Mazda CX-9: In times of family tragedy, turns out brother knows best: The large crossover and I both rise to the challenge of being good older brothers

By Jay Binneweg

Mar. 20, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
Cars, like humans, live within a brand's familial lineup, a hierarchy we impose on them to make sense of the bigger picture. Here is a story about growing up and the bonds that tie a family together.

I worried for Mazda after driving its adolescent five-seat crossover, the CX-7 -- it was confused about its goals and refused to take commands, thanks to a sporty turbocharged engine shackled to an automatic transmission that didn't share its verve; it was hard to work with, thanks to its high door sills and slipped-in-the-bathtub view out; and it was far too gluttonous, insisting on gulping down the premium unleaded, considering I had no fun driving it and still returned only 20 mpg.

But Mazda's larger, seven-seat CX-9 crossover is a revelation, a confident older brother, fully formed and mature. It's stylish, with the strong bones of the brand's swoopy design language working much better when stretched over the longer footprint. And it uses that extra space to feel all grown up inside: There is room inside for a full seven, as I learned when I piloted it down to Las Cruces, twice, around the holidays and new year. And everything just works on it, from the assuredly refined controls and raft of family-friendly technology to the spacious three-row seating and powerful V-6 engine.

And I'm not the only one to fall in love with this largest Mazda: Strange as it is -- coming from the zoom-zoom brand, the one you'd expect to be master of small, zippy cars -- praise for this sumptuously luxurious full-size crossover has been deafening and universal. It's definitely an over-achiever, something you usually don't expect from the eldest -- or, in this case, the largest of the Mazda clan.

The first time the CX-9 and I hit the road, it was for a compromise holiday weekend: With two grown-and-flown sons and two still at home, though just barely, my mom and stepdad had settled on the weekend after Christmas as a way to get everyone past their other engagements and gathered all together.

It was sunny and beautiful on both ends of the trip, and Scout -- my mom affectionately refers to her as "the granddog" -- found plenty of room in the CX-9 for the ride down. As soon as we arrived, the CX-9 was immediately repurposed for a children's excursion to Ciudad Juarez without the parents -- transformed from one-with-dog travel to hauling four large men and the oldest's girlfriend.

Good family times, good food and drinks and great deals on useless crap from Mexico: If that isn't the stuff of a successful family holiday get-together, I don't know what is. My little brothers, twins, are now just over a year away from 21, but in Mexico, the beer flows freely at a younger age. Shannon, my older brother's girlfriend, had early on agreed to be the designated driver, so, with two older brothers to guide them and keep them in line, stories flowed like the drinks. It was a right of passage, and we all knew it. And the Mazda CX-9 was the perfect family hauler, both for the ride back from El Paso and for the rest of the weekend. It fit as much of the family as wanted to go together at any one time, was stunningly easy to maneuver and became the ride of choice for any jaunt.

At the end of the weekend, Scout and I loaded up to power back to Santa Fe. The rear-seat entertainment system was lost on her -- as it had been on the rest of the family, since we'd all grown up before such things became common -- but the climate controls for rear-seat riders kept her nicely temperate, even in her flexible car carrier.

In only its second year, the CX-9 received a power boost for 2008, 10 more horsepower for its standard 3.7-liter V-6 (up from 3.5 liters), for a total of 273, while still only asking for regular gas. That power is routed through a six-speed automatic well-tuned to keep it on boil for acceleration or let it fairly loaf along at low revs while keeping up with highway speeds. Together, they work to keep the stress and noise levels low, and the open road finds them at home.

Front-wheel drive is standard; the optional all-wheel drive was beautifully seamless in use, my only regret being that we met only perfect weather: A vehicle that does everything as well as this CX-9 deserves to be fully tested, seems to be begging for it.

The interior is handsome and refined, luxurious and opulent in look and feel. Unlike what I thought of the brash CX-7, all the materials are well-tailored, soft and supple -- while still appearing durable, ready for an active family. The red-lit gauges are large and legible, and the center console manages to organize all controls simply and in a completely straightforward way. It's a sumptuous place to spend time -- more German, or even Swedish, in feel, more upscale than we're used to seeing from Mazda -- which is a good thing because I was destined to spend a lot of time behind the wheel of this CX-9.

The call came a few days after we got home: My stepdad had collapsed and was in the hospital, my mom said. It was evening, dinnertime, and I had just talked to him that day: was at Garcia Street Books for Michael McGarrity's signing of his latest, Death Song, and had called to ask him if he had a copy yet, since he'd turned me on to the series.

She didn't know what it was. He had been in pain all day but then had just collapsed as they decided to head to the hospital. They had just admitted him when he had a heart attack, and everything went into fast-forward.

That had been hours before, and there had been so many things to work out, so many people to tell. This is a woman who has built houses for decades, who raised four kids and only accepted the help of her second husband when he was willing to do it by her rules: She doesn't need anything, this woman, and has never asked for anything. She has always been up to any challenge -- she's the one who stayed level no matter what stupid things we kids got up to, no matter how much blood there was or how many stitches we'd needed -- and here she was, overwhelmed.

Just sitting at home, hearing this over the phone, there was no question: Scout and I loaded back up and headed down, aiming to be there before midnight.

We arrived in the middle of the night, but my mom and I, neither ready for bed, took Scout on a walk around the New Mexico State University campus, not half a block from the house. We talked, Scout pleaded to investigate the geese at the pond, and things came down from the level of red alert, back to waiting and sadness and things unsaid.

They had jump-started my stepdad, stabilized him and then cut him open. It had been his gall bladder that was causing the pain, we learned later, doing whatever those do -- rupture, burst? -- and the pain had been too much for his system, shutting it down, causing the heart attack. He was out, put under, they couldn't stop the bleeding. Mom sat by his side, making so terribly many decisions, watching the machines rise and fall, keeping him going.

In the hospital was the man who has been the main male in my life, from about 10 on. I could visit the hospital and sit with my mom, see this man unconscious, the blood being sucked out because they couldn't stop his bleeding, more bags of blood being brought in to shore up his dwindling supply. We just sat and waited, telling small stories of his impact in our lives. Laughing and crying, silent and then silent some more.

But I knew my role was to be the big brother -- to his kids, the two to whom this was "Dad," the ones who couldn't take the sight of him lying there.

So we rented movies and ate at restaurants. We threw Scout's favorite ducky in the yard, played their video games, stayed up late. We made each other laugh to break up the times when we would fall silent.

The Mazda always had more than enough room, not for their grief and fear, but for their daily needs: Whatever they wanted or needed, they had only to ask and we'd pile in and go. I stayed a few days as the emergency, the intial shock, was replaced by long days of simply waiting and more family poured in.

After two weeks in intensive care, he went home. Actually, when he was awake and taking tentative steps, mom said "no more" and got him out, brought him home: where he would be taken care of, where his recovery would be watched by a family who cared and would be on him 24 hours a day.

Scout and I came down again, this time for Super Bowl weekend, and found him up and around. Moving slowly with a walker, sleeping much of the time on this, what should be his biggest day of the year. But that was in another car, the trip we made. And that is another story.

The Mazda CX-9 was the ideal ride to take a guy and his dog down to be part of family happenings -- one weekend good, the other horrifying. It attacked the freeway with ease, whether the occasion was another darn holiday or an emergency where the family needed some support.

The front seat, where I spent most of the time, was comfortable and never fatiguing. The second and third rows performed admirably, very well for a vehicle that is still easy enough to park anywhere, and held as many people as I ever needed to transport. Entertainment system in place, it should keep your family well taken care of, though we had other things to be worried about.

The engine and transmission are a welcome relief after the CX-7: Power and the invisible shifts it can facilitate will soothe the nerves better than a peaky turbo four could any day.

Yes, it's not an inexpensive beast by any means, and it has stiff competition from the General Motors (NYSE:GM) large-crossover contingent -- GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave -- but the Mazda CX-9 has the feel of broad-shouldered confidence, the solidity of a big brother, a strong family, that you need when you don't know what the world will throw at you.

Jay Binneweg is automotive editor at The New Mexican. E-mail him at drive@sfnewmexican.com.

2008 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring AWD

--Base price: $35,290
--As tested: $41,780
--Type: All-wheel-drive, seven-passenger large crossover
--Drivetrain: DOHC 24-valve 3.7-liter V-6; 273 horsepower at 6,250 rpm and 270 pound-feet of torque at 4,250 rpm; six-speed automatic with manual shift
--EPA mileage: 15/21, regular unleaded
--Length: 199.8 inches
--Wheelbase: 113.2 inches
--Weight: 4,546 pounds
--Built in: Japan

------

Tech test: an all-wheel-drive home theater

My time with the Mazda CX-9 was limited, interrupted by Jay's emergency run down to Las Cruces, but I did have time to test my favorite feature, the backseat.

Now hold on, it's not what you're thinking. There's plenty to do in the backseat of Mazda's large crossover SUV that doesn't involve steaming up the windows. As I found out one snowy evening, the rear of the CX-9 makes a great entertainment center.

On this night, I had driven to Albuquerque to see the latest indie flick, only to be told that it was sold out. Deciding to take a different approach, I stopped at home on the way up to the ski basin and picked up Bram Stoker's Dracula on DVD.

It had just stared to rain a bit but, as I ascended, that quickly turned to snow. Deep snow.

Luckily, the all-wheel-drive system on the CX-9 kicked in when I needed it to keep me on track, and I drove slowly but assuredly to my theater on the mountain.

On the way, listening to music from the Sirius satellite radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) or the MP3 player input was a joy, but the system really shined when playing DVDs.

The package available on all trim levels includes a 9-inch screen in the headliner and an 11-speaker Bose 5.1 surround-sound system.

A feature called Centerpoint allows the sound field to be focused on the rear-seat area and takes advantage of a center-channel speaker installed just in front of the LCD screen.

When I finally climbed into the second row, the accommodations were plenty comfortable. The seats slide back and recline far enough to really stretch out. While the screen itself was small, the sound was big.

Maybe too big, as the sound of Dracula's wolves howling got a little creepy all alone, surrounded by aspens. -- Alexander Usatine

Blind-spot system is watching, even if you aren't

A feature that will hopefully make its way to other cars is Mazda's new Blind Spot Monitoring system, exclusive to the CX-9 Grand Touring model.

The way I usually configure my mirrors eliminates most blind spots on a vehicle, as any passing car will move from the center rearview, to the side mirror, to beside me. Cars on the fringes of this view are sometimes hard to see and keep track of, though, and Mazda's system eliminates the guesswork.

Sensors in the rear bumper monitor cars in the adjacent lanes and, when one moves close, a symbol etched into the side mirrors illuminates on the appropriate side.

Activating the turn signal to change lanes while another vehicle is near triggers a warning sound and the blind-spot indicator flashes. In my experience, it worked very well.

Every time I passed or was passed, the light came on with plenty of room for error. It was also useful for knowing when it was safe to re-enter the right lane after passing slow traffic. -- Alexander Usatine

Newstex ID: KRTB-0182-23924994