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By James Gaffney Automotive writer Remember the first time you set foot inside one the most beautiful buildings you had ever laid eyes upon? How you smiled and nodded to yourself as your eyes grazed the brilliant use of space and pleasing mix of horizontal and vertical elements, and the subtle sweep of articulated lines? How the color palette...

Photo by James Gaffney/The Times-PicayuneBy James Gaffney
Automotive writer

Remember the first time you set foot inside one the most beautiful buildings you had ever laid eyes upon? How you smiled and nodded to yourself as your eyes grazed the brilliant use of space and pleasing mix of horizontal and vertical elements, and the subtle sweep of articulated lines?

How the color palette was executed so, well, brilliantly?

Now imagine the same feeling evoked when sliding behind the wheel of an automobile. Instead of rushing to turn on the ignition, you instead stop in your tracks — er, seat — and linger for a short eternity while running your hand over the deftly sculpted front side door panels with wood accents, the slightly sloping center console (with just the right mix of easy-to-use buttons and knobs), and a duo-tone leather upholstery that is sporty yet understated, contemporary yet sophisticated.

And, well, virtually perfect.

Is the console armrest top really split into driver and passenger halves that open separately and independently of one another?

Nice call, that.

Photo by James Gaffney/The Times-PicayuneDitto for the leather-wrapped steering wheel, which despite its smallish appearance is nevertheless elegantly executed and thankfully absent of the tragically common addition of unnecessary and visually competing materials.

So went the first 15 minutes inside the Mazda CX-9 Touring. With this stylish and smart looking four-dour, seven-passenger crossover, first impressions begin the second you slide behind the wheel, especially if the cabin boasts the sand-with-dark-brown-accents color palette. In the automotive world it’s not often that “beige” and “beautiful” are uttered in the same breath, but Mazda’s studio designers succinctly nailed this color.

“We designed it (the color) specifically for this vehicle,” said Teresa Spafford, lead designer for Mazda in Irvine, Calif.

So popular is the color that Mazda now includes it in the CX-7 and Mazda-5, according to Spafford, who was responsible for many of the interior design decisions for the CX-9.

Designers made the color “as light as possible to give (the cabin) a feeling of spaciousness,” said Spafford, “but we also wanted it to feel very modern.”

Photo by James Gaffney/The Times-PicayuneIn an era when some automotive designers can seem asleep at the wheel (no pun intended), Mazda’s attention to detail even extends to the slightly arcing, downward curve of the front-door switch panel, which is made of a rare exotic wood — not your run-of-the-mill oak or burlwood, said Spafford.

“One of the things we struggled with was whether to put wood in this interior . . . because people don’t associate wood with a sporty interior unless it’s a very high-end exotic car,” she noted.

What finally convinced Spafford and others at Mazda was a final design aesthetic that took into account not only the pattern and color of the wood but also the curved shape of the front-door switch panels.

“The shape (of the wood) is so unique and elegant and has such a distinctive appearance” that it enhances, not detracts from, the distinctiveness of the cabin’s color palette, she said.

“The color has been very successful for us,” said Spafford.

‘No better choice’
It’s rare for a car — in this case, a large SUV — to get so much right. But Mazda has built a solid reputation and customer base with a lineup of vehicles that is easy to handle and fun to drive. And the CX-9 Touring, often compared with the GMC Acadia and Ford Flex, is no exception. And when it comes to reliability the CX-9 rolls into town with Mazda’s 80-month

Tags: Mazda, is-featured

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Untitled article was originally published by New Orleans Auto Reviews: Mazda. Read the full story by clicking here.