GARAGE

BMW

M2

CHEVROLET

CAMARO SS

CHEVROLET

BOLT EV

FORD F-250 SUPER DUTY

HONDA CIVIC TOURING

HONDA

CR-V AWD TOURING

HONDA

HR-V EX

UPDATE

HYUNDAI TUCSON LIMITED AWD

UPDATE

JAGUAR

F-PACE

UPDATE

JEEP

RENEGADE SPORT

MAZDA

CX-5 AWD

MAZDA CX-9

AWD (TOURING)

ARRIVAL

MERCEDES-BENZ GLC300

MINI COOPER S CLUBMAN ALL4

NISSAN TITAN XD PRO-4X DIESEL

SUBARU LEGACY SPORT

TOYOTA

MIRAI

VOLVO

XC90 AWD

ARRIVAL 2017 Mazda CX-9 AWD (Touring) William Walker

Keen Motor Trend readers will note that not long ago, I welcomed a 2017 Dodge Durango GT Blacktop to the long-term fleet. Normally I would have spent the better part of the year informing you all of my experience, but our time with the Dodge was cut short. On the evening of May 21, 2017, on our way back from a photo shoot, the Durango and about $25,000 worth of my wife’s photography equipment was stolen out of a supposedly secured valet parking lot while we ate dinner.

I am sure there is a great quote that speaks about tragedy and loss and its ability to strengthen and rejuvenate. Nothing was ever recovered, and Dodge will be entrusting the Durango’s replacement to the less mean streets of our Detroit office, so for now, let me just say a warm welcome to my new long-term Mazda CX-9 Touring AWD. On paper the CX-9 and the Durango share some similarities. Both offer three rows of seating, both cost just over $40,000, and both feature stylish exterior designs. Their personalities, however, sit at opposite ends of the automotive spectrum. The Durango, like most Dodge products, exudes masculine swagger with its crosshair grille and blacked-out trim and wheels. Where the Dodge paints with an industrial paint gun, the Mazda uses a Japanese calligraphy brush. It is no small feat to make a three-row SUV look light and elegant, but Mazda’s hard work paid off with a pretty design.

“That’s it! After what happened to my long-term Dodge Durango, I’m never valeting a car ever again!”

EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON