venom21

My sister has owned one of these since October, a 2018 Signature in Alberta. Overall its served her very well and she has put nearly 40000kms on it including a long trip to South Cali. Some issues to look out for are the infotainment screen freezing/lagging occasionally, premature wear on the leather seats, and paint being quite thin/scratching easily compared to luxury brands. Have they upgraded the infotainment systems to support Carplay and Android Auto yet? It was supposed to happen sometime soon. Good choice, most of the reliability issues seem to stem from the infotainment system and not the major mechanical parts so it should serve you well. Make sure you put winters on it, the stock Falkens that came on my sister's were junk in the winter.

sm1ke

iTrader: (5)

Thanks, mine also came from Alberta (we were still living there when we bought it). Mine has nearly 13k on it, no issues whatsoever with the infotainment or the leather. Maybe the firmware on your sister's car needs an update? Paint is definitely thin compared to luxury/German brands, but apparently its the same story across the board for some other manufacturers like Ford and Honda. I knew this going in, which is why I had the dealer install PPF for free while negotiating the deal.

Thanks for the tip on the winters, mine came with Bridgestone Ecopia tires that are apparently not as good as the Falkens, so winter tires are the next purchase. I'll be getting a set of Bridgestone DM-V2s before the first snowfall.

JDR76

Congrats on a great choice! We went with a Highlander, but I really like the CX-9 as well. We've used the third row many more times than I ever thought we would. These are great cars to have around.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

congrats! where are you now that you're not in alberta?

sm1ke

iTrader: (5)

Definitely, I never thought I'd end up using the third row as much as I have been. It's nice to be able to take the whole family to dinner or whatever in just one car. I have a friend in Alberta who just bought a 2016 Highlander, they like theirs as well.

Thank you! I'm in Manitoba now.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

living large!

sm1ke

iTrader: (5)

Hahah, not even remotely close. But both my wife and I have a huge network of friends and family here, and we are all very happy to be able to raise our six month old with family around.

sm1ke

iTrader: (5)

I'm sure some of you have seen my post in the Marketplace, but if anyone has any suggestions for 22" wheels/brands of wheels to consider, I'd really appreciate it. Brands on the short list that are currently accessible to me are Niche (Form or Elan) and Vossen (VFS-1, VFS-2, or HF-1). I also like Ace Alloy wheels (specifically the Devotion model), but I can't seem to find a local shop that can order them in for me. I have also considered other brands like Avant Garde and Rohana.

I know that the Vossen hybrid forged wheels are lighter than the Niche wheels by about 7lbs per wheel, I just need to decide whether that's worth paying twice as much. I love the look of the Devotion wheels, but they seem to be harder to source in Canada, and become almost as expensive as Vossen once I factor in shipping costs, duty/customs, and the 3hr round trip to pick the shipment up from the border.

Any other suggestions for brands I should look into?

sm1ke

iTrader: (5)

Just thought I'd update, I went with Vossen VFS-2 wheels in 22x10.5 and Nexen 285/35/22 tires. Surprisingly the 22" Vossens are 3-4 lbs lighter than the OEM 20" wheels! Can't wait to get them on the car.

Wandl

CX-9s are a great car - sad to see over half of Mazda's sold in the US are CX-5's (they are good vehicles but the Miata and Mazda 6 are very under-rated).

I looked at the CX-9 a while back when looking to replace my wife's pilot - unfortunately, the 3rd-row seat is really small (we'd use it regularly) however it drives like a dream and is very competitive for the price. It looks way more expensive than it is!

-J-P-L-

Interesting there is 2 of us on CL with a 2018 CX-9. I can attest that it's a fantastic vehicle. Best interior in class, best looking exterior (In a majority of opinions), best driving, most low end torque...

Mazda is still overlooked by too many. They continue to rate best in class in each category but people don't care. Mazda is also #3 on Consumer Reports only after Toyota and Lexus in reliability. Both CX-9 and CX-5 are on Car and Driver's 10 best trucks /SUVs this year.

sm1ke

iTrader: (5)

Are you the same JPL that's on mazdas247?

Mazda is definitely overlooked by many, and I'm sure its because they're a much, much smaller company compared to others. They have a smaller dealer network, which might be part of the reason they don't move as many vehicles as others. I'm sure the previous Ford partnership didn't help matters either. But they have shown consistent growth, and hopefully their partnership with Toyota will change a few more minds.

Honestly, I was sold on the CX-9 the second I test drove it. It looks good in photos, but the drive is something you have to experience to appreciate, especially at this price point. This car punches high for it's class.

Mike728

We picked up the smaller version of your CX-9, the 2019 CX-5 Signature a few weeks ago. I still have my Lexus, though. It's an awesome vehicle with lots of torque.

Looking forward to seeing pic's with the Vossens installed!

Toys4RJill

sm1ke

iTrader: (5)

Congrats! There's a lot to love about the new CX-5 Signature.

One other thing I really like is the way the infotainment is laid out with the Commander ****. I find it much better than many of the touchscreen systems out there. I've had this car for a year and I think I've touched the screen like 3 times, lol.

Just out of curiosity, what don't you like about the exterior designs? Big grille? Proportions? Body lines?