Having a young family is fantastic. But, and this is a big but, if you were into cars and driving, young kids may have heralded the demise of your automotive fix.

‘Oh dear, we’ve got three kids, they’ve got mates, time to sell the sports car or the hot hatch and get a people mover’.

Yep, nothing screamed ‘nappies’ more than a beige coloured, van-like MPV. Worse, a beige coloured MPV with a ‘baby on board’ sticker in the back window.

Times have changed. The popularity of plush, upholstered, light commercial vans with seven seats, and box-like people movers with the aerodynamics of a brick, has reached rock bottom.

Why? Along came the mighty four-wheel drive in regular, medium and ‘upsize me’.

The school run has become the domain of Prados, Ford Territories, X5 and suchlike, but the problem is that their third row of seats is a compromise and the bigger examples aren’t the sharpest handling beasts.

But there is an alternative and, gasp, it comes in the shape of a modern MPV. Streamlined and stylish, these crossover people movers have the interior space of a large 4WD, they handle, and get relatively frugal fuel consumption.

They even have their own acronym, ‘SUV’, for ‘Sports Utility vehicle’.

Mazda’s new CX-9 is the perfect example of why anyone considering a large 4WD should have a rethink.

Firstly, it’s actually fun to drive. Honestly, it is. The steering’s light but it does offer some feedback; it doesn’t felt like it’ll scrape its door handles on the road when cornering briskly; and it’s not hard to find the ideal driving position. 

Delving deep into my bag of well worn clichés, it has to be said that Mazda’s CX-9 is car-like.

The fun factor is helped along by a willing 3.7-litre V6 engine that puts out 204kW and 367Nm of torque, 90 per cent of which is available between 2800 and 5800rpm.

Mazda’s excellent six-speed Activematic automatic transmission is standard, as is full-time all-wheel drive.

While not a serious off-roader by any stretch of the imagination, CX-9’s all-wheel drive is an unobtrusive system that will reassure ski bunnies and families heading to the shops on a wet and windy Saturday morning.

This is all well and good, but interior packaging and standard equipment is where CX-9 really shines.

By Alistair Davidson

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