The IT Nerd

The interior of the Mazda CX-9 is stunning. So good in fact that you may want to keep your kids out of it. Though it did have one thing that became a talking point which I will get to in a bit. Let’s get started with the drivers seat.

You’re looking at the driver’s seat which is 8 way adjustable and covered in high quality leather. These seats are extremely comfortable and there are no complaints in this area. The front seats are heated.

You get two memory settings for the drivers seat and I have to note that the controls for adjusting the seats look very classy and upscale.

Here’s the drivers door. There’s lots of leather, chrome, rosewood, soft touch material, and shiny black plastic that continue the classy and upscale look.

Here’s another shot of the door that shows the rosewood along with one of the Bose speakers. There’s also a door pocket that will hold water bottles.

The inside of the doors are also lit which is a very upscale feature.

Here’s one of the air vents which is surrounded by leather. Below that, you can see the buttons that control the rear hatch and electronic overseers.

One of the key things that I’d like to point out is that the CX-9 comes with a substantial dead pedal which makes long drives very comfortable.

The instrument cluster is clear and sharp. On the right cluster pod, there’s information that can be customized via the controls on the steering wheel.

Speaking of the steering wheel, it is leather wrapped and feels good in your hands. It has controls for the cruise control system and the infotainment system. The steering wheel is heated.

Here’s a shot of the 8″ touchscreen along with the HVAC controls below it and the shifter which has the sport button to the left of it which makes the CX-9 more “entertaining” to drive. One thing that I should note is that the dash has lots of leather on it which really makes the CX-9 look upscale.

Here you can get a better look at the HMI Commander Switch that controls the infotainment system. You also get another look at the leather and rosewood that continue the upscale theme. I also like the black plastic that surrounds the shifter as it really adds to the upscale theme.

You get a decent sized glovebox.

On the front passenger side, you get a 12V outlet.

The center console opens in two parts and is lined. Plus it has two USB ports and a 1/8″ audio jack as well.

As you can see, the cupholders will hold a Starbucks Venti coffee easily. However, the location of these cupholders requires you to reach back a bit to get your coffee and reach down a bit to get it. Not an impossible thing to do. But not ideal. you also get a better shot of the HMI Commander Switch as well as the electronic parking break to the left.

The CX-9 has a power moonroof which generated some interesting reactions from people who saw it. Some of them thought it was on the small side seeing as there are a number of vehicles with panoramic sun/moon roofs. I have to admit that they might have a point as having a panoramic sun/moon roof would have taken an outstanding interior and made it perfect.

Now to the second row. It will seat three, but the middle occupant will have to deal with the hump for the rear driveshaft which is not insignificant. These seats not only tilt back and forth, but you can slide them for and aft to get more legroom for those passengers or those behind them in the third row. As you can see, if you don’t need that middle seat, you can flip down these hand to have cupholders and storage area behind them which has this handy feature….

…It has two USB ports in it. That will prove very handy for families.

The CX-9 has tri-zone climate control and here are the controls for the second row passengers.

Entry into the third row is straightforward. You pull a lever at the top of the second row seat (which split 60/40 by the way) flips down partially and the seat slides forward.

Here’s the third row. I’m six feet tall and I had no headroom back here. Assuming I had nobody my size in front of me, I did have enough legroom. But you should really consider this row for emergency use for short distances if you are not a kid.

For the third row passengers, you get cupholders and some degree of storage.

Each of the rear doors has a handy sunscreen that retracts into the door.

With the third row up, you get a decent amount of storage. To be precise, you get 407L.

But if you flip the third row down, you get a healthy amount of storage. To be precise, 1082L

Flip down the second row and you get a 2017L of storage. Handy for trips to Home Depot or for moving your friends. It all folds flat, but I will note that between the second and third rows, there is about 3 or 4 inches of space between the seats which might make sliding things in along the folded seats and the floor a challenge because it might get caught in that space.

One handy feature is that there is storage under the floor.

The storage that the CX-9 has came in handy when my wife and I went to the farmer’s market in St. Jacob’s Ontario.

Besides having a button to close the power hatch, it has a handle on the inside which is handy for keeping your hands clean.

Overall the interior is very upscale and well executed. Mazda really did a great job putting the interior together as it competes very well against others in the 7 passenger SUV space  in almost every way. I should also note that there’s very good vision in every direction for the driver. Though I will note that when you have the third row seats up, the headrests cut off some of your rear vision. No rattles, squeaks, or other annoyances were noted during my week with the CX-9.

Tomorrow, I will be taking a look at the technology in the CX-9 which is very extensive. Stay tuned.

This entry was posted on July 20, 2016 at 8:26 am and is filed under Products with tags Mazda. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.