal rating for its roof crush strength. In frontal- and side-impact tests, the CX-9 receives the best rating of Good.

It’s a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to reliability ratings, too. Consumer Reports predicts that the CX-9 will provide better than average reliability over time, while J.D. Power and Associates rated the CX-9 as average in this regard, as of the market research firm’s most recent assessment of the SUV.

Something else that’s average is the Mazda CX-9’s warranty coverage. The basic warranty covers the SUV for three years or 36,000 miles, and the powertrain is guaranteed for five-years or 60,000 miles. A roadside assistance program is in place for the first three years of ownership.

Cargo space is plentiful in the 2012 Mazda CX-9. Behind the third row seat awaits 17.2 cubic-feet of volume, more than most midsize sedans (though you’d need to stack items to the ceiling to actually use all of the space in the CX-9). Fold the third-row seat, and the CX-9 offers 48.3 cu-ft of cargo space. Fold both rows of rear seats, and this crossover SUV can swallow 100.7 cu-ft of stuff. For comparison, that’s a Miata trunk and a half short of a Chevy Tahoe.

To help maximize cargo and passenger room, the CX-9’s second-row seat slides fore and aft up to five inches as is necessary. Mazda also includes a handy strap on the backs of the 50/50-split folding third-row seat to facilitate one-handed dropping and raising of the seatbacks.

The 2012 Mazda CX-9 is good looking, comfortable, roomy, and terrific to drive. However, crash-test scores leave something to be desired, fuel economy is unimpressive, and the warranty coverage is rather modest. We at Vehix love the Mazda CX-9, but practical-minded buyers may wish to shop elsewhere.

By Christian Wardlaw