Mother Proof's view

The X Games have nothing on me. I’ve tried my hand at extreme sports: As a kid, I used to rocket my yellow banana skateboard down our cul-de-sac, and still have scars on my chin to prove how extreme that was. Mentioning my other brushes with death would only make me a legend (in my own mind), so I’ll refrain. Now, however, I have discovered the outer limits of extreme sports for parents: Extreme Camping.

Not for the faint of heart, this sport involves camping in tents with an entire class of kindergarteners. Imagine, if you will, almost 50 6-year-olds setting up tents, hiking for hours in the early June sun, then trying to sleep on a windy, rainy night away from home. Despite the nagging feeling that what I was about to do was pure insanity, I loaded up the Mazda CX-9 with our tent, sleeping bags and my son’s enormous backpack, which literally towers over him by a foot.

I was put in charge of transporting the school’s camping equipment, another parent, a kiddo and their gear. This was the perfect test of the CX-9’s utility. Flipping the seats down was super easy; the third row folds flat with just a tug of a nylon strap. I also folded the larger portion of the 60/40-split folding second-row seat, and with that I had plenty of room to accommodate all my assigned gear and people. My other parent passenger was duly impressed, not only by my extreme packing skills, but also by how a car this good-looking could function so well as a camping-mobile. The CX-9 was very easy to load and unload because its cargo height is just below hip level, so there wasn’t a whole lot of bending or reaching to get things in and out. Many of my fellow chaperones were appreciative of that feature after unloading a minivan and pickup truck before heading over to the CX-9.

Luckily, I didn’t spend my entire test drive on a camping trip, so I was able to check out the many features of this brand-new crossover from Mazda. Let’s start with space. As in many of the bevy of new crossovers from GM (see the Saturn Outlook. and GMC Acadia. reviews here at Mother Proof), the second row of this vehicle is adjustable forward and back to allow more room in the third row. With that adjustability comes big tracks on the floor for moving the seats. Mazda covers the tracks in the CX-9 with a rubber gasket that seems to help prevent them from becoming giant crumb-collectors. Unlike the GM products, however, the Mazda does not have adult-sized room in the rear if the middle seat is pushed all the way back. I didn’t find this much of a problem, considering it’s usually the youngest members of my family or car-pooling crowd who want to sit in the “way back.” The most impressive thing about the CX-9’s backseat is the one-handed mechanism for pushing the middle seat forward for rear-seat entry: It’s actually one-handed, and it works like a charm.

A fold-down center console in the second row gave my kids a place to store their cups of juice and their iPods – cool! Of course, I was giddy when I found an additional storage container under the floor in the cargo area because it allowed me to store my son’s baseball bat in back without it rolling all over the place every time I took a turn a little too fast. My kids’ booster seats fit well in any of the rear positions, although I couldn’t fit three of them across the second row.

The CX-9’s headlamps are super bright, but there is a very telltale line between light and dark in front of me. There’s an adjustment knob (which I really didn’t expect to find in this car) to move the lamp position, but it didn’t seem to help much. What’s up with that? I also have a pet peeve about center seat belts that come out of the ceiling; not only do they block my view, they also fit kids so poorly I try to avoid putting them there. Kind of defeats the purpose of having that additional seat, doesn’t it?

I must say, the CX-9 performed well with either camping gear or just a load of groceries in tow. I enjoyed driving this car as much as I enjoyed its utility. Both the kids and the CX-9 proved that they were worthy of the “Extreme” moniker – they were both capable of a lot more than I originally thought. I enjoyed my Extreme Camping trip almost as much as a I enjoyed the test drive of the Mazda CX-9. Almost.

*For more information on the CX-9 and its safety features, visit Cars.com. With questions or comments regarding this review, write to editor@Motherproof.com.

LET’S TALK NUMBERS

Latch Connectors: 2

Seating Capacity (includes driver): 7

IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT COUNT

Storage Compartments (Puny, Fair, Ample, Galore): Ample

Cargo/Trunk Space (Puny, Fair, Ample, Galore): Ample

SENSE AND STYLE

Family Friendly (Not Really, Fair, Great, Excellent): Excellent

Fun Factor (None, Some, Good Times, Groove On): Good Times

Specs

2007 Mazda CX-9 AWD Grand Touring

Base price: $33,875

Price as tested: $36,660

Engine: 263-hp, 3.5-liter V-6

Fuel: 16/22 mpg

Length: 199.8″

Width: 76.2″

Ground Clearance: 8.0″

Turning Radius: 18.7′

Cargo space: 17.2/48.4/ 100.7 cu. ft.

NHTSA Crash-Test Ratings

Frontal Impact

Driver’s side: Not Rated

Passenger’s side: Not Rated

Side Impact

Front occupant: Not Rated

Rear occupant: Not Rated

Rollover resistance: Not Rated