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2019 Mazda3 First Drive Review | Defining the term 'fun to drive'

Fun to drive. The phrase gets blasted from seemingly every car commercial, magazine ad, and influencer account – overused that it has lost all meaning. So when Mazda, a small firm that actually does make cars that are fun to drive, talks about their most compelling trait it gets lost in the cacophony of ad spends. However, we're here to tell you that yes, while it's difficult to quantify, some cars are objectively more fun to drive than others, and the all-new 2019 Mazda3 is — and this is a very technical term — a freakin' blast. At Mazda's behest, we took a 2019 sedan up Angeles Crest Highway just outside of L.A. With plenty of yellow signs, tight sequences of banked curves and elevation changes, it's the platonic ideal of those serpentine mountain roads you see in car commercials. The instant the Mazda3 reaches the windy roads, it glides in like an otter diving into the sea. Lively and graceful, it dances along a ribbon of asphalt more naturally than any compact sedan we've driven since the advent of drive-by-wire. The steering is not only direct and true, but possesses an extraordinary ability to maintain trajectory. From the moment you turn in, you never need to make adjustments to the steering wheel until the front tires are straight again. The car goes exactly where you intend, always. That's not hyperbole, but an amazing feat of engineering. In nearly every other vehicle, even those that purport to be sports cars, unless you're incredibly familiar with the machine and know the road like the back of your hand, minor mid-corner corrections are an inevitability. With the 3, you get it right on the first try. Now imagine you're on strip of canyon pavement with lots of short switchbacks in varying radii coming up fast, one right after another. The 3 links them all together with pure ease, and soon you're developing a rhythm through the curves. While other cars charge, the Mazda flows. The car's poise is particularly evident as momentum shifts from one direction to another, what Mazda chassis engineer Dave Coleman termed "transience." In most cars passengers are tossed around the cabin like mannequins, but the 3 cuts out the turbulence, its body engineered to move in a smooth undulation. At the midpoint of the transition, there's even a moment of weightlessness before the car tucks into the next turn and the seat seems to scoop you up and carry you onward.

2017 Mazda CX-9 offers three rows of turbocharged style in LA

With the introduction of the second-generation Mazda CX-9 at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the Japanese brand now has a stylish, modern crossover to fit just about any buyer's size requirements. And it's more than just a pretty face, thanks to a new 2.5-liter turbocharged engine under the hood. The latest CX-9 has all the styling traits of a modern Mazda with its shield-like grille and narrow headlights. The design execution lacks some of the curvaceous lines of models like the Mazda3, but the CUV gains a tougher look thanks to extra embellishment around its fenders. The interior looks equally attractive with brown Nappa leather and a combination of black and metallic trim. The CX-9 also introduces Mazda's Skyactiv-G 2.5T turbocharged four-cylinder that makes 250 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. Power gets to the road via a six-speed automatic gearbox, and the CUV is available with the company's i-Activ all-wheel-drive system. Customers can also order an array of assistance tech, including adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, blind spot monitoring, and more. The CX-9 arrives this spring, but you can get a good look now in the gallery from LA. Related Video: All-New Mazda CX-9 Three-Row Crossover Debuts at 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show - CX-9 offers elevated experience with innovative technologies, new SKYACTIV-G 2.5T engine and premium, authentic materials - When the Mazda CX-9 made its world debut back in 2006, it was an epiphany: A midsize three-row crossover SUV that defied the conventional design cues and cumbersome driving experience expected of vehicles in its class. Despite being a large vehicle, CX-9 is, after all, still a Mazda. CX-9 quickly captivated the automotive industry, winning numerous accolades. Now comes the encore: the latest, grandest expression of KODO—Soul of Motion design yet and the high-end model of Mazda's new-generation lineup. Its cachet is elevated with a proud front fascia that cascades into crisp lines that flow to the rear. Its interior is nothing short of breathtaking, with available Auburn-colored Nappa leather, Japanese rosewood and aluminum. The focus was on authenticity; an experience rather than simply another commodity conveyance. With the new CX-9, engineers sought to instill driving dynamics befitting of a Mazda—agile handling, tight steering and a responsive, controllable powertrain. To do this, they found smart solutions to keep CX-9's structure light, yet rigid, with SKYACTIV Technology.

2019 Mazda CX-9 improves its IIHS rating to Top Safety Pick +

The 2019 Mazda CX-9 three-row crossover has managed to improve its overall safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety from an already respectable Top Safety Pick to the higher Top Safety Pick +. The area it needed to improve was in the headlight department, and now the crossover features a set of headlights that gets the highest "Good" rating, a prerequisite for the Top Safety Pick + award. The headlight improvement does have caveats. The top-rated headlights are only available on Signature and Grand Touring trims built after June 2019. Headlights on other trims and older models range from "Poor" to "Acceptable." All versions of the CX-9 have top scores in crash tests, though. Mazda's optional forward collision prevention system also earns full marks, stopping the crossover before hitting a car at speeds up to 25 mph. Child seat LATCH anchor access is rated as "Acceptable." Four other similarly sized and priced crossovers earn the Top Safety Pick + designation: the Hyundai Palisade, Hyundai Santa Fe, Subaru Ascent and Kia Telluride. And of those, only the Pallisade, Ascent and Telluride offer three rows of seating.