This past November, I was invited to a dinner party with the Mazda team. I had so much fun hanging out with Miami car bloggers and the wonderful team at Mazda. It was amazing to learn about all the cool new things Mazda is doing. I told them how I wanted a Mazda after watching Britney Spears music video with the RX-8. Do you guys remember that video Me Against The Music? Almost wish I could recreate that opening scene with the new Miata for this post. But, I wanted to do a road trip instead. So, I took this beautiful Snowflake White Pearl Mica 2018 Mazda Cx-9 and drove this beauty to the ‘World’s Most Famous Beach – Daytona Beach‘ and ‘The Oldest City in the U.S. – St. Augustine‘

I never knew you could drive on the beach here in Florida! Did you guys know that? What a perfect spot to pop up the trunk, grab a cozy blanket and hang out with friends. All while hearing the ocean and letting the wind blow through your hair. This experience was just magical. I highly recommend adding this to your bucket list.  I definitely recommend taking a mid-size car while driving on the beach, the Mazda was the perfect size with enough room and stability for this trip. Check out this post for my recommendations for your next visit to Daytona Beach & St. Augustine.

Every time I get into a new car, I take at least half an hour just admiring the features and getting the feel of the car. I can easily say this car impressed me the moment I saw the interior. The near-luxury interior of the car stands out with detailed styling and contoured dashboard. The controls are easily within reach of the driver. Driving the car was extremely comfortable with enough headroom and legroom.

With three rows inside, the CX-9 is a great car for road trips with friends who will all be able to sit comfortably. The second and third rows of seats fold easily for extra storage.

Really impressed with the sound quality of this car! The 2-speaker Bose^® Centerpoint^® 2 Surround Sound System in the Mazda is placed in a way that no matter where you sit you are able to hear rich and clear audio.

For the long drive from Miami to Daytona Beach, I took advantage of the Mazda radar cruise control. It’s a stop and go function that maintains the set speed or minimum following distance from traffic ahead. I set it so that the car detects 2 cars ahead of me. The car will then follow the speed of the 2 cars to reduce speed or stop if needed. An extremely convenient feature for someone who drives long distances.

Mazda CX-9 is also equipped with the lane departure warning system when traveling at 37 mph or higher. It will give you a visual and audible warning if it detects that the vehicle unintentionally departed from the lane.

 Active Driving Display in the Mazda CX-9 is hands down my favorite feature! I fell in love with this feature, but my friend pointed out one tiny flaw. This Active Driving Display is designed to keep the driver more focused on the road, which is what I’ve been looking for all my life. I can’t drive without having the navigation on my phone. It’s a major distraction when you are driving and having to constantly look at the phone to see the next turn.

In this car – speed, turn by turn directions, distance and lane guidance, cruise control settings, lane departure warning, forward obstruction warning and smart city brake support are some of the information projected on the windshield. It definitely gave me a piece of mind while driving and not having to worry about following the map on my phone in the city. One flaw we came across while driving was that we did not get any notification on low fuel on the display. It’s very easy to get used to the Active Driving Display. So while driving, if you don’t occasionally look down to your dashboard you might miss noticing if the fuel is low.

According to the EPA estimates, the CX-9 is 22 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway with front-wheel drive. Take a look at more colors and features of the new Mazda CX-9 and get ready to fall in love.

Disclosure: This vehicle was provided to me for testing purposes and editorial consideration. All opinions are 100% my own.

xoxo, Afroza