This past week I had the opportunity to drive around in a 2015 Mazda CX-9. I have a bunch of friends who love their Mazda vehicles so I was interested in seeing what all they love about it. First of all, isn’t it pretty?

The first evening that I had the vehicle I needed to go set-up for my craft fair. We got everything packed in and still had room for both Brad and I.

Putting the 2015 @MazdaUSA CX-9 through it’s paces this week. First up is craft fair setup. @DriveSTI pic.twitter.com/0z4wZxPuO9 — Kendra Darr (@simplydarrling) November 8, 2014

The lift gate closes at a touch of a button and it slows as it gets to the bottom and then locks, I liked this feature when it was full because it knew if something was in the way and would alert you before it hit anything. Plus, I’m a bit on the short side, so it was convenient to just press a button and have it close.

The self-close lift gate wasn’t the only feature that was helpful with my height; the power drivers seat was easy to adjust and could be programmed for three different drivers. Brad and I have similar settings for our seats, but they aren’t exactly the same so the pre-programmed is a great feature.

A small detail that I loved was that I could adjust the height of the seatbelt. I used to ride a vanpool to work and always wanted the seat directly behind the driver. My coworkers didn’t realize that it was the only seat where I could adjust how the seatbelt laid across my neck/chest. Thanks for making this adjustable Mazda!

I drive a lot during the week so having steering wheel controls for the radio and phone are essential. I could easily flip through stations and adjust the volume throughout the commute. The phone even worked with call waiting! One evening I was on the phone with Meg and when Brad called to find out how far I was from home I was able to switch to his call with just a quick press of the button.

I didn’t set up the garage door buttons on the mirrors, but that is a feature that I would love to have in my car. It would be handy to always have the garage door opener with you and not need to clip it onto the visor.

The center console, which doubled as a comfy arm rest, had a USB plug so I could charge my phone (or play music) if needed. It was also nice and deep so it could easily store/hide items.

The 2015 Mazda CX-9 is a 7 passenger vehicle that is versatile in its seating configuration. The middle row would slide forward to allow for easier access to the back row. The rows were also split so that each side of the row could be up or down. When it was all folded down the back end was nice and flat (the headrests fold down and “squish” between the seats).

One part of my drive requires climbing a rather steep grade at freeway speeds (what makes it worse is that I actually have to merge from one freeway onto another just as the hill starts). A lot of semis take this route as well so a lot of days it requires good acceleration to get merged in and around the semis. If you don’t get merged into a different lane you can end up going 20 up the entire hill. The CX-9 completed this hill with no issues.

I was sad to see the 2015 Mazda CX-9 leave my house. There are so many more features that I loved about this car – the heated seats, the ability to pause and rewind the radio, and the backup camera that alerted me if cars were coming towards me. Want to learn more? Check out the Mazda Website for a full list of specs and features.

I was provided with the use of a 2015 Mazda CX-9 in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.