Compare the2023 Lincoln AviatorVS 2022 Mazda CX-9

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Lincoln Aviator have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Mazda CX-9 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

Both the Aviator and CX-9 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Aviator has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The CX-9’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Lincoln Aviator has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The CX-9 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Aviator has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The CX-9 doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Aviator’s optional Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The CX-9 doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

Both the Aviator and the CX-9 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Lincoln Aviator is safer than the Mazda CX-9:

	Aviator	CX-9
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	125	212
Neck Stress	167 lbs.	309 lbs.
Neck Compression	26 lbs.	51 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	230/210 lbs.	107/424 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	318	337
Chest Compression	.4 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	29.2%	40%
Neck Compression	129 lbs.	165 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Lincoln Aviator is safer than the Mazda CX-9:

	Aviator	CX-9
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	65	88
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	86	208
Spine Acceleration	38 G’s	54 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	15 inches

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

The Aviator comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The CX-9’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Lincoln’s powertrain warranty covers the Aviator 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Mazda covers the CX-9. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the CX-9 ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

There are over 26 percent more Lincoln dealers than there are Mazda dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Aviator’s warranty.

Reliability

The Lincoln Aviator’s engines use a cast iron block for durability, while the CX-9’s engine uses an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

The Aviator has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The CX-9 doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Lincoln vehicles are better in initial quality than Mazda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Lincoln above average in initial quality. With 13 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mazda is rated lower.

Engine

The Aviator’s standard 3.0 turbo V6 produces 150 more horsepower (400 vs. 250) and 95 lbs.-ft. more torque (415 vs. 320) than the CX-9’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The Aviator Grand Touring’s standard 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid produces 244 more horsepower (494 vs. 250) and 310 lbs.-ft. more torque (630 vs. 320) than the CX-9’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Lincoln Aviator turbo V6 is faster than the Mazda CX-9:

	Aviator	CX-9
Zero to 60 MPH	5.4 sec	7.5 sec
Quarter Mile	14.1 sec	15.9 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	97.7 MPH	87.3 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Aviator Grand Touring running on electricity gets better mileage than the CX-9 (54 city/58 hwy MPGe vs. 20 city/26 hwy).

On the EPA test cycle the Aviator Grand Touring running its gasoline engine gets better fuel mileage than the CX-9 (22 city/25 hwy vs. 20 city/26 hwy).

The Aviator Grand Touring can travel with zero emissions for 21 miles. The CX-9 can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Aviator Grand Touring’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The CX-9 doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Aviator’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip (not available Grand Touring). The CX-9 doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Aviator has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The CX-9 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Transmission

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Lincoln Aviator, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the CX-9.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Aviator’s brake rotors are larger than those on the CX-9:

	Aviator	CX-9
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	12.6 inches
Rear Rotors	13.8 inches	12.8 inches

The Aviator’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the CX-9 are solid, not vented.

The Aviator stops much shorter than the CX-9:

	Aviator	CX-9
60 to 0 MPH	119 feet	130 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Aviator’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the CX-9 (275/40R22 vs. 255/60R18).

The Aviator’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the CX-9 Touring Plus/Carbon Edition/Grand Touring/Signature’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Aviator has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the CX-9 Sport/Touring. The Aviator’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the CX-9 Touring Plus/Carbon Edition/Grand Touring/Signature.

Suspension and Handling

The Aviator offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The CX-9’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Aviator has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Aviator’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The CX-9 doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Aviator’s wheelbase is 3.8 inches longer than on the CX-9 (119.1 inches vs. 115.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Aviator is 1.6 inches wider in the front and 1.7 inches wider in the rear than on the CX-9.

The Aviator’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (51% to 49%) than the CX-9’s (54.7% to 45.3%). This gives the Aviator more stable handling and braking.

The Aviator Grand Touring AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the CX-9 Touring pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Aviator Grand Touring AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.1 seconds quicker than the CX-9 Touring (26.5 seconds @ .72 average G’s vs. 27.6 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

Chassis

The front grille of the Aviator uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The CX-9 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Aviator (except Standard) offers available computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The CX-9 doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Aviator has 9.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the CX-9 (144.7 vs. 135.1).

The Aviator has 2.2 inches more front headroom, 2 inches more front legroom, 1.8 inches more front hip room, 3.6 inches more front shoulder room, 1.2 inches more rear headroom, .9 inches more rear hip room, 3.2 inches more rear shoulder room, 1.5 inches more third row headroom, .8 inches more third row hip room and .9 inches more third row shoulder room than the CX-9.

Cargo Capacity

The Aviator’s cargo area provides more volume than the CX-9.

	Aviator	CX-9
Behind Third Seat	18.3 cubic feet	14.4 cubic feet
Third Seat Folded	41.8 cubic feet	38.2 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	77.7 cubic feet	71.2 cubic feet

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Aviator’s second row seats and pressing a button automatically lowers or raises the third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The CX-9 doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Aviator. The CX-9 doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Towing

The Aviator’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the CX-9’s (5600 vs. 3500 pounds).

Servicing Ease

The Aviator uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The CX-9 uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The engine in the Aviator is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the CX-9. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

The Aviator’s standard easy entry system raises the steering wheel and glides the driver’s seat back, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The CX-9 doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The power windows standard on both the Aviator and the CX-9 have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Aviator is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The CX-9 prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

If the windows are left open on the Aviator the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the CX-9 can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Aviator’s exterior PIN entry system. The CX-9 doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Aviator’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The CX-9 offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Optional air conditioned front and second row seats keep the Aviator’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The CX-9 doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Aviator (except Standard) offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the CX-9.

The Aviator has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The CX-9 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Aviator (except Standard)’s optional Active Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The CX-9 doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Model Availability

The Aviator is available in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The CX-9 doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

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