Make sure you sit in the Mazda. The drivers seat was a little claustrophobic for my tall husband, so we passed on it. Ended up in an MDX.

I have had my 2019 cx9, signature trim, for 5 months and am pleased. I also looked at the Audi but had a hard time getting the 2nd row seats to collapse easily. (Actually had this issue in all 3-row cars I tried except for palisade, but that was just too big.) Plus i felt the Audi infotainment knob was awkwardly placed compared to Mazda's and that bothered my wrist. Two small knocks but considering I'd be using them both on daily basis, they were deciding factors. The 2020 cx9 now has the two features i would have loved -- captains chairs and hands-free lift gate.
Certainly the Audi is more eye-catching for various reasons. When money isn't a deciding factor, you have the luxury of letting looks take on more importance. and you want to be proud of your car. I like the Mazda stylings so it really came down to some very specific criteria -- mentioned above. I could have justified the higher price if I loved everything. I'd probably be a lot more concerned about exterior and interior scratches etc after spending that much though.
Good luck!

* live and years (stupid autocorrect)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"We actually like the Mazda a lot more, but it’s not a luxury brand and worried about what people will think."

You have bigger problems than your next car.

Meh, people like their luxury brands. It’s not a problem if you can afford it.

+1

One doesn’t buy a nice 4000 sq ft house and drives a 1991 Honda Civic. That’s embarrassing. Appearance matters!

Yes, but what about having to take the luxury to the garage all the time. Isn't not having to go to the garage more important?
I had a friend whose new Cadillac was always in the shop and another whose Mercedes dies out all the time. They both took it as normal part of luxury.

Appearance matters? What a bunch of immature and insecure comments. I own a 1.2MM house, have net worth of $3mm and the car in my driveway is a 2003 Camry. I couldn’t give a crap what people think.

We live in the DMV. Where people make $250k HHI and still love paycheck to paycheck just to keep up with the Joneses. You remember when the government shut down last winter and people were taking out loans just to pay their next mortgage?

I had a neighbor who had to lease the newest Porsche 911 every two fears because he was worried about driving an outdated car. Paid 600 a month.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"We actually like the Mazda a lot more, but it’s not a luxury brand and worried about what people will think."

You have bigger problems than your next car.

Meh, people like their luxury brands. It’s not a problem if you can afford it.

+1

One doesn’t buy a nice 4000 sq ft house and drives a 1991 Honda Civic. That’s embarrassing. Appearance matters!

Yes, but what about having to take the luxury to the garage all the time. Isn't not having to go to the garage more important?
I had a friend whose new Cadillac was always in the shop and another whose Mercedes dies out all the time. They both took it as normal part of luxury.

Appearance matters? What a bunch of immature and insecure comments. I own a 1.2MM house, have net worth of $3mm and the car in my driveway is a 2003 Camry. I couldn’t give a crap what people think.

Anonymous wrote:BTDT. If you currently drive a Mercedes, you will not be happy with a Mazda. Get the Audi.

That’s what I’m thinking.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"We actually like the Mazda a lot more, but it’s not a luxury brand and worried about what people will think."

You have bigger problems than your next car.

Meh, people like their luxury brands. It’s not a problem if you can afford it.

+1

One doesn’t buy a nice 4000 sq ft house and drives a 1991 Honda Civic. That’s embarrassing. Appearance matters!

Yes, but what about having to take the luxury to the garage all the time. Isn't not having to go to the garage more important?
I had a friend whose new Cadillac was always in the shop and another whose Mercedes dies out all the time. They both took it as normal part of luxury.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"We actually like the Mazda a lot more, but it’s not a luxury brand and worried about what people will think."

You have bigger problems than your next car.

Meh, people like their luxury brands. It’s not a problem if you can afford it.

+1

One doesn’t buy a nice 4000 sq ft house and drives a 1991 Honda Civic. That’s embarrassing. Appearance matters!

Anonymous wrote:"We actually like the Mazda a lot more, but it’s not a luxury brand and worried about what people will think."

You have bigger problems than your next car.

Meh, people like their luxury brands. It’s not a problem if you can afford it.

"We actually like the Mazda a lot more, but it’s not a luxury brand and worried about what people will think."

You have bigger problems than your next car.

We’ve had the CX-9 for 10 years now. Overall it’s been a great car. Before that we had a Volvo and got really tired of the high maintenance/repair charges. We are looking into getting a new car soon and thinking about the CX-5 now since our kids are older and we don’t use the third row hardly anymore.

Anonymous wrote:BTDT. If you currently drive a Mercedes, you will not be happy with a Mazda. Get the Audi.

And Hans the wealthy mechanic will be sad, too.

BTDT. If you currently drive a Mercedes, you will not be happy with a Mazda. Get the Audi.

Anonymous wrote:I have had my Mazda CX-9 for almost 10 years from new with no significant issues. I do keep going through tires, but that’s more a fact of all the construction debris and nails in tires which are going to affect any car. Mazdas are quite reliable. Don’t worry about what other people think. You feel the need to spend $35k more on something you like less?

You actually like the cheaper car better... this is a good thing, get over the status stuff and embrace it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stuck between choosing between 2 suvs. We want a 3-row SUV. Narrowed it down to the Audi Q7 and surprisingly, the Mazda CX-9. We looked at the BMW and Mercedes version of these SUVS, but we found the ride quality and ergonomics to be horrible.

Do any of you have either of these vehicles? If so, what would you go with? We actually like the Mazda a lot more, but it’s not a luxury brand and worried about what people will think.

https://youtu.be/gl_lV5EUeNg

You're worried about what people will think? I think you need to find a new therapist before you go car shopping.

This.