 What is up, you guys? Welcome back to another one. If you're new to the channel, I'm Bill Pony. I do new car truck SUV reviews on YouTube. And today we are in the new 2021 Mazda CX-9 courtesy of Jack T Mbalvo Mazda in York PA. For more information on their inventory, please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. And so this is Mazda's largest SUV. Three rows do come standard on this CX-9. So I wanted to check this one out today, known for great reliability as well. You guys can check out consumer reports for that. And there's actually a couple of nice changes for the 2021 CX-9 as well. So having said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's just go ahead and jump right into it. And as always, let's start with pricing. It's so as you can imagine, there are several different trim levels for the 2021 CX-9. First one being the sport, starting at $33,960. Touring for $35,750. Carbon edition, which is a new trim level for the 2021 CX-9 starting at $41,080. Grand Touring for $41,940. And lastly, the signature starting at $46,605. And by the way, that was all pricing for the front wheel drive configuration. If you wanted to add all wheel drive to any of those trim levels, simply add $1,900 to any of those prices. And so, but regardless of trim level that you go with, the power plant on the CX-9 is going to be the same. Powering this beast is a 2.5 liter turbocharged inline four cylinder, putting out 250 horsepower at 5,000 RPM, 320 pound-feet of torque available at 2,500 RPM. Power set to front wheels or all wheels, so a six-speed automatic. And I will say paddle shifters are available on this one. If you wanted to go that route, red line comes in at 6,300 RPM, zero to 60 times, 7.2 seconds. With MBG numbers coming in at 22 in the city, 28 highway for the front wheel drive, 20 in the city, 26 on the highway for the all-wheel drive. Premium fuel is recommended for those increased power numbers I've rambled off to you there. But regular fuel is okay. However, you will see pretty substantial decreases in those power numbers if you were to fill this one up with regular unlit of fuel. But so then before we do any kind of acceleration test here in this CX-9, I did want to mention there is one drive mode that is the sport drive mode. That switch is located just to the left of the shifter. And so when you press that up, it does give you sport driving mode adjusting things like the throttle response and the shift point. So definitely going to be useful for merging onto the highway if you wanted to hit it then or really more acceleration at any given time. So that's always nice to have that kind of thing there. But having now said that, what do you guys say? I'm going to leave it in that sport driving mode that I currently just pointed in. And let's find a straightaway. Let's put this thing to the test and let's do a quick little acceleration test here in our CX-9. And let's see how quickly this one is going to get us up to speed. I wish you guys a little bit of a rolling start. But ready? Here we go. Nice slipping. That's good. It's all wheel drive. But yeah, that'll definitely do the trick. Definitely not going to have any issues emerging onto the highway. That was plenty of an acceleration for a three-row SUV. I'll put it that way. But to go along with that acceleration, as always, braking is equally important. So up front for the CX-9, you will find 12.6 inch ventilated front discs. In the back, 12.8 inch solid rear discs. As far as that 60-0 stopping distance goes, it actually is going to come in at 123 feet, which is plenty respectable for a three-row SUV. A lot of them will come in in the upper 120, some of them even in the 130. So 123 is perfectly fine. As far as that braking feel goes, as we are now pulling up to a red light, it is perfectly fine. There's no brake pedal delay. It's not spongy or anything like that. So no issues for me when it comes to the braking feel in this one. Touching on suspension and handling, up front you're going to get a McPherson strut front suspension. In the back, independent multi-link rear suspension, front and rear stabilizer bars, but the very best part of the CX-9 without a doubt, even comparing it to every other three-row SUV out there right now, is the steering feel. I will say I just got done reviewing the CX-5 as well. I would say the steering feel in the CX-9, the three-row SUV, as opposed to the two-row, is even better. The steering feel in this thing is weighted perfectly, definitely on the heavier side, and it points you in the direction that you want to go instantly. It's really for somebody who is looking for a little bit of fun, a little bit of driver enjoyment, at least when it comes to the steering and the handling in a three-row SUV. Because most three-row SUVs out there are going to give you very numb steering feels, kind of on the loosey-goosey side, and that really doesn't lend itself, of course, to a more enjoyable drive. But with the CX-9, it's 100% on point. I actually enjoy driving this three-row SUV. It's a blast. The steering feel is absolutely amazing. Anyways, touching on ride quality, that has been perfectly fine as well. Definitely no issues there. It's pretty much as expected for the CX-9. Cabin noise, that was another thing that surprised me. It's actually a lot better than I thought. A lot of times with other three-row SUVs, once you hit 50 miles per hour and up, you get a little bit of wind noise. That's really the speed of my head I always look for. Once you hit 50 miles per hour, sometimes that wind noise creeps into the cabin, and it can get a little bit annoying. But with the CX-9, I have hit 50, 60 miles per hour, and there was no wind noise whatsoever. So cabin noise is definitely on point. They have insulated this thing quite well. So there's definitely a plus as well in this thing. Then touching on visibility, I can see perfectly fine out the back with the exception of those third-row headrests. They are absolutely mammoth. So we'll say, if you don't have any third-row passengers, might as well just fold that third row down because those headrests are of course going to impede visibility quite substantially because they are massive. So I do have them up right now. So I do have to mention it. But anyways, other than that visibility is perfectly fine. I will say that. And to go along with that actually, rain-sensing windshield wipers do come standard on every single trim level of the CX-9. That's something Mazda tends to do. And when you're comparing that feature with other three-row SUVs, a lot of times there's rain-sensing windshield wipers only come in the upper trim levels of other manufacturers. But with Mazda, they put it on even the base trim level to sport. So absolutely love that. Essentially what that is, is when the CX-9 detects any kind of mist or rainfall, it is going to automatically turn on those windshield wipers. So it's just one less thing you got to worry about, kind of like automatic headlights basically. But also wanted to mention, along the lines of visibility, there is a head-up display that will come standard on the grand touring trim level and up projecting your speed, speed limit, and other safety information under your windshield. Help you better keep your eyes on the road so it's a little safety feature there for you as well. But that about rounds out the performance segment of this review, you guys. Let's now go ahead and take a look at the exterior of this beautiful 2021 Mazda CX-9. All right, so here she is, you guys. The new 2021 Mazda CX-9 finished in sole red crystal metallic with the candy cane in the background. That's right. It's around Christmas time. Anyway, so let's go ahead and start up front of the CX-9 here. First, I wanted to start by mentioning, when it comes to ground clearance, 8.8 inches is what that number is going to be. So a decent amount up there. Front grille is actually going to differ slightly dependent upon the trim level that you go with. For example, you will find chrome horizontal bars with the sport touring and grand touring. That's what you're looking at right now. Dark front grille with the carbon addition. Of course, that makes sense. Any unique silver front grille with the signature. And by the way, LED grille accent lighting also with the signature trim level. And that is definitely a very high end look. I've seen that before. It's pretty darn cool. But anyways, to the sides, LED headlights do come standard across the board. Even the sport trim level is going to get those LEDs. That's pretty nice. They do, of course, come with the automatic feature as well. Meaning when it starts to get dark at night, those headlights will turn on automatically for you there. LED daytime running lights also coming standard as well. LED fog lights down below. If you were to go with the carbon addition trim level and up and it is going to be optional on, let's say, the touring here that we do indeed have here today. But anyways, adaptive front lighting system. This is pretty cool. This is going to come with the carbon addition trim level and up. Essentially what that adaptive front lighting system does is when you're going around a bend at night, those headlights will swivel dependent upon the steering angle. So it's going to better help illuminate what is around that bend. So you're less likely to hit a deer or possum or really anything. So that is definitely a nice safety feature when you're driving at night there. Matte black front lip is going to come with the sport and touring. Again, you guys are looking at that right now and you will find some silver accenting down on that front lip. If you were to go with the carbon addition, then trim level and up. But now let's go ahead and make our way to the side of the CX-9 here. So I've climbed in the woods to bring this side shot to you guys here. But aluminum roof rails with satin chrome finish is going to come on the carbon addition trim level and up. Rear privacy glass, of course, coming standard across the board along with chrome windows surrounds as well. When it comes to the side mirrors, they are body colored power adjustable side mirrors for all trim levels. Also, LED integrated turd signals actually coming standard for all trim levels as well. That's one of those features where you usually see an upper trim levels of other manufacturers. But again, Mazda puts it across the board. I absolutely love that. Heated side mirrors also coming standard on all trim levels. Same deal there as well. And you will find automatic power folding side mirrors with the carbon addition trim level and up. And specific to that carbon addition, they will be gloss black side mirrors as opposed to body colored side mirrors that of course you're looking at right now. So the carbon addition essentially gives you a bunch of darker accents throughout the exterior. So silver accenting on the side skirts then can be found on the carbon addition trim level and up. And then taking a look down at the wheel setup, 18 by 8 inch aluminum alloys coming with the sport and touring. That's what you guys are looking at right now. Then that gets bumped up for the carbon addition grand touring and signature to 20 by 8.5 inch aluminum alloys. So not only the size but the width as well is going to be a little bit more. So I did want to mention that all of them though wrapped in all season tires of course. But then let's now go ahead and make our way to the back of the CX-9 here. It's been now since we are around back of the CX-9 shark fin antenna with a body colored finish all the way on top there. Just below that rear spoiler with an integrated brake light. Just below that rear window wiper led tail lights. Once again coming standard across the board. Gotta love that signature badging coming with the signature trim level only as expected there. And just below it all dual exhaust outlets with chrome tips. So having said that I do believe you guys know what we have to do next as always here is that exhaust clip. It's open now since we are still around back when it comes to opening that rear lift gate. It is a power lift gate if you were to go with the touring trim level and a hands free power lift gate if you were to go with the carbon addition trim level and up. And so since we have the touring trim level few different ways to go ahead and open that rear lift gate. There actually is a button on the key fob itself that is one way there is also a button on the lift gate itself that is yet another way. And if you were sitting in the driver's seat there's actually a button by the driver's side left knee as well that is yet another way to go ahead and open that rear lift gate. But having said that once opened up it didn't open up quite as much as I thought it would. And so I've been even six feet tall and when I went in there to check it out a little bit when it came back out I basically swiped my head on the top of the lift gate. So it doesn't open up quite as much as I would have wanted it to. So I did want to mention that. But nonetheless once opened up cargo space comes in at 14.4 cubic feet behind that third row then behind the second row with the third row folded down 38.2 cubic feet and with all rows folded 71.2 cubic feet. So for a three row SUV quite honestly that isn't all that much unfortunately even my 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe it's a three row SUV that comes in at 80 cubic feet. And I know the Telluride, the Palisade, the Pilot, the Highlander they all come in ranging from basically 84 to 87 cubic feet with all rows folded it's a 71.2 and a three row SUV really isn't all that great if I'm being honest. But still I do like the fact that the CX-9 offers a third row. I will say that. But since we are in that cargo area though I do like that there is some in-floor storage back there. That was definitely quite nice. 12-volt power outlet back there as well. And there was some grocery hooks back there as well. I always love seeing that. A little bit of cargo lighting back there as well. So pretty much everything you would want back there besides having a little more space wouldn't have minded that. But anyway let's now go ahead and make our way to the third row legroom that is going to come in at 29.7 inches. So for comparison's sake my old four Mustang in the back seats came in at around the same thing 29 inches. So for reference I mean even six feet tall really not a whole lot of space whatsoever for adults. However you may be able to fit a small child back there if you wanted to. So I did want to mention that third row USB charging ports actually come standard for the carbon edition trim level enough that's also pretty cool one to mention that. But anyways make your way to the second row rear legroom there comes in at 39.4 inches. So again I'm even even six feet tall this is how much space I had in the second row plenty of space for me in that second row. So definitely find there two rear USB charging ports for the touring trim level and up gotta love that. Heated second row seats for the carbon edition trim level and up absolutely love that spoiler rear passengers a little bit. I know everyone's going to ask when it comes to a six seat configuration versus seven seat how does that all work. And so the way that works is that third row is always going to be two seats no matter what. But the middle row is either going to be three row seating or captain's chairs being two seats. So if you were to go with the sport trim level that is going to give you that center bench seating that is going to give you seven seats and that setup is going to be optional on the touring and grand touring trim level as well. But for the most part most terms are going to be the center captain's chairs being the six seating configuration and that's going to be the touring trim level the carbon edition the grand touring and the signature and of course that is what you guys are looking at right now as well. But so another thing I really liked on this one tri zone climate control comes standard on every single trim level meaning the rear passengers can set their own temperatures as well. So I found that pretty cool. Also rear window sunshades coming standard on the carbon edition trim level and up that's always a big plus especially when you have a new board coming in from the hospital or small children keep the sun out of their eyes. You know the Walmart ones they just don't work as well as the factory provided ones. I will say that but absolutely love the rear window sunshades back there as well. And of course you have plenty of cup holders back there and there are some armrests for their second row passengers as well. But then making our way to the front seats on the CX9 six way power driver seat with power lumbar actually comes standard on the sport and touring you don't always see power adjustable seats on the bottom trim level so that was pretty cool. Six way power adjustable passenger seat coming with the touring trim level and up eight way power driver seat with the carbon edition trim level and up cloth seating with the sport leather seating for the touring trim level and up absolutely love that heated front seats again with the touring trim level and up and those heated front seat buttons are actually located directly in front of the shifter right around the climate control settings there in case anybody was curious. Napa leather seating coming with the top trim level being the signature and you will find ventilated front seats with the carbon edition trim level and up overall seats are plenty comfortable definitely no issues with seat comfort I can see myself going on a long road trip in the CX9 so no issues there for me either. But so now taking a look front and center at the steering wheel just tilt and telescoping however it doesn't telescope out all that far I will say being six feet tall I have to push my seat back a decent amount wouldn't have minded if the steering wheel came out a little bit further that kind of matched the distance that I have to push the seat back in order for my legs to be comfortable since I am a little taller I guess you could say so usually with other three row SUVs it does telescope out a little bit further and I know I might be being nitpicky when it comes to that I still was relatively comfortable but it could be a little bit better that's all I'm saying but leather wrap steering wheel coming on all trims and it will be heated on the carbon edition trim level and up so now let's make our way to the startup let me first start by showing you guys the key it's a pretty cool key actually Mazda logo on the one side all of your buttons are actually located on the side of the key I like that lock on lock the button to pop the rear hatch and of course that panic button as well but it is of course all keyless entry with a push button start so all I am going to do simply leave the key in my pocket put my phone on the brake and press that engine start button which is located just to the right of the gauges and speaking of when it comes to that gauge setup tachometer is all the way to your left speedometer is front and center and there is a small digital gauge cluster all the way to your right to control what is on that digital gauge cluster there is an info button located on the left side of the steering wheel there that is going to give you different information like your outside temperature how many miles you have left until you hit empty when your next oil change is due trip a trip b of course safety information and quite a bit more as well so the really the list goes on there everything you could possibly want on a digital portion of the gauges up there but now let's take a look at overall interior quality there is a power moon roof that comes standard on the carbon edition trim level and up it is optional on the touring I love that overhead led accent lighting again with a carbon edition trim level and up auto dimming rear view mirror with home link controls coming with the touring trim level and up sometimes those home like controls usually come on the upper trim levels so I really like that they're on the touring and that's for up to three different garage doors you guys are looking at that right now gotta love that overhead sunglass holder coming with every single trim level across the board of course already mentioned the tri-zone climate control it's always nice aluminum interior trim coming with the carbon edition trim level and up otherwise that is replaced with a silver plastic unfortunately with the touring trim level that we have today and also the sport of course so wouldn't have minded seeing the aluminum on the carbon edition trim level there wireless phone charger also with that carbon edition trim level and up however I will say it is optional on the touring we do have it it's located directly in front of the shifter and it's with a rubberized bottom and it's facing downwards so it is less inclined to slide back into you of course so it's pretty much impossible for that to happen so a little bit of storage up there as well but just behind the shifter you actually have an electric mechanical parking brake two cup holders just behind that and a decent amount of storage within the center armrest and there's actually two usb charging ports in there as well and overall really when it comes to overall interior quality musty usually does a very good job but I will say that really good job really just pertains in this case to the carbon edition trim level and up because like I said the aluminum trim is replaced with plastic silver trim on this touring trim level and there are some hard finishes on the doors and also around the passenger side glove box things like that so wouldn't have minded seeing a more upper trim level but really it's not all that bad one of the things they did right here in the cx9 is right around the shifter they finished that in a gloss black smooth material a lot of other manufacturers will leave that a hard gray plastic or something like that so I really appreciate that and that continues right around the circular dial-in buttons which are going to be used to control the tech display so let's make our way to that now I really like this actually one of the new upgrades for the 2021 cx9 is every single trim level is going to come with this 10 and a quarter inch infotainment screen it is not a touch screen but to control what is on that screen again there is a circular dial-in buttons directly behind the shifter and it was very easy to use and it is something that you're definitely are going to get used to it is kind of a reach for it to be a touch screen anyway so I don't mind that it's all controlled using the circular dial-in buttons quite honestly but that's going to give you a ton of different information there like bluetooth and audio streaming android auto apple carplay of course meaning if you have a smartphone simply hook it up to the cx9 you have free navigation displayed up on that tech display it's always a big plus for me at least factory navigation system coming with the grand touring trim leveling up although you really don't need it if you got a smartphone anyways because of what I was saying there radio settings you can also control up there as well and by the way when it comes to the sound systems of the cx9 you will find six speakers with the sport and touring trim levels however there is a 12 speaker Bose sound system with the carbon edition trim level and up that sound system is going to be optional on the touring we do have that today so having said all that what do you guys say let's go ahead and turn on the radio so we got playing today and let's test out this Bose sound system that we do indeed have here today actually I could tell it wasn't the best clarity when it comes to the radio station that we were listening to but there is a ton of bass with that Bose sound system and I said this in my other reviews I've actually had both sound systems in my cars previously and they've never failed me that's never broken on me Bose is a very reputable sound system company and it is really quite a nice sound system for the cx9 so I would definitely recommend going with that one it was quite nice but last thing on the tech display at least I wanted to mention to you guys is of course when you do put this one in reverse you will find a rear view camera coming standard for every single trim level across the board I did want to emphasize the clarity on that rear view camera is excellent I do not see it this crystal clear that often so I do want to emphasize that 360 degree monitor though coming standard with the grand touring and signature trim level as well and as always that is going to lead us into safety and so to start the 2021 Bose the cx9 is an IIHS top safety pick plus which by the way is the very highest designation given by IIHS so pretty much says it all right there front side side curtain airbags do come standard in the back you're gonna have latch aka lower anchors and tethers for children for the rear car seats rear child door locks also coming standard tire pressure monitoring system but really when it comes to the fun more advanced safety features that come standard there are a ton of advanced safety features they do come standard on every single trim level across the board they are going to include a blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert that usually comes on upper trim levels of other manufacturers so I love that lane keep assist lane departure warning system smart city brake support with pedestrian detection smart brake support with collision warning and adaptive cruise control with stop and go as well that is a ton of advanced safety features coming standard in addition to that though the carbon addition trim level and up is going to add to that front and rear parking sensors a driver attention alert system and reverse automatic emergency braking as well and so overall when it comes to my final thoughts here of the cx9 this is perhaps the very most fun to drive three row suv in the segment I will say that mainly because of the steering feel and the handling because every other three row suv as expected they're not really built for driving enjoyment it's a loose steering feel and it's just not as much fun to drive so if you wanted a good balance maybe the cx9 is going to be for you also excellent safety it doesn't get any better than top safety pick plus with iihs you got to love that as well great power actually as well for a three row suv at least 320 pound feet of torque is quite a bit you got to love that I like the new 10 and a quarter inch infotainment screen as well definitely a huge fan of that really when it comes to the trade-offs in the cx9 a wooden of minded multicolor ambient lighting that is really a cool feature that I always appreciate and it's found in cars like the palisade and the tele-ride so I do like that but having said that it's not necessary it's just something I think it's kind of cool really big trade-off that with any mazda suv's is going to be the cargo space they're considerably smaller than the competition really no matter which mazda suv you're looking at but having said that the cx9 is still mazda's largest suv it's just smaller than the competition so that's also if you didn't need maybe as much space as a highlander as a pilot as a palisade then maybe the cx9 is going to be a good bet for you so overall the cx9 is really a solid pick so long as you don't need quite as much cargo space as the competition other than that it's really among the best so I will say that but that is about it for this one you guys thank you so much for watching feel free to follow me on social media at the bottom of the screen there if you like be sure to hit the subscribe and the bell notification button if you're in the new car reviews that is what we do here on this channel after all do appreciate you guys watching more than you know and I will see you guys all in the next video stay gold