Having recently been in your position, I opted for a 2017 Honda Ridgeline. It's kind of the minivan of trucks. I like it. Handles way better than any body-on-frame truck every made. Pretty plush & roomy. Fits a full sheet of plywood. I've been averaging 22.7 mpg combined. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...93b3465469.jpg
Just a thought if you're looking to expand the capability of your fleet a little bit, but still need a kid hauler.

Yup, just two... but 1st world problems, remember? Gotta be able to haul all the friends and gear and "stuff". The wife has only ever had new vehicles and is really putting her foot down on getting something new enough that it'll last 10 years. We bought the Speed new and it's been hers for 10yrs now... she wants something that's decade-proof. A V6 AWD CX-9 checks all my wickets except for towing. I'm not going back to a turbo-4. The 4Runner will tow the 18ft travel trailers we rent from MWR like a champ, so we don't need the hugeness of a Sequoia.

I'm 100% with you on the Sienna. I would have bought one years ago, but the wife is having none of it. She's actually starting to get a little mad when she sees me looking at them in traffic. And I've repeatedly told her that she never has to drive it... she can have whatever she wants and I'll DD it.

What is it with wives not wanting minivans? That is honestly what I told my wife to get when we were shopping around and ended up with a CX9. She said "I want something with 7 seats that drives like a car and isn't too big" and things like that constantly. I kept telling her to get a minivan. When I told her all 7 passenger SUVs were just jacked up minivans, and she should just cave and get a minivan, she would get pissed and say "I'm not driving a minivan!" I guess that is why you see far more unoccupied 3 row SUVs on the road than minivans.

It's literally verbatim with most women: I'M NOT DRIVING A MINIVAN!!

My wife wasn't keen on the idea at first, but then we went to test-drive one and she discovered how easy it was to deal with car seats in a nice, big vehicle with sliding doors and she was sold. Now that the kids are big enough that we're mostly done with that (11 and 7, my son is still using a small booster, but it's nowhere close to the hassle a full car seat is), we replaced the 9-year-old Odyssey with the CX-9.

--Ian

Wife just got a CX-9 GT a couple months ago. It's pretty and has lots of gadgets. No AWD thanks, it is South Florida. It's got about 1000 miles and the MPG is only 16 because mainly city driving doing mommy things and hauling in-laws around. It's got awesome pull just after about 1.5 seconds coming from a dead stop and stomp of the go-pedal. Enough that it starts to spin the tires at about 5-10 mph. It runs out of breath really quick though.

It replaced a 14 Odyssey Touring. We lost a ton of room and the DVD monitor for the little one but that is about it other than the seat. Little one has a tablet now and the room is barely missed since we never really used it much. We did fit five with the 3rd row down for luggage and we got two big suitcases, two standard carry-ons, and one small carry-on plus my in-laws folding small-wheel wheelchair. Same luggage in the Odyssey would not have required getting rid of third row.

The CX-9 is much more plush inside except for the seat. It's only 6-way with lumbar. I may be nitpicking but not being able to adjust the angle of the lower seat just sucks. The freaking Honda had it. But the Mazda has a stereo worthy of a $40k vehicle unlike the 8 track dash speaker system Honda thought was good enough. And the HUD is full of information. And I can't wait to take a long trip and use the adaptive cruise control more. Going to Key West for my birthday so that should be a good test. Like I said, it's got gadgets.

The CX-9 has a sportier ride than the Odyssey but I won't go out and say it's fun to drive in corners and whatnot. Brakes have better feel but not that much better. Power is definitely better but it's also like 400 lbs lighter with 60 ftlb's more.

We got it for like $3k under sticker and .9 APR for 5 years. We almost got a 16 model that was advertised at $8k under and had 0 APR for 5 years. For the amount of car you get in the case of the GT for less than $40k, my opinion is it's a good value. Just hope it stays together and trade in value is still over $10k when finished paying for it. Then I hope the wife is done with these mommy cars and we can get a Cadi. I miss having a sedan.

We have the AWD GT. We manage 21 in the city (San Antonio) and driving back from TN we managed 26mpg running 80-85 most of the way. I'm sure you could get 27-28 running 70. The seat pisses me off too. If my basic ass diesel truck can drop the seat in the back, why not the luxury mazda. It is a hell of a car for the money though. It easily out classed the pilot, Durango, kia, and VW we drove, and was comparable to the MDX, just 10k less. The power dive at 5k is kind of annoying, but other than that, I love it. Still great passing power on the interstate even though the power drops off high.

Anyone have the Acura MDX on their radar? I picked up a '14 a few months ago and it's been great. 290hp, I can pull 28mpg on the freeway with no problem, technically seats 7 though the back seat is like most SUVs (honestly it's been folded flat since I bought it). Unlike the CX9 it can tow 5000lbs - I got 17.5mpg towing my Miata on a heavy ass UHaul car hauler 3 hours to Atlanta Motorsports Park and back, and it had no issues with power. Great stereo, super comfy. Not much tech in the base model but what do I care - I can drive the car myself thanks.

We considered the MDX, but it runs about $10K more than the CX-9 when optioned similarly, and to me the extra stuff didn't justify the increase in price. Towing wasn't high on our list of requirements though, since we have a 3/4 ton Chevy diesel for that purpose. :)

--Ian

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https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f15daf583a.jpg

No sliding doors == not a minivan.

--Ian

Exactly the same here. We actually got ours from a dealership that sold acuras and mazdas. We drove them back to back.

My duramax does the heavy hauling as well.

Drove a fwd CX-9 V6 yesterday... feels really big and slow... everything slow to respond, very "removed" driving experience. I've been borrowing an 2010 Odyssey for the past week and I like it better. But I also think I'm spoiled with the 4Runner, which is the greatest car ever. The CX-9 Grand Touring steps up the fancy shit that I can live without, but the wife is all about it. I hate the thought of what 20" tires cost.

Anyways... 2012-2014 CX9 AWD V6 GT in white with 50k'ish for $22k is what we're after. The Mazda dealership only had fwd models, and the wife says AWD is a must. It shouldn't take long.

FWIW, the 2nd gen CX-9 (2016+) is very different from the first gen.

--Ian

Mazda did some serious re-designing and re-engineering starting with 14 and then into 16

They discontinued the V6 in '16, and I'm not buying a turbo-4 in a 4500lb car no matter how much better the mileage is. The '14-'15 V6 is within range depending on trim and mileage.

You need to embrace technology and realize that most modern turbo 4 engines are way torquier than a 6

There's nothing wrong with the 4-cylinder turbo in the current CX-9. Lots of torque down low, undetectable lag. It peters out above 5K, so it'd make for a lousy sports car motor, but this isn't a sports car. Drive one before ruling it out categorically.

--Ian

Not gonna happen. Main reason is... not gonna happen. Second reason is that the years and mileage we're looking at are only V6.

ALSO... sold the Speed today. Guy drove 4hrs to pick it up. Former Mazda mechanic and has a wrecked Speed6 w/good drivetrain... he's gonna swap his motor into my car, part my motor, and then part his car. I figure he doubles up minus his labor. Bittersweet, but glad the way it worked out.

I'm not sure a used MDX would be too much more expensive than a similarly used CX-9, the off-lease depreciation is pretty high. I picked my 2014 for $27500 with 32k miles. I haven't driven a CX9 so I don't know how the dynamics compare, but I don't have a truck to tow with so the MDX kind of does everything (haul my music equipment to gigs, tow the miata, take girls on dates, etc.)