The smell of rubber and the sound of screeching tires could mean only one thing this last Friday. A vehicle comparison test.
Mazda Canada invited the general public out to Brampton to compare their new SUV versus its direct competitors in a series of challenges. The cars were the 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, the 2011 Toyota Highlander, the 2011 Honda Pilot and the 2011 Mazda CX-9.
With six professional drivers, two per event, to ensure that everything was safe and the public knew what to do, Mazda was confident in bringing their competitors to the table to show how the SUVs would react.
The events?
Emergency Braking and Avoidance, Slalom and an Autocross. All four vehicles were equal in their setup. They were all the top range modes and they were all equipped with All Wheel Drive and could seat seven comfortably.
In the Emergency Braking and Avoidance, the CX-9 was up against the Toyota Highlander. For the Autocross, the CX-9 would face the Hyundai Veracruz and in the Slalom it was against the Honda Pilot.
With a brief introduction to the rules and the instructors, we were divided into teams of four and set off to the various locations in the parking lot. Cones were laid out around the area showing us where we were to go. The first event I got to do was the Emergency Braking and Avoidance.
The experts talked to us for a bit, telling us what we were to do. Accelerate as fast as we could, brake as hard as we could to activate the ABS, and turn the wheel in the direction that the guy standing a safe distance behind the cones pointed. Then they demonstrated it, so that we got an idea of what it was that they wanted us to do. The expert accelerated towards the cones, then at the signal, braked as hard as he could, activating the ABS, and turned -- safely avoiding the cones and his fellow expert.
Easy.
My first vehicle was Toyota Highlander. I got my signal to go. Large but nimble, the Highlander accelerated towards the guy. And he pointed. I braked, but not hard enough to activate the ABS. The nose dipped a bit, and the Highlander came to a full and complete stop. But it wasn't quite what they wanted.
I have to admit, I am not accustomed to intentionally activating the ABS. I didn't speed up hard enough, nor brake hard enough on my first go. So back around I went. The second time, I accelerated even harder, watching the guy as he watched me. He pointed, I braked, the ABS grabbed, I turned the wheel and the truck came to a full and complete stop.
That was fun! One more time around and I got the hang of it.
So I then switched into the CX-9.
What a different machine. A couple of times around, and the CX-9 showed what it could do. The response of the CX-9 was much more instantaneous, and when you braked, activating the ABS, it responded a little faster, so that you could avoid a little quicker. Both vehicles did not at all feel like 7 or 8 passenger vehicles.
The second test for me and my little group was the Autocross. This was a small, curvy track laid out with cones around the parking lot to give you the sense of how the vehicles react around corners and through the straight sections. It's as though you were driving on a back country road -- minus the trees, rocks, and potholes.
Unlike the Emergency Braking and Avoidance, this time around there were two of us in the vehicles, mainly so that we could both get a sense of the vehicles as they went around the course, but also because it was a long course, and only two trucks, they didn't want people standing around getting bored.
This time I got into the CX-9 as my first vehicle. The responsiveness of the steering was very precise, and it had smooth acceleration. You didn't have to worry about having to really push on the pedal to get it to move. The experts watched as you drove around, and kept the other vehicle a little bit behind so that there were no fender benders.
After all, we weren't experts ourselves.
No one in my group, myself included, had ever had the opportunity to do something like this. As the driver of the CX-9 on the first go, it was fun, you knew where you were going and how you had to brace yourself. A few times around the track, I got the sense of the handling and acceleration of the CX-9 .
In the passenger seat
But as the passenger, it was a totally different experience. As the passenger, I was sliding around a bit more in the seat, and there was no grab bar, other than the door itself, to keep you in place as the driver took the corners.
In the Veracruz, it was different. It felt a bit looser around the corners, and you had to really push it to get the acceleration that you got out the Mazda. If you love the deep throaty sound of hard acceleration, the Veracruz delivers. Overall, both responded very well, but you felt a bit more planted in the Mazda than you did in the Hyundai.
But I do have to say one thing about the Hyundai versus the Mazda. As a passenger, you had the grab bar to help keep you in place and, I didn't feel as though I was going to slide into the driver as he drove around the corner vigorously.
The final event was the Slalom. The experts had set out several cones, about seven in total. You drove the Mazda or the Honda around, getting a feel for the body roll and the handling. For me, the first vehicle I got into was the Honda Pilot. In comparison to the Mazda, the Pilot sat a lot higher up, and rode on a truck like frame.
The only word of advice from the experts on this event: Watch what's happening ahead of you and swing wide when you're going left.
When I was given the signal to go, I accelerated hard, and took my first few cones. The Honda felt almost boat like in comparison to every other vehicle in the event. You had to really work the steering wheel to keep it in line, or else you had to brake to make the next cone. This was because the Honda is built like a truck, very rigid. Good for doing a bit of off-roading, but if you ever find yourself having to avoid a series of cones in the middle of the road, it was a bit more work. A few times around, and despite having to work hard, it was still very fun.
In the Mazda, it was different. The response was almost car-like, you turned the wheel and it turned immediately. I didn't find myself halfway out of the course as I took the next cone. Though I did forget a few times to swing wide as I went left, and always took out the third cone in the Mazda. Whoops.
Though all three events, the CX-9 pretty much came out on top, it was still great fun to be able to put these vehicles through tight paces in a very well controlled and monitored event. The biggest surprise: how well all of the vehicles handled in quick and emergency situations. The only true victims were the safety cones that we ran over, multiple times.
