Safe Travels!
May 21, 2021 11:54 AM Subscribe
Wife and I are thinking of purchasing a new family car. We've narrowed it down to two options: 2018 Toyota Highlander or 2018 Mazda CX-9.
We like the way the CX-9 drives better and prefer that car overall. However, our main concern is safety for our two kids when we're all together using this as a family vehicle. The Toyota drives like a truck and feels a bit higher and heavier, but everything I read about the CX-9 indicates it's equivalent to the Highlander in terms of weight (an important factor) and safety ratings (see here).
Basically, we have this impression that the Highlander "feels" more safe because of the way it feels to drive. We are afraid that we're picking a car—the CX-9—based simply on how fun it is to drive. But on paper, that doesn't seem to be a correct assumption. Anyone have any experiences that can allay our fears? Or confirm them so that we're prompted to prefer the Highlander?
We like the way the CX-9 drives better and prefer that car overall. However, our main concern is safety for our two kids when we're all together using this as a family vehicle. The Toyota drives like a truck and feels a bit higher and heavier, but everything I read about the CX-9 indicates it's equivalent to the Highlander in terms of weight (an important factor) and safety ratings (see here).
Basically, we have this impression that the Highlander "feels" more safe because of the way it feels to drive. We are afraid that we're picking a car—the CX-9—based simply on how fun it is to drive. But on paper, that doesn't seem to be a correct assumption. Anyone have any experiences that can allay our fears? Or confirm them so that we're prompted to prefer the Highlander?
the Highlander "feels" more safe
Driver perceptions do affect they way that people drive, this is why looking at safety stats measured at a fixed speed, will not give you the whole picture.
Driving in a larger taller vehicle will make you feel like you are going slower so you will unconsciously speed up to compensate.
Driving in a smaller low slung vehicle will feel faster, so you will tend to drive slower and be safer. There is one exception to this which is when you get to sports cars, they tend to be chosen by speed demons who will drive flat out in anything.
My vote would be for the CX-9, Mazda are making some fantastic cars in the last few years and I think their reliability/longevity will be up there with Honda/Toyota.
posted by Lanark at 1:17 PM on May 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
Driver perceptions do affect they way that people drive, this is why looking at safety stats measured at a fixed speed, will not give you the whole picture.
Driving in a larger taller vehicle will make you feel like you are going slower so you will unconsciously speed up to compensate.
Driving in a smaller low slung vehicle will feel faster, so you will tend to drive slower and be safer. There is one exception to this which is when you get to sports cars, they tend to be chosen by speed demons who will drive flat out in anything.
My vote would be for the CX-9, Mazda are making some fantastic cars in the last few years and I think their reliability/longevity will be up there with Honda/Toyota.
posted by Lanark at 1:17 PM on May 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
I cross shopped both of these exact years a month ago and bought the Mazda. The handling feel is much better in the Mazda than the Toyota. That truck feeling that the Highlander has feels reassuring at first but the more you drive off ramps and curvy roads you can feel it's ponderousness.
The safety features you get on the Mazda are also better than the equivalent priced Toyota. We got a Grand Touring that has all the safety bells and whistles that would have cost $5k more in the Toyota.
On other tip is that the 2018 CX-9 can be retrofitted with CarPlay/Android Auto for about $400 at the dealership. That is much cheaper than stretching for the 2019 where those systems were the major additions.
posted by Crashback at 1:18 PM on May 21, 2021
The safety features you get on the Mazda are also better than the equivalent priced Toyota. We got a Grand Touring that has all the safety bells and whistles that would have cost $5k more in the Toyota.
On other tip is that the 2018 CX-9 can be retrofitted with CarPlay/Android Auto for about $400 at the dealership. That is much cheaper than stretching for the 2019 where those systems were the major additions.
posted by Crashback at 1:18 PM on May 21, 2021
Car and Driver has consistently rated the CX-9 one of their favorite vehicles in this class. If they have similar safety ratings, I'd go for the one that feels better for you to handle. Mazda reliability is good - both my son and a friend have had Mazdas that they have driven to 6-digit mileage, one to over 200,000
posted by TimHare at 2:31 PM on May 21, 2021
posted by TimHare at 2:31 PM on May 21, 2021
I drive a CX-5, chosen because it drove the least like an SUV/van out of all the comparable SUVs. Sales guy explained that people love it because it’s on a car chassis and that makes it drive more “normal” that people are used to and thus feels responsive / zippy like a typical sedan car.
So don’t worry. Mazda knows their market - parents who want a family car that feels good to drive - and have tuned their product accordingly.
Get the Mazda and enjoy! Zoom zoom!
posted by St. Peepsburg at 4:24 PM on May 21, 2021
So don’t worry. Mazda knows their market - parents who want a family car that feels good to drive - and have tuned their product accordingly.
Get the Mazda and enjoy! Zoom zoom!
posted by St. Peepsburg at 4:24 PM on May 21, 2021
Mazda makes great cars. My Mazda5 got totaled in an accident, but all inside were safe.
posted by nickggully at 5:04 PM on May 21, 2021
posted by nickggully at 5:04 PM on May 21, 2021
As someone who chooses to drive a smaller car (for safety, environmental, and economic reasons), it depresses me to think that people pick heavier cars because they hope to outweigh me in a crash. That's where most of the safety benefit of having a heavier car comes from.
Things have improved a bit, in terms of design, but I'd encourage you to think about the implications of deliberately choosing a car that is safer for you precisely because it is more dangerous to others.
(And also the role that plays in the ridiculous car size arms race we seem to be in.)
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 11:53 PM on May 21, 2021 [7 favorites]
Things have improved a bit, in terms of design, but I'd encourage you to think about the implications of deliberately choosing a car that is safer for you precisely because it is more dangerous to others.
(And also the role that plays in the ridiculous car size arms race we seem to be in.)
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 11:53 PM on May 21, 2021 [7 favorites]
I wouldn't buy a Mazda because everybody I know who has owned one has experienced them dying before the Toyotas, like at 100K miles, which is not enough for a modern car IMO.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 4:53 AM on May 22, 2021
posted by Ms Vegetable at 4:53 AM on May 22, 2021
Full disclosure: I'm a Mazda stan. Owned a 3 for years and adored it. I also currently drive a 2012 Toyota Sienna, which I respect but do not love. I'm likely to go Mazda again when I'm done with the living room on wheels.
The website carproblemzoo.com provides consolidated reporting on US federal complaints for every car model by year going back 20+ years. To normalize the data across cars, you also need the total sales data for the given year, so I got that from goodcarbadcar.net. Here's the rundown:
2018 CX-9: 20 complaints filed / 28,257 units sold = 0.07%
2018 Highlander: 147 complaints filed / 244,511 units sold = 0.06%
These are teeny tiny numbers, relatively speaking. As a point of comparison, the 2018 Subaru Outback (which has a known and unpleasant issue with its windshields cracking) has 586 complaints filed against 178,854 units sold, for 0.3% reporting issues. That's an order of magnitude higher than the cars you are considering.
One other note - the CX-9 is assembled in Japan. The Highlander is assembled in the US. My experience has been the edge on durability goes to cars actually manufactured in Japan.
posted by sockshaveholes at 5:42 AM on May 22, 2021
The website carproblemzoo.com provides consolidated reporting on US federal complaints for every car model by year going back 20+ years. To normalize the data across cars, you also need the total sales data for the given year, so I got that from goodcarbadcar.net. Here's the rundown:
2018 CX-9: 20 complaints filed / 28,257 units sold = 0.07%
2018 Highlander: 147 complaints filed / 244,511 units sold = 0.06%
These are teeny tiny numbers, relatively speaking. As a point of comparison, the 2018 Subaru Outback (which has a known and unpleasant issue with its windshields cracking) has 586 complaints filed against 178,854 units sold, for 0.3% reporting issues. That's an order of magnitude higher than the cars you are considering.
One other note - the CX-9 is assembled in Japan. The Highlander is assembled in the US. My experience has been the edge on durability goes to cars actually manufactured in Japan.
posted by sockshaveholes at 5:42 AM on May 22, 2021
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posted by wierdo at 1:00 PM on May 21, 2021 [1 favorite]