Mazda CX-9 GT SP AWD vs Toyota Kluger GXL hybrid AWD - Which is the better 7-seat SUV?

If you want your seven-seater SUV to look tough and serious then the Kluger GXL is for you. Want something far more elegant and refined? Then it’s the CX-9 GT SP. That’s the nutshell of it.

Seriously, the difference in looks between the Kluger and CX-9 is like chalk and cheese, day and night, Morrison and Keating… 

Take a look at the images, the CX-9 is stunning – there’s that grille, that profile and look inside – you’d be impressed with this superb interior in an SUV twice the price.

The GT SP grade brings burgundy leather seats, red interior stitching and a fancy looking black trim. The cabin appears incredibly high end with premium materials and a modern, stylish design.

The GT SP grade also adds a stealthy look with a black grille, black mirrors and black wheels.

The Kluger GXL doesn’t have the streamlined, posh exterior of the CX-9. Instead, the Toyota looks big, boxy and a lot like the old Kluger. 

The Kluger’s cabin is equally tough-but-unrefined, dominated by a dashboard design that’s bold but unsophisticated, and a screen which looks small by today’s standards. 

While appearing tough and functional this Toyota’s interior lacks the well-crafted feel of its Mazda rival.

As for the dimensions the Kluger looks bigger than the CX-9 but it’s actually shorter at 4966mm end-to-end compared to the CX-9’s 5075mm length. 

The Kluger is 1930mm in width, while the CX-9 is 1969mm across, and as for height the Kluger is 1755mm tall while the CX-9 again outdoes it at 1747mm.

How big is your garage? Remember you’ll need to open the doors to get out once you’re parked inside.

Overall, the Mazda wins for design. The CX-9 has been on the market in this form for years, but it still looks modern and beautiful, while there’s a feeling of high-quality materials throughout the cabin. 

The Kluger just can’t match the CX-9 in looks, quality feel or modern design, even though the new generation SUV arrived in Australia only midway through 2021. 

The big news when the new-gen Kluger arrived in 2021 was that this SUV could be had with a hybrid powertrain. That’s great for families looking to save fuel – but more on that below. 

The question here is how well does the hybrid system deal with pulling this 2045kg (and that’s before you load it up) seven-seat SUV around? The answer is, impressively well.

The Kluger GXL Hybrid has three electric motors – two driving the front wheels and one driving the rear wheels – and a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.

The combined power output for the motors and engine is 184kW. 

Toyota doesn’t give a combined torque output, but the engine alone produces 242Nm and the rear motor makes 121Nm by itself.

You won’t need to plug the Kluger into a power point to re-charge the batteries either, they’re topped up just driving around normally through regenerative braking and from the engine.

Not once in the testing did the Kluger Hybrid feel underpowered and the transition from petrol to electric power is smooth and relatively quiet. 

The transmission is a CVT, and these generally take much of the sportiness out of the driving, but more on this further down.

The Kluger GXL Hybrid has three electric motors – two driving the front wheels and one driving the rear wheels.

Mazda doesn’t offer the CX-9 with a hybrid system, which is a real weakness in the line-up. That said, the GT SP like all CX-9s has a 2.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder and it’s excellent, providing a great response.

The power output is less than the Kluger Hybrid’s at 170kW, and while torque appears more at 420Nm, remember the electric motors in the Toyota also contribute but they’re outputs aren’t all listed.

The six-speed automatic transmission in the CX-9 is smooth and provides solid-felling shifts.

The GT SP we had was all-wheel drive. The Kluger Hybrid is all-wheel drive only.

The CX-9s has a 2.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine.

The Kluger GXL Hybrid is the winner here. Yes, the CX-9 has an engine and transmission which is better suited for sporty responsiveness, but I found the smooth and relaxed nature of the hybrid system better for the daily duties these SUVs will spend most of their time doing – stuff like the shopping trips, commuting in traffic and school runs. 

The Kluger and CX-9 are family cars, and being seven-seat SUVs the passengers in that third row are almost always going to be children. 

We found that while the Kluger has third-row airbags on paper, they disappointingly don’t extend to cover the occupants' heads. The CX-9’s third-row airbags do extend to cover the heads of these very back seat passengers. This is an important detail to keep in mind if you plan to use these third row seats.

We’re not saying the Kluger is unsafe, it’s generally incredibly safe with advanced safety technology and a high-strength structure, but there is an apparent disregard for those sitting in the third row.

The Kluger’s AEB can detect and brake for cars between 10km/h and 180km/h, and for pedestrians and cyclists between 10km/h and 80km/h. 

The CX-9’s AEB can detect and brake for pedestrians from 10 to 80km/h and vehicles from 4.0-80km/h. This system does not operate for cyclists.

Check out the table below for a breakdown of more safety gear. It’s close but the CX-9 wins here as not only does it have more safety tech, such as reverse AEB, there are those third-row airbags which offer better coverage, that's a significant difference.

Both cars scored the maximum five-star ANCAP rating, but the Kluger was tested in 2021 and the CX-9 in 2016. 

I’m going to keep this as short as possible because you just want to know which is better to drive: the Kluger GXL Hybrid or the Mazda CX-9 GT SP.

The answer is the Kluger GXL Hybrid. 

Here’s why.

The CX-9 GT SP is actually more fun to drive on a twisty country road with a sporty, responsive engine, direct steering, a torque converter transmission with shifting paddles and suspension which makes it go around corners faster and more impressively than a two tonne regular family SUV should. 

The problems for the CX-9 start where a SUV will spend most of its time: in the city and suburbs, in peak-hour traffic on a road that’s been repaired with concrete and bitumen patches. 

The engine in the CX-9 is quite noisy and wants to rev which is great for the open road, but not so great for urban driving.

Life in the CX-9 here is far from easy, effortless and comfortable. Well compared to the Kluger GXL Hybrid, that is.

See, the CX-9 has a good connection to the road, but that means you feel the bumps, the cracks and the potholes. 

Then there’s the transmission which is keen to hold gears even in Normal mode and that’s a bit like a dog pulling on a lead walking you rather than the other way around. 

The engine, too, is quite noisy and wants to rev. All good things on the great open road through the mountains.

Not so great to the supermarket, or the school, or swimming lessons or the other places you’ll spend 90 per cent of your time driving to. 

The Kluger GXL Hybrid on the other hard, is effortless and comfortable to drive under all conditions. I spent weeks with it driving my family around on bad city roads, as well as nightmare traffic, and in a weird way I looked forward to journeys because it was so comfy and easy. 

The CVT in the Kluger shows its worth in the city as a smooth transmission that suits stop-start traffic.

The Kluger GXL Hybrid’s ride is exceptionally comfortable and composed, the steering is light, and the powertrain is seamless in its engine-motor dance routine. 

The CVT, while not great for sporty driving, shows its worth in the city as a smooth transmission that suits stop-start traffic.

Heck, the Kluger Hybrid isn’t bad in the bends, either. Even on the twisty country road loop we took both SUVs through, my fellow tester Andrew Chesterton remarked if we weren’t doing this back-to-back with the CX-9 you’d say the Kluger handled well.

In terms of fit for purpose (that being daily driving in the city and suburbs) the Kluger GXL Hybrid is outstanding and wins here, too.