Mazda CX-9, 2008: Belew's Car Buzz

14/09/2008 07:43. I’ve often thought that if a car can’t be made to operate more economically, it could at least be made to be safer. Japanese automakers have heard me thinking. And Mazda heard me thinking, particularly when I recently drove the CX-9 a few hundred miles during a week's test drive.

The CX-9 The car gets an estimated 15 mpg in the city and 21 mpg on the highway. Good or bad for an SUV type? You decide. I reckoned it would be a great commuter car, if I were hauling seven people every time I took it out. The estimated fuel costs: $2,470 per year based on 15,000 miles per year at $2.80 per gallon. But fuel costs would be more like $4,000 per year. Divide that by seven non-family members and maybe.

But safe? Indeed, I felt safe and very comfortable behind the wheel of the CX-9. The SUV's... // Weekly Driver