Wife and I are looking to move to a 7-seater SUV/Soft Roader. We've been for a drive in both the Mazda CX-9 and the FPV F6X and we both like each of them for the ride/drive performance. Obviously the F6X has my tick for power. The sticking point at the moment is the 7-seater access and the ease with which the 3rd row seats can be put up. The CX-9 is very slick in this regard. Open the back, pull on a strap and up they come. The FPV (as with the Territory 3rd Row) is quite a lot more involved. First you need to put the 2nd row seat forward (which has to be done for ingress/egress anyway), then reach to the centre of the 3rd row seat (top) and pull the handle and lift. Then through to the back, you need to lift the floor storage flap and push the seat base forward. Now I don't think that the 3rd row seats will be used a huge amount (we have 3 kids + their friends) and my wife believes my eldest will be relegated to the 3rd row at all times to reduce the in-fighting between him and his slightly younger sister. The CX-9 also allows for the 3rd seats to be put up one at a time, meaning if on of the 3rd row seats was up permanently, there would still be plenty of room in the back for school bags, groceries etc. From reading reports on the CX-9 however, the middle seat in the 2nd row is very uncomfortable and narrow, and on long trips when the boot is full of luggage, this will come back to haunt us. Anyway out there who wishes to wade in and provide any more fores/against for either car? Cheers Brendan PS> Yes, obviously I do want the F6X, but I'm not the main driver.