Mazda CX-9 vs. Nissan Murano

**JPG111** · August 11th, 2010 11:38 AM

CX-9 :thumbup: fell in love when i drove this

i like everything about it

**niky** · August 11th, 2010 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by EQAddict

Facelifted CX9 rocks and its cheaper than the Murano. The CX9 is big inside. But the car shrinks around you when you drive. Its got enough grunt not to be embarassed and will certainly destroy the Truck Based Fortuners and Monteros in speed, acceleration, handling, etc. Your wallet will also be destroyed by the gas consumption 4km/liter.

Im not too happy with the manual mode of the tranny. When you downshift and rev hard, the tranny should shift to the next higher gear when the engine reaches the redline INSTEAD of bouncing of the rev limiter. I hate it. Really do. Has to be experienced to understand what Im saying. Its very distracting to use the manual mode of this car and if you leave it on full auto the car is more tame trying to save gas. And it doesnt have paddle shifters..........

Its not new anymore but its still a head turner. Of course
when the new Explorer 2011 comes out....... that would be a different story!

Actually, banging off the redline at least means the manual mode is giving you as much control as possible. I like it when my manual downshifts for me (only if the revs get too low) but doesn't upshift. Gives me more control for track attack.

And with the CX9, you can actually imagine doing track attacks... silly though the idea may be.

**niky** · August 11th, 2010 02:34 PM

Originally Posted by EQAddict

I agree on the downshift part when the revs get too low. But in this particular case for the upshifts naman, when it bangs against the redline, the engine suddenly drops about 500 rpm. This is disconcerting and the car starts to jerk and it feels like engine braking (not breaking hehe). then when you upshift, the tranny takes a second or so to upshift so its not so nice.

Anticipation lang siguro. But that's one of the reasons why I let the transmission shift when I do acceleration tests on automatics... usually the transmission will shift at the proper shift point, even when it's not redline (important on diesels)... whereas almost all of them will balk if you try to manually shift near redline and come out slower.

**GTi** · August 11th, 2010 08:35 PM

Mazda CX-9 between the two, due to better looks and added hp. But if I can have other choices, I'd get the Hyundai Veracruz, which, being a diesel, has better fuel economy and performance. Besides, AFAIK the CX-9 has a ratty 180km/h speed limiter...

What's the use of V6 power with that? Are they gonna use S-rated tires?

**niky** · August 11th, 2010 11:07 PM

Originally Posted by GTi

Mazda CX-9 between the two, due to better looks and added hp. But if I can have other choices, I'd get the Hyundai Veracruz, which, being a diesel, has better fuel economy and performance. Besides, AFAIK the CX-9 has a ratty 180km/h speed limiter...

What's the use of V6 power with that? Are they gonna use S-rated tires?

I'd rather be doing 180 km/h in a truck that can handle 240 km/h than 200+ km/h in a truck that feels wallowy and tippy at just 140.

Not that the Veracruz is a bad truck, mind you. The toys and kit you get are great.... but it's not a truck I'd buy for the performance. Wallowy handling, clumsy steering, shift-lag, turbo-lag and ramp-up and wooden brakes. It's more of a cruiser than a high-performance SUV.

The CX9, on the other hand, was built to go fast.

**boybi** · August 12th, 2010 12:37 AM

So the CX9 is speed limited to just 180kph, no wonder I can't get past 180kph on my CX7, it must be the speed limiter also.

**GTi** · August 12th, 2010 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by niky

I'd rather be doing 180 km/h in a truck that can handle 240 km/h than 200+ km/h in a truck that feels wallowy and tippy at just 140.

Not that the Veracruz is a bad truck, mind you. The toys and kit you get are great.... but it's not a truck I'd buy for the performance. Wallowy handling, clumsy steering, shift-lag, turbo-lag and ramp-up and wooden brakes. It's more of a cruiser than a high-performance SUV.

The CX9, on the other hand, was built to go fast.

Never knew the Veracruz was THAT bad. But then, it's the only one in its segment, besides the Europeans, whose FC won't sting the wallet. Has anyone ever succeeded in removing the CX-9's limiter? And now, how does the Kia Mohave stack up?

**niky** · August 12th, 2010 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by GTi

Never knew the Veracruz was THAT bad. But then, it's the only one in its segment, besides the Europeans, whose FC won't sting the wallet. Has anyone ever succeeded in removing the CX-9's limiter? And now, how does the Kia Mohave stack up?

The VC is better than other full-sized crossovers thanks to its diesel, but we still averaged around 8.5 km/l in highway driving. Even though it's a diesel, it's still a.) a huge, heavy car, and b.) very powerful (more power=more fuel).

That's a lot better than the 7 km/l we got out of the CX9, though. From my cousin, even on the NLEX, it's hard to get very far past 7.5 km/l.

Speed limiter = COBB Accessport. Too bad there's no local distributor.