Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 9:14
We got a good eighth-inch of ice here in the Springs yesterday, and since I had to pick up my daughter from work at midnight, I took my wife's CX-9. The road conditions were mostly icy or icy with snow on top, with a little snowpack in places. The 9 did well on snow, but not on ice or the ice-snow combination.
First off, I think MOST of the problems I had came from the stock all-season tires Mazda put on the 9. They did great on dry, on dirt, gravel, and water. But on icy roads, they left a LOT to be desired. It took some serious experimentation to get the thing to perform well on slippery roads.
Second, I am a VERY experienced snow- and ice-driver, growing up in upstate New York, and driving in places like Omaha, NE; Loring, ME; Tokyo, JA; Korea; and here. I've been driving in Colorado Springs for 10 years and I am very familiar with conditions and driving techniques appropriate to this area. So I was comfortable testing out the 9 on dangerous conditions last night.
Surprisingly, the 9 slides quite a bit, especially considering it's a 4400lb vehicle. It generally did well stopping, but not so well starting from a stop or taking turns, even at slow to moderate speeds. The sliding was never severe, and never was it bad enough that I felt in danger of losing control.
Starting from a stop was easiest when done in automatic tranny mode, allowing the ECU to handle the torque and NOT trying to do the shifting myself. In my 6, I do better on ice putting by it in manual mode and shifting quickly to 2nd to lower torque, but in the 9, the ECU does a better job than the driver can of controlling the 3.5L and the tranny. However, there was still significant slippage until I got to dry surface or snowpack. Once I hit snowpack, the AWD system did much better.
Also, the lag before the rear wheels gain power was noticeable, something I also did not expect. You can feel the fronts start to slip for about a half-second before the rears kick in. At that point, the vehicle rights itself in most circumstances, but that initial slipping was unexpected for me. I suspect much of this was because the vehicle has all season tires, not winter tires.
Slipping while moving was not as prevalent as it was in my 6, but it was significantly more noticeable than in my old Explorer 4WD with all-terrain tires, and surprised me at times last night. I took one turn-lane/merge at 10 mph, and STILL the back end slid considerably until I eased all the way off the gas and let it roll through the turn. I took one turn-lane merge at 10 mph, and STILL the back end slid considerably until I eased all the way off the gas and let it completely roll through the turn. This shocked me, because it seemed to slide like a much lighter vehicle. Again, I suspect this is more related to the all-season tires Mazda put on the vehicle. With winter tires, it might perform much better.
Alternately, stopping didn't seem to be nearly as much of a problem as starting or "drifting" while driving. I found that slipping the shifter into "M" mode allowed a smooth, nearly slide-free decrease in speed. There was often a little bit of tail drift just before reaching stop, again surprising me because of the weight of the 9. Even using just the brakes, stopping was easier than starting. The ABS system probably had a lot to do with that, since it kept the wheels rolling. After the trouble starting, I was pleasantly surprised with the 9's ability to stop on very slippery roads.
I did not put it through very stressful driving on these conditions. The roads were VERY dangerous and I didn't want to risk an accident. I did give it a bit more gas going up a gentle hill with no other traffic around, and I ended up learning exactly what it's like to drift in an AWD vehicle. This was on an icy surface covered in snow and blowing snow, and while I could tell the vehicle was slipping, it was also one of the 9's finer moments, as I could feel the AWD system fighting to get traction, which it did AS SOON as I let up on the gas.
Right now, I would give the CX-9 WITH THE STOCK TIRES a C on ice and a B+ on what little snow I found. With winter tires, I think it would rate MUCH higher. But winter tires are $135-$154 a pop on Tirerack.com, so that's not an easily-made investment.
Today, conditions are snowpacked, with ice underneath. And since we're supposed to get 10 inches of snow by tomorrow, I should have a chance to test the 9 in deeper snow. Based on what I saw last night, it should do well in snow, even with the A/S tires. Either way, I'll let everyone know how she drives after today's excursion to my daughter's work and to Autuzone.
First off, I think MOST of the problems I had came from the stock all-season tires Mazda put on the 9. They did great on dry, on dirt, gravel, and water. But on icy roads, they left a LOT to be desired. It took some serious experimentation to get the thing to perform well on slippery roads.
Second, I am a VERY experienced snow- and ice-driver, growing up in upstate New York, and driving in places like Omaha, NE; Loring, ME; Tokyo, JA; Korea; and here. I've been driving in Colorado Springs for 10 years and I am very familiar with conditions and driving techniques appropriate to this area. So I was comfortable testing out the 9 on dangerous conditions last night.
Surprisingly, the 9 slides quite a bit, especially considering it's a 4400lb vehicle. It generally did well stopping, but not so well starting from a stop or taking turns, even at slow to moderate speeds. The sliding was never severe, and never was it bad enough that I felt in danger of losing control.
Starting from a stop was easiest when done in automatic tranny mode, allowing the ECU to handle the torque and NOT trying to do the shifting myself. In my 6, I do better on ice putting by it in manual mode and shifting quickly to 2nd to lower torque, but in the 9, the ECU does a better job than the driver can of controlling the 3.5L and the tranny. However, there was still significant slippage until I got to dry surface or snowpack. Once I hit snowpack, the AWD system did much better.
Also, the lag before the rear wheels gain power was noticeable, something I also did not expect. You can feel the fronts start to slip for about a half-second before the rears kick in. At that point, the vehicle rights itself in most circumstances, but that initial slipping was unexpected for me. I suspect much of this was because the vehicle has all season tires, not winter tires.
Slipping while moving was not as prevalent as it was in my 6, but it was significantly more noticeable than in my old Explorer 4WD with all-terrain tires, and surprised me at times last night. I took one turn-lane/merge at 10 mph, and STILL the back end slid considerably until I eased all the way off the gas and let it roll through the turn. I took one turn-lane merge at 10 mph, and STILL the back end slid considerably until I eased all the way off the gas and let it completely roll through the turn. This shocked me, because it seemed to slide like a much lighter vehicle. Again, I suspect this is more related to the all-season tires Mazda put on the vehicle. With winter tires, it might perform much better.
Alternately, stopping didn't seem to be nearly as much of a problem as starting or "drifting" while driving. I found that slipping the shifter into "M" mode allowed a smooth, nearly slide-free decrease in speed. There was often a little bit of tail drift just before reaching stop, again surprising me because of the weight of the 9. Even using just the brakes, stopping was easier than starting. The ABS system probably had a lot to do with that, since it kept the wheels rolling. After the trouble starting, I was pleasantly surprised with the 9's ability to stop on very slippery roads.
I did not put it through very stressful driving on these conditions. The roads were VERY dangerous and I didn't want to risk an accident. I did give it a bit more gas going up a gentle hill with no other traffic around, and I ended up learning exactly what it's like to drift in an AWD vehicle. This was on an icy surface covered in snow and blowing snow, and while I could tell the vehicle was slipping, it was also one of the 9's finer moments, as I could feel the AWD system fighting to get traction, which it did AS SOON as I let up on the gas.
Right now, I would give the CX-9 WITH THE STOCK TIRES a C on ice and a B+ on what little snow I found. With winter tires, I think it would rate MUCH higher. But winter tires are $135-$154 a pop on Tirerack.com, so that's not an easily-made investment.
Today, conditions are snowpacked, with ice underneath. And since we're supposed to get 10 inches of snow by tomorrow, I should have a chance to test the 9 in deeper snow. Based on what I saw last night, it should do well in snow, even with the A/S tires. Either way, I'll let everyone know how she drives after today's excursion to my daughter's work and to Autuzone.
