Hi Scotty,
Jorge here, from New York City. I have a 2014 Mazda CX9, 63.000 miles. As you may know, these cars have a pretty high gas consumption (after all, it's a 3.7L engine!). I was making 10mpg, now I'm at 13 since I use the cruise control at any chance that I have. This car has negative equity, a couple scratches, and I want to change it. I really like the CX9s. Plenty of space, three rows of seats, etc. So I was looking into the new models with the skyactive technology. However, I was a little bummed when I saw the engines: 2.5L and 3.3L. 2.5 liters seems small for a car like this. 3.3 liters seems fine, but what got me really concerned was that all of the current engines for CX9s are turbo engines. You have expressed a lot of concerns about the durability of turbo engines. What do you think about these engines Mazda is using now? I'm dreaming about a Lexus 350L. It's a 3.5 Liter engine. Seems like a much better choice for a car that size. What do you think?
The 2.5L turbo charged engine in the CX-9 is still fairly new to tell how it will fair over time but already there are reports of oil consumption. I would stay clear, unfortunately.
I'm dreaming about a Lexus 350L. It's a 3.5 Liter engine.
I would go that route instead, especially with the naturally aspirated 3.5L V6. The latest generation of Lexus RX are all turbo, unfortunately, so get a used RX with a V6 while you can. With that engine it’s an end of an era crossover. All newer generations of Toyota and Lexus are going turbo and/or electrified.
It’s getting harder and harder to find cars WITHOUT turbo engines. That’s just the way cars are going because of fuel and emissions legal requirements.
(not to mention getting harder and harder to find cars with port injection, Toyota TMK the only ones with both port and direct injection at the same time.)
