Every time that Mazda throws me the keys to their latest new model, I get excited. Of course it’s not quite the same as if Ferrari were to call and say that they were delivering a 488 Spider, but it’s still more exciting than many of Mazda’s competitors. The Mazda3 is one of the best compacts you can buy and you’ll never be in a bad mood behind the wheel of the new MX-5 Miata. So when Mazda gave me the keys to the new CX-9 crossover, I was excited to see how Mazda could add some excitement to the somewhat boring three-row crossover segment. Here are the five things I either hated or loved about the 2017 Mazda CX-9.
4Lots of features, but one annoying screen
The Mazda CX-9 offers lots of features, like three-zone automatic climate control, standard alloy wheels, Bose speakers, auto wipers, a head-up display and even Nappa leather on the top Signature model. All this sounds great, but there is one thing that you’ll constantly look at and say – Why? The infotainment system. The infotainment system comes in two sizes, with a 7-inch screen on lower end trims or a 8-inch on top trim levels. Either way, the system feels archaic and useless. On a drive from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, I didn’t even try to use the old feeling navigation system and instead had to use my phone. Mazda has yet to offer Apple CarPlay or Android Auto in any of its models, so it automatically feels old. Even worse, the screen sits on top of the dash and at night actually reflects on the windshield and not in a good way. I found it distracting at night and wished it had a function to lower it into the pretty dash.
