The 2019 Mazda CX-9 is more than just a pretty face. Along with its attractive style comes plenty of utility and a quick and sporty driving character that enhances the typical three-row family shuttle.Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are newly available.Retuned suspension for a smoother ride.New surround-view parking camera system.
PROS Premium interior, especially the top-level Signature trim Sporty handling Comfortable and quiet on the highway
CONS Cargo capacity isn't as generous as in competitors Third-row seats aren't especially accommodating
The 2019 Mazda CX-9 delivers heavily on style, but it’s just adequate in other respects.
Pros Gorgeous sheetmetal Near-luxury interior Widely available safety tech Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, finally
Cons No touchscreen functionality Not as much space as competitors Limited options No hybrid alternative
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto finally join the spec sheet for 2019 and are standard on Touring, Grand Touring, and Signature trims. Mazda has included a list of other optional features for 2019 as well, which includes ventilated front seats, a 360-degree-view exterior camera system, SiriusXM Travel Link (live traffic and weather updates, among other things), a digital gauge display, power-folding exterior mirrors, and a frameless rearview mirror. The luxurious Signature trim now comes with a new wood trim inside and exclusive exterior badging.
Pros Sweetest-driving three-row, fuel-efficient powertrain, near-luxury interior.
Cons Compromised cargo room, tight third row, no second-row captain's chairs.
Not only is the MX-30 an all-new model for Mazda, it marks the first time the Japanese automaker has experimented with an all-electric powertrain. It's similarly sized to the current CX-3 and the upcoming CX-30 crossovers, but borrows the MX nomenclature of the MX-5 Miata, giving us hope that it will be a performance-oriented option in the electric-SUV marketplace.
Another day, another electric vehicle. This time around it's from Mazda, and it blends all the hallmarks of a sporty city SUV with a fully-electric heart. The MX-30 debuts Mazda's pure-electric e-SkyActiv platform, along with a number of new interior technologies likely to filter through the rest of the Japanese brand's line-up in due course. The all-electric MX-30 is part of Mazda's plan to offer an e-SkyActiv (hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or fully-electric) vehicle in each of its model lines by 2030. That includes everything from the Mazda 2 through to the dual-cab BT-50 replacement.
Mazda could have played it safe with this one but it didn't. Instead, it went bold. Rugged, in fact. All the more impressive is the fact that the all-new 2021 Mazda MX-30 is the Japanese automaker's first-ever all-electric vehicle. Going bold is something GM, for example, never would have done. Just look at the Chevrolet Bolt. The new MX-30, by contrast, has unique styling inside and out that may not be to everyone's liking. Mazda has been repositioning itself over the past few years as a more premium brand overall, and the MX-30's slightly more rugged look is not what everyone expected. But it also serves as the ideal gateway model for the brand as it takes its first step towards all-out electrification. The question is whether the MX-30 can successfully challenge the likes of the popular Hyundai Kona Electric, Kia Niro EV, and even the upcoming BMW iX3.
