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2009 Honda Pilot vs. 2008 Mazda CX-9 vs. 2008 Toyota Highlander

549 messages,  Last post on Feb 11, 2013 at 8:48 PM

You are in the Honda Pilot Forum.

What is this discussion about? Mazda CX-9, Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, Car Comparisons, SUV

Messages Page 52 of 56

#505 of 549 Re: If CX-9 is so great, how come.. [sixth_gear] by oldburbnewcx9

Jun 16, 2011 (1:34 pm)

Replying to: sixth_gear (Jun 15, 2011 12:58 pm)
Let me start off by saying I have a 2009 CX-9. Summer of 2009 I test drive a Ford Flex, GMC Acadia, Chevrolet Traverse, Hyundai Santa Fe, Hyundai Veracruz, Honda Pilot and Toyota HIghlander. My priorties were smoothness, power, performance and handling and comfort. CX-9 won hands down. Following were Honda Pilot (noisy and weak brakes) Ford Flex (wierd styling for me), Hyundai Santa Fe (value leader but too small), GMC Acadia/Chevrolet Traverse (too exepnsive and no inventory as GM was shut down) and finally the Toyota Highlander (too bland and too isolated from driving experience).

#506 of 549 Re: If CX-9 is so great, how come.. [oldburbnewcx9] by wdhyte

Jun 16, 2011 (2:13 pm)

Replying to: oldburbnewcx9 (Jun 16, 2011 1:34 pm)
wow, that's funny...wife and I hit almost the same batch of vehicles during the summer of 09 too. I really wanted to get the Ford Flex until I drove it...loved all the roominess (my being 6'1 250# and wife being 5'11 (quite a bit lighter ) was GREAT BUT, it had all the cornering and zoom of a cinder block. I was seriously bummed. The GMs were all the same, the Saturn was the same (and closed up shop about 45 days later) so we added the Mazda in the mix and were amazed and still are. I love driving it and for trips it's fine. W/the 20" wheels its noisy around town and you don't get the best ride as we all know but it was (IS) the best of the lot IMHO. My only disappointment to date is the number of squeaks and rattles it has developed rather quickly. Oh yeah, and the crappy BOSE sound system...BOSE just isn't as good as it used to be (we have the grand touring w/NAV or back seat stuff). I'd but it again.

#507 of 549 Re: If CX-9 is so great, how come.. [wdhyte] by circlew

Jun 16, 2011 (5:37 pm)

Replying to: wdhyte (Jun 16, 2011 2:13 pm)
We bought the '10 GT in November. I agree the Bose sound system is poor as the '03 Yukon Denali Bose system blew it into the weeds. My wife asked me why I didn't upgrade the sound system!!!!
 
The drive is the best in the category, period, the End! Since I didn't get the GPS and RE system, I was wondering if the audio quality would be any better.
 
Regards,
OW

#508 of 549 Re: If CX-9 is so great, how come.. [circlew] by ceric

Jul 01, 2011 (6:16 pm)

Replying to: circlew (Jun 16, 2011 5:37 pm)
Why not many CX9 on the road?
 
Many people are obsessive with "reliability".
They choose among Toyota/Honda exclusively.
I got asked many times, "Why did you buy Mazda?"
For the record, I only had two very minor issues (taken care of at oil changes)
from 3 and half yrs of ownership. That is decent reliability in my book,
though my wife's Prius is issue-free, but it had more than THREE recalls.
 
On the Highlanders. True, it is probably 2mpg better than CX9. However, consider how much more you pay for the Highlander, comparably equipped.
If you drive 12000/yr, assuming 20 vs 18mpg, the difference is only 67gallons,
i.e. 67x$4 = $260 yr. If you pay $2000 more for your Highlander, that is enough to cover 8 yrs of mpg differences, w/o considering interest....
Not to mention that Toyota charge more for comparable parts and maintenance. I know because my wife has a Prius. I receive coupons from both all the times.
 
Oh, did I mention the trashy/cheapo 1-piece 3rd row seat of Highlanders?
It is a joke, really.

#509 of 549 Re: If CX-9 is so great, how come.. [ceric] by luckyseven

Jul 04, 2011 (5:52 pm)

Replying to: ceric (Jul 01, 2011 6:16 pm)
Price difference between cx9 and HL is a moot point. Depends on timing, location, your negotiation abilities and trim/features you want. In 2007 I paid $26K+tax for 2008 Base with AWD and 3 seat rows. I don't think you can get comparable cx9 for this much. HL also has higher resale then cx9 so don't forget to include it in your math. BTW starting from 2011 model year HL has split 3rd row. 2011 model started to be produced back in august of 2010.

#510 of 549 Re: If CX-9 is so great, how come.. [luckyseven] by citivas

Jul 04, 2011 (6:06 pm)

Replying to: luckyseven (Jul 04, 2011 5:52 pm)
The Honda's resale value has been awesome so far. I am coming off of a three year lease next month and my '09 Pilot Touring will is worth at least $6-8,000 more than my residual payment and only $6K or so less than what I paid new. Amazing.

#511 of 549 Re: If CX-9 is so great, how come.. [citivas] by luckyseven

Jul 04, 2011 (7:30 pm)

Replying to: citivas (Jul 04, 2011 6:06 pm)
can't be wrong by going with Honda or Toyota!

#512 of 549 Re: If CX-9 is so great, how come.. [citivas] by aviboy97

Jul 05, 2011 (11:44 am)

Replying to: citivas (Jul 04, 2011 6:06 pm)
Can you give us an exact dollar figure as to your lease buyout and current value?

#513 of 549 Re: If CX-9 is so great, how come.. [aviboy97] by citivas

Jul 05, 2011 (12:40 pm)

Replying to: aviboy97 (Jul 05, 2011 11:44 am)
Ok. My lease residual buy out will come in right around $22K after factoring in NJ sales tax. The used market is so hot right now that I am getting dealers proactively calling me every week asking if I would sell my car to them. I haven't even been competitive with trade-in offers yet and already have a $29,000 offer. According to KBB online, that's right in the range for a dealer trade-in value for my equipment and several thousand below what I could probably get with a private party. I negotiated $34K new 3 years ago (Touring), including tax, license, doc, etc., but before you factor in the lease costs. I will have paid $15K in lease payments plus $3K in up-front trade-in value. So if I sold now, worst case I will have spent about net $11K for three years of ownership of a top-of-the-line Pilot, or about $305/month. If I used the KBB estimate for a "good" (not excellent) condition private sale, I would only be down about $7.4K or $205/month.
 
It's all theoretical because I don't plan to sell this year. I seriously considered it but after looking at all the current model year 3-row CUV’s on the market I couldn’t find any I wouldn’t have considered a trade-off for my Pilot, and that includes looking at all the luxury brands including BMC, Mercedes, Porsche, Audi, Acura, Lexus, etc. I was disappointed that in three years there hadn’t been anything that gained or retained the benefits of the Pilot but with more luxury drive and interiors. So I’ll wait at least a year and see if any major model refresh changes the picture. Honda sent letters and had multiple people call trying to talk me into “trading it in” for a new lease for a current model year top-of-the-line Pilot “at no up-front cost” with “the same or better” payments but I said no thanks.

#514 of 549 Re: If CX-9 is so great, how come.. [citivas] by aviboy97

Jul 05, 2011 (1:05 pm)

Replying to: citivas (Jul 05, 2011 12:40 pm)
Interesting....based on market conditions in our area (I'm in western CT, and NJ is in my market) $29,000 seems like a really good offer! Average retail price for your car is about $30,500. $29,000 is $1000 over market-ready condition on trade or wholesale purchase, which means your car would need no re conditioning, no tires or brakes. It's about $2,500 over market value if your car does need brakes and tires.
 
The values you are being offered is because there are no new Pilot Touring's with navigation available, so it is driving up used car prices. I am seeing the same thing with CX-9's in my dealership. The pre-owned ones are going through the roof at auctions and in used selling prices. I have 2008 Mazda CX-9 GT's selling for $28,000.
 
Let us know how you make out! Good luck!!

Messages Page 52 of 56

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