The much loved Mazda CX-9 has added another credit to its name, with the Touring grade taking out top spot in the Seven Seat AWD SUV $45,000-$60,000 category, as part of the 2017 OzRoamer Car of the Year awards.

The award follows a string of success for the CX-9, which has consistently won critical acclaim since its 2016 launch in Australia, including recent honours in the 2017 Drive and 2017 Carsales Car of the Year Awards.

Editor in Chief of OzRoamer, Rob Fraser, praised the CX-9 as a step above its competitors in quality and affordability.

"Mazda's CX-9 Touring 2.5L AWD continues to deliver what buyers want and families need," said Mr Fraser.

"The Mazda CX-9 Touring provides the buyer with a strong combination of practicality, safety and driving engagement for a reasonable price. It currently is the best amongst its peers."

Mazda Australia Managing Director, Vinesh Bhindi, said the award cements the CX-9's position as a class leader.

"We are thrilled to see the CX-9 maintain such strong momentum as a favourite in the large SUV category with experts and customers alike," said Mr Bhindi.

"Receiving the OzRoamer award is a testament to the quality of the product and Mazda's commitment to delivering cars true to our Zoom-Zoom philosophy."

Released in July 2016, the CX-9 enjoyed an update in August 2017, adding more safety features as standard and improving NVH for an even better drive.

As befits a high-end family car, all CX-9s come with an extensive range of class leading i-ACTIVSENSE safety features, including Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM), Driver Attention Alert (DAA), Parking Sensors (rear), Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA), Reverse Camera and Smart City Brake Support [Forward/Reverse] (SCBS F/R).

The CX-9 also comes standard with G-Vectoring Control (GVC) to improve the seven-seat SUV's already impressive handling and passenger comfort.

The smooth and quiet ride synonymous with the CX-9 was bolstered in the July update, with six new countermeasures added. These include reducing the height difference between the rear end of the roof moulding and the liftgate, and increasing the thickness of the noise-absorbing material on the underside of the headliner.

For more information and to test drive an award winning CX-9, find your local dealer here.