2013 Mazda CX-9 goes upmarket

It made its global debut at the Sydney motor show in October and now Mazda has released its facelifted CX-9 in Australia, priced $100 higher from $44,525.

As seen in Sydney, the CX-9's midlife upgrade brings it into line with the rest of the Kodo-look Mazda range, while extra standard equipment aims to keep the full-size seven-seat SUV competitive against newer rivals like the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento, as well as evergreen segment leaders like the Ford Territory and Toyota Kluger.

While the entry-level front-wheel drive CX-9 Classic is priced $100 higher than before, the 2WD Luxury variant now costs $52,980 and the AWD Luxury wears a $57,480 sticker price (both up $225 on the previous price, but delivering savings of $1345 because they now get standard sat nav).

The range-topping CX-9 Grand Touring AWD, meantime, now costs $2223 more than before, at $63,828 (including luxury car tax), making the high-riding Mazda wagon more expensive than most of its large crossover rivals.

As we've reported, there are no mechanical changes involved in the midlife makeover for Mazda's largest model, which first arrived in Australia five years ago in December 2007. Since then the CX-9 has found more than 210,000 buyers in over 70 countries globally, and almost 21,000 in Australia.

As such, the CX-9 line-up continues to be available only with a 204kW/367Nm 3.7-litre petrol V6, matched exclusively to a six-speed automatic transmission.

Front-wheel drive variants therefore continue to return fuel consumption of 11.0L/100km, although Mazda says that improved aerodynamics and revised engine calibration help Active Torque Split (ATS) AWD models consume 100ml less per 100km, at 11.3L/100km.

There is still no diesel engine option, but all models – from the 1939kg Classic FWD to the 2086kg Grand Touring AWD, run on 91 RON standard unleaded petrol.

The 2013 CX-9 is differentiated mainly by its new-look front-end, comprising a new bumper, headlights and sheetmetal punctuated by its Kodo design theme's 'signature wing', which underlines the revised grille and intersects the fresh headlights.

Selected models now also come with LED daytime running lights (DRLs) in the shape of a 'halo ring light guide' and there are also chromed front foglight bezels, new tail-light designs, new high-gloss 20-inch alloy wheels and the choice of three new exterior paint colours: Meteor Grey Mica, Zeal Red Mica and Brilliant Black.

Inside, the freshened CX-9 features a "black-based" colour scheme with 'Bordeaux' trim panels, satin-sliver highlights, revised white instrument dials, a new gearshifter and new suede and dark red stitching for the black leather-trimmed seats and door trims, all of which is designed to emphasise quality and sportiness.

In terms of equipment, the CX-9's upgraded infotainment system now offers the latest audio, navigation and speech-recognition systems as part of Mazda's Human Machine Interface (HMI), while a USB connector has been added to the audio system and the Bluetooth profile has been upgraded to AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile) version 1.4, allowing users to repeat tracks, shuffle tracks and select folders via the steering wheel controls.

Its navigation system also allows users to update map and other software data via an SD card and now shows current road conditions and selects optimal routes and estimate arrival times based on historical data on a server, while the voice recognition system's microphone gains a new noise-control and wind-noise-suppression processor to deliver clearer call quality.

Finally, the upgraded system's phone directory capacity is dramatically increased to 1000 contacts, while speech recognition and a speed-dial function is said to make phone calls easier.

The CX-9 remains mechanically unchanged, although its revised front bumper adds 7mm of overall length, making it 5096mm long – but still 1936mm wide and 1728mm high.

Borrowed from the new Mazda6 are a range of high-tech 'i-ACTIVESENSE' safety systems, including Forward Obstruction Warning, (FOW), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), High Beam Control (HBC) and Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM).

All CX-9s continue to come standard with twin front, front-side and side curtain airbags, plus stability/traction control, anti-lock brakes, electronic brake-force distribution, emergency brake assist, a reversing camera, automatic headlights and wipers, three-zone climate-control, alloy wheels, cruise control, power windows/mirrors and a AM/FM/CD/MP3/WMA player with 5.8-inch colour display and Bluetooth connectivity.

Luxury models add 20-inch alloys with 245/50 tyres, chromed door-handles, heated memory mirrors with auto tilt-down reversing function, a sunroof, TomTom navigation, leather seat trim, powered and heated front seats, driver's seat memory and a premium 277-Watt 10-speaker Bose sound system.

Top-spec Grand Touring models add the LED DRLs, bi-Xenon headlights, a powered tailgate and keyless entry and starting. Auto-dimming rear-view mirror, rear parking sensors and the i-ACTIVESENSE entourage, including FOW, LDW, HBC and BSM.

Mazda Australia expects to sell around 400 examples of the facelifted CX-9 per month, or around 5000 annually, with the mid-range Luxury accounting for the majority (60 per cent) of sales, followed by the base Classic (25 per cent) and the top-shelf Grand Touring (15 per cent).

That's up slightly from the 370-odd per month it has averaged to November this year, a period in which Mazda Australia sold 4100 CX-9 sales (20 per cent up on 2011), equating to 4.3 per cent of the large sub-$70,000 SUV segment.

2013 Mazda CX-9 pricing (plus ORCs):
Classic FWD - $44,525
Luxury FWD - $52,980
Luxury AWD - $57,480
Grand Touring AWD - $63,828

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