We bought one in '07...L-O-V-E it! So as one who has been driving it for several years, I'll help where I can.
Ours is a white ( black bottom trim) CX-9 Sport w/sunroof, Bose and roof rack. I prefer cloth and chose the camel with the piano key interior. Lovingly named "Egg-Baby"
We bought ours in August of '07, not too many out then, but by November there were 4 on our block ( guess we started a trend)
If I have to give it any negatives they would be:
For us gals, no place to set your purse/bag as the console is level with the seats...so if you have a passenger up front my purse goes on the front passenger floor or tossed in the back
Not great on gas mileage, not horrible...I get anywhere from 19-21 city...a little better hwy..just filled up and it was a notch over $50.
Lastly, blind spots...the newer models ahve the back up camera, get it!
I have just over 13,000 miles on it, looks like the day we bought it. 265 horsepower has come in handy for me when merging , am spoiled by it now.
It is a very big SUV...we have a '96 Nissan Quest minivan and the CX-9 dwarfs it. We also have a Pontiac G6 and the CX-9 could swallow it. While you cannot drop the seats into the floor like the newer minivans, you can flip them up/down in a variety of ways. You will not have the same cargo space as a mini-van, but you do have a lot of space.
Reviews on it are great, Mazda got it right with the CX-9 , reliability has been great for us.
One other thing to note, if you take it for a test drive, go to the drive-thru at a bank...not sure why, but I seem to have trouble reaching the boxes...the door are high, airbags and all that...so I have to unbuckle and sort of semi climb out to reach, and I am tall, 5'9"...could just be me.
Anyway, we love ours, and think they look sharp!