Good midrange power, especially for a 2.5-liter engine, turbo or not. Even toward the end of the quarter-mile, the CX-9 is still pulling quite well. When all the boost comes in, it is noticeable, but not because it's dead off boost — it's just a wallop of power. Building up power on the brakes before the launch is the way to go, but unless you paddle through the gears yourself, it will short-shift 1-2 nearly 2,000 rpm shy of redline. Flipping gears yourself needs to be done sooner than you think as the paddles aren't exactly instantaneous. The CX-9 feels like it's using all four of its tires really well. Braking is extremely stable and consistent. It is drama-free, with a nice, firm pedal and minimal dive. These brakes are well sorted. Definitely a benchmark in terms of feel and confidence. How refreshing it is to find an SUV with stability control that wants to help you get through the corner instead of panicking and wanting you to straighten the wheel and stop. The steering is well-weighted and accurate, but the visibility could be better. You do sit a little lower and the front roof pillar is a bit fat. Still, the chassis is fantastic. Stability control is always lurking and never lets you get too out of shape.

I bought this car to expand my ability to run the kids and their friends all over the place on a daily basis while trying to reduce our monthly fuel budget. This was probably one of the best decisions I've made for both ease of driving and still being able to load up everyone and their gear for games and recitals. It has the quality and road handling responsiveness you would expect from a Mazda, while the third-row seat allows for the kids to have their own space with their friends when we're in the car. One of the features I love the most is that even with so many people in the car, we still have tons of room in the back for bags, sporting equipment and groceries while running all over the place every day! I wasn't sure that I wanted to give up driving a sedan because I like the way a car handles on the road, but his car is awesome on daily driving demands. It has a ton of pep and handles both the local roads and highways perfectly, even when fully loaded down. I especially appreciate the amount of horsepower and the acceleration responsiveness this vehicle has because these are features that make me feel my family is safe while we are traveling in our Mazda CX-9 while keeping my fuel economy concerns satisfied.