The 2007 Mazda CX-9

Although I’m the first one to complain about people driving big ol’ cars “just because they can,” there are those out there who need room for more than four people in their everyday ride. After all, not every family is composed of a mom, a dad, and two kids.

Four kids…three kids and a grandma…heck, two husbands, three wives and a Great Dane might make up your family. My point is, try as they may, not every family unit can squeeze into a vehicle on Ed Begley Jr.’s approved list. When I was a kid those larger families would have found themselves stuffed into a Ford Country Squire station wagon, complete with real fake wood on the sides and a backward-facing third-row seat—perfect for making faces at the car behind you. In the 1980s the minivan became the vehicle of choice for hauling larger broods. Once pundits began making fun of so-called “soccer moms” in their minivans, those larger families (who really needed a minivan, whether or not they wanted to admit it) moved on to SUVs. Eventually they began to discover that those big ol’ SUVs weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Safe in an accident maybe—and just how many of us are ever involved in life- threatening accidents, anyway?—but a bitch to park, cumbersome to climb up into and not nearly as efficient inside. Plus they cost and arm and a leg to buy, two arms and a leg to satisfy their thirst for fuel and four arms and three legs to make repairs once the factory warranty runs out.

And now that many of those three-year warranties are ending, and gas prices are inching up again, Mom and Dad are looking for something a little more practical to haul Junior and his sister to highly regimented play dates with the kid at the other end of the block.

The folks at Mazda USA—you know…the zoom-zoom gang—realized just that when they were designing the new CX-9 crossover. It’s a handsome people- carrier with a capacity of seven and, unlike some other vehicles out there with a third row, room behind for the kind of “stuff” families tend to need. There’s a full 17.2 cubic feet of space behind the third row. The second and third rows fold flat when not needed to provide 48.4 and 100.7 cubic feet of space respectively. Just for comparison’s sake, the trunk of a new Ford Fusion has just under 16 cubic feet of cargo space. And doesn’t look nearly as cool.

I know, station wagons aren’t supposed to look cool, but remember—this isn’t a station wagon, it’s a crossover. People coming out of SUVs need extra motivation to downsize, and looks, while not everything, are…wait a minute, looks are everything! And the CX-9 certainly has the looks. Mazda will be the first to admit it. Read this snippet from their press release: “Without sacrificing versatility or efficiency, the CX-9 strives for the sophisticated appearance of a vehicle costing two to three times as much.”

I’d say they hit the nail on the head. Squint at the accompanying photo and try and convince me the CX-9 doesn’t look a bit like a Lexus RX ($37,400). Of course, the CX-9 has a starting price of $29,630, which would put vehicles costing two to three times as much into the $59,260 to $88,890 range. Let’s see, that would be maybe a Mercedes Benz GL450 or GL500. I’m not buying it. Mazda should know where to hold back on the superlatives and just run with the fact that they’ve got a darn good-lookin’ car that no soccer mom would be ashamed to be seen in.

Add your own woodgrain to complete the look. More info at mazdausa.com.