The CX-9 has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Voyager doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
The CX-9’s lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. The Voyager doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.
The CX-9 Grand Touring/Signature has a standard 360° View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Voyager only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.
The CX-9 has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Voyager’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the CX-9 has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. Chrysler charges extra for Rear Cross Path Detection on the Voyager.
The CX-9 Carbon Edition/Grand Touring/Signature’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Voyager doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
The CX-9 has standard E911 Automatic Emergency Notification, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Voyager doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.
Both the CX-9 and the Voyager have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights and rearview cameras.
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 Mazda CX-9 is safer than the Chrysler Voyager:
|
CX-9 |
Voyager |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Movement |
.4 inches |
1 inches |
Abdominal Force |
98 lbs. |
149 lbs. |
Hip Force |
195 lbs. |
395 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
54 G’s |
54 G’s |
Hip Force |
582 lbs. |
764 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
249 |
293 |
Spine Acceleration |
35 G’s |
50 G’s |
Hip Force |
553 lbs. |
616 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the CX-9 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Voyager last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.