Safety Makes the 2021 Mazda CX-9 Right for Your Family

by Gabrielle DeSantis

It’s tough for families to find a three-row midsize SUV that checks all the boxes. But the Mazda CX-9 has everything you’re looking for and then some. It even outshines SUVs like the Honda Pilot.

In fact, U.S. News likes the Mazda CX-9 so much that the publication included it in a roundup of the best three-row SUVs for 2021. What makes it so great for families?

Why the Mazda CX-9 is great for families

Several features on the Mazda CX-9 make traveling with families a bit easier. One of them is the infotainment system. For optimal viewing, you’ll get a wide, 10.3-inch display screen with sleek graphics, quick responses, and a relatively easy user interface. Menus on the screen aren’t difficult to maneuver through, so there’s no wasted time trying to find something buried deep within. 

Families will also be happy about the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration that comes standard on the CX-9. They allow you to connect your phone to the infotainment system. That way, you can curate your own music playlist before the trip and play it while you travel. No more time wasted scanning for radio stations to find something for the kids.

Mazda CX-9 features that families will like

RELATED: Get a 2021 Mazda CX-9, Don’t Waste Your Money on a Luxury SUV

Families will especially like the cargo space and safety features with the Mazda CX-9. 

Cargo space in the CX-9 isn’t exactly the best of the models that U.S. News lists. But it isn’t the worst, either. Behind the third row, you get 14.4 cubic feet of space to carry around a few suitcases. If you fold down the third row, you’ll get 38.2 cubic feet to accommodate a couple of bikes or a large grocery haul. 

As for safety, the Mazda CX-9 goes all out. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave the CX-9 an overall safety score of 5 out of 5 stars for its crash test performance, U.S. News Reports. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety was also impressed with its crashworthiness. The IIHS gave the CX-9 the organization’s highest honor, Top Safety Pick+. It earned top ratings in all areas, including headlights, where many vehicles often fail. 

You’ll also find a long list of safety features standard on this model. They include forward-collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning, automatic emergency braking, and a rearview camera. The CX-9 also comes standard with blind-spot monitoring, a rarity because many vehicles offer it only as an option.  

This SUV’s other perks

The Mazda CX-9 can seat up to seven passengers. If you use the captain’s seats in the middle row, only six people can fit. Both the front and second-row seats offer plenty of headroom and legroom, but the third can get cramped for full-size adults. Young kids or teens would fit back there without issue. 

Under the hood sits a 2.5-liter turbo four-cylinder engine that can generate 250 hp if you use premium fuel. Paired with this motor is a six-speed automatic transmission. You’ll get either front-wheel or all-wheel drive, depending upon which trim level you choose. 

Fuel economy is another feature that families love about their CX-9. On city roads, you can expect to get around 22 mpg. When traveling on the highway, the EPA rating rises to 28 mpg. That’s pretty good for a three-row midsize SUV. 

All in all, the Mazda CX-9 offers plenty for any driver to love. But many features also make traveling easier when you’re hauling your most precious cargo: your family.

The post Safety Makes the 2021 Mazda CX-9 Right for Your Family appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

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Buy the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas if You Want a Quiet Ride

by Gabrielle DeSantis

If you have young kids, work in a bustling environment, or live in a crowded city, sometimes the only place to get any peace is inside your car. Unfortunately, some vehicles have noisy cabins, making it difficult to listen to music and podcasts or make hands-free calls. But not the Volkswagen Atlas. It ranks among a recent list of the quietest SUVs in 2021.

An overview of the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas

RELATED: The 2021 Volkswagen Atlas Has 1 Huge Advantage Over Other Midsize SUVs

The Atlas debuted in 2018, and Volkswagen has slowly and steadily improved on its initial design. The 2021 model provides tons of seat space, plentiful storage, loads of standard safety features, and a straightforward infotainment system. U.S. News reviewers expressed displeasure at the presence of some lower-quality cabin materials, and they said the standard engine isn’t quite what you’d expect it to be. 

Even still, the Atlas is a great vehicle for families and individuals alike. It provides steady performance with a standard 2.0-liter, 235-hp turbocharged engine, though you can upgrade to a 3.6-liter V6 harnessing 276 hp instead. Either way, it has decent fuel economy for its class, getting 24 mpg on the highway. Neither engine will blow you away, but they’re more than adequate for everyday use. 

The 2021 Volkswagen Atlas starts at $30,545 for a two-row model, or you can get a base model with three rows for $31,545. Other trims, including the VW Atlas SE, SE with Technology, SEL, and SEL Premium, offer a wide variety of additional infotainment, safety, and other features for varying prices. 

The top model, the SEL Premium, starts at $47,195 and provides third-row seating. It also has all-wheel drive, leather seats, a 12-speaker sound system, hands-free parallel park assist, heated front and rear seats, and more.

The Volkswagen Atlas is a quiet sanctuary

U.S. News places the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas on its list of the 11 quietest SUVs this year. The cabin impressed them with how well it suppresses outside wind and road noise even at high speeds. 

People may not specifically shop for an SUV with a quiet interior, but once you drive a vehicle with as peaceful of a cabin as the Atlas’s, it’s hard to spend time in anything noisier. A quiet interior is great if you have long commutes and spend a significant time in your vehicle daily 

On its list, U.S. News assigned scores for each interior, and the VW Atlas received a commendable interior score of 8.6/10. Overall, U.S. News gave it a 7.9/10. Sure, other SUVs are more well-rounded and luxurious than the Atlas, but few vehicles have a cabin this serene. 

Other SUVs with notably quiet interiors

Other SUVs with quiet interiors include the 2021 BMW X3, Kia Telluride, and Mazda CX-5. They scored 8.1, 8.3, and 7.9, respectively, for their interiors. But all scored slightly higher than the Volkswagen Atlas overall. 

The only models on the list to beat the Atlas in interior quality were the 2021 Chevrolet Traverse and Lincoln Navigator, which both earned an impressive 8.9. The Navigator also scored much higher overall, but it costs over twice the Atlas’s price. The Traverse, on the other hand, scored only 0.1 higher overall than the Atlas but comes at a slightly lower price. 

So if you’re looking for an SUV with an interior as hushed as a library, you won’t regret getting a 2021 Chevy Traverse, Lincoln Navigator, or Volkswagen Atlas. 

The post Buy the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas if You Want a Quiet Ride appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

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1 Man’s Stolen Camaro Was Finally Found After 33 Years

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Possibly witnessing the end of the Camaro (as far as new production goes) gets you thinking about the years we’ve already seen with this sports car. It’s been around since 1966 and cost only $2,466 back then. And over time, this car has become a beloved icon. As such, it’s seen its share of thefts.

Some owners have never seen their stolen cars again. But one man recently reunited with his Camaro after it was snatched more than three decades ago. Here’s the incredible true story.

How this Camaro’s saga began 

The Chevy Camaro seemed to be a popular vehicle among car thieves years ago. While one man was reunited with his after it was stolen 17 years earlier, another cropped up in the news. However, in this instance, the vehicle was found 33 years after it went missing, Cleveland 19 news reported.

Ron Reolfi, the Camaro’s owner, bought a 1968 model for $600 in the 1980s, according to Jalopnik.com. He was a student at the University of Akron at the time. He spent a year or so working on it with his father before it went missing. 

During that time, they fixed it up with new paint and worked on the interior. They even upgraded the engine and put on a new fender. Reolfi drove the newly refurbished car for about two weeks before the fateful night. 

What happened to the Camaro, and how was the owner reunited with it?

RELATED: Defective Chevy Camaro Steering Wheel Emblems Prompt Safety Recall

One night, Reolfi drove the Camaro to work. He parked it under a specific light and went inside to begin his shift. When break time rolled around, he went outside to sit in his car to get some schoolwork done. 

Cleveland 19 reported that he then went back inside the store for about 20 minutes. When he came back out, he went to the same light he had parked under and noticed the car was no longer there. He spent months after that driving around looking for his car. But it was nowhere to be found. 

Eventually, the owner moved on. Fast-forward 33 years, and he got a phone call he wasn’t expecting. The police said they had found a car, in Delaware, with a vehicle identification number that matched the same one stolen from him years before. 

When he finally reunited with his car, he noticed it was in better shape than when he had last seen it. He explained that someone somewhere along the line had completely redone the car’s underside, from the brakes to the engine. 

Is this car a thief magnet?

Though we’ve heard of a few stories of people getting their stolen Camaros back after several years, it appears thefts have slowed a bit. According to ourautoexpert.com, the Chevy Camaro is one of the lowest-rated vehicles for thieves. 

Our Auto Expert lists the top 2019 vehicles stolen. The Camaro ties for last place with only 351 cars stolen. Compare that to the number one on the list, the Ford F-Series, and it doesn’t even come close to the 1,767 figure.

It seems, nowadays, that vehicles like the Dodge Challenger and Charger are landing in the top spot for car thefts. It stands to reason that either the Camaro isn’t as noteworthy as it once seemed to be, or Chevy installed a better theft-deterrent system. 

The takeaway from this news story? Maybe you shouldn’t give up hope on finding your stolen car. It might take a few years or even decades, but there’s still a chance you could see it again someday. 

The post 1 Man’s Stolen Camaro Was Finally Found After 33 Years appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

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The Subaru Ascent Actually Has a Suitable 3rd Row

by Gabrielle DeSantis

If you’re searching for a good family vehicle, the Subaru Ascent is one you should check out. With plenty to offer a family, this model doesn’t get the attention it should. 

U.S. News, however, knows there’s more to the Ascent than meets the eye. That’s why the publication listed this Subie as one of the best three-row SUVs. What makes it so family-friendly?

What does the Subaru Ascent offer families?

The Subaru Ascent has much to offer anyone looking for a three-row midsize crossover. But it’s especially beneficial to those with families. One of the best features you could get from a three-row SUV is a fairly comfortable place for a full-size adult to hang out in the very back of the vehicle. 

With other three-row SUVs, the back row tends to be too cramped for adults. The Ascent, however, offers just enough space for an adult to sit comfortably, at least for a short ride. Longer ones might be too much, tho, so you’ll have to play musical chairs. 

Roominess is another great feature of the Ascent. You can haul seven or eight passengers, depending on the seat configuration you choose. Cargo space is pretty average but enough to store plenty. Expect 17.6 cubic feet of space behind the third row. But if you fold down the last two rows of seats, you can get up to 86.5 cubic feet of storage.  

Is the Subaru Ascent safe?

RELATED: Only 1 2021 Subaru SUV Missed Out on Consumer Reports Recommendation

U.S. News gave the 2021 Subaru Ascent a safety score of 9.8 out of 10, one of the highest on the list. That’s due to a few factors. One is because of its crash safety testing from two agencies, and the other is from its long list of safety features. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found no major problems with the Ascent’s crash test evaluations. In fact, the NHTSA gave it an overall score of 5 out of 5 stars, U.S. News Reports. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety followed suit by giving the Ascent the highest rating, Top Safety Pick+.

Standard on all models is Subaru’s popular safety suite, Eyesight. The long list of features includes adaptive cruise control, lane centering with lane-keep assist, and forward collision mitigation. You’ll also get the available advanced adaptive cruise control, which allows you to determine the amount of space you want between you and the vehicle in front of you. 

What else can you expect from this Subie?

The Subaru Ascent offers more than just cargo space and safety features, though. You’ll find this model can be your go-to for towing, too. With the proper equipment, the Ascent can pull up to 5,000 pounds. That’s more than some of the others on the U.S. News list, like the Mazda CX-9, which can only handle only 3,500 pounds. 

Plus, the Ascent can be a great vehicle for winter driving. Subaru vehicles come standard with all-wheel drive, useful when traveling with your family on slushy roads. AWD can help the vehicle stay in control by gripping the road better. Other three-row SUVs offer AWD, but you have to pay extra for some of them. 

The Ascent is, surprisingly, one of the more affordable SUVs on the list as well. It starts at $32,295, pretty good when you compare it with other three-row SUVs like the CX-9, at just over $34,000. What’s even more surprising, though, is this model can be a bit of an off-roader if you’re up for a little fun. 

Overall, the Subaru Ascent offers one of the biggest advantages in its class: roomy third-row seating. Families will love being able to offer adults a seat in the back without worrying about an uncomfortable experience for them.

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