If you’re looking for a new SUV for your teenager, you may have come across the 2022 Mazda CX-9. It’s an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick+ winner, and it’s also sleek and stylish. You may want to choose the CX-9 with the most safety features, since inexperienced drivers are at a much higher risk of having an accident, and vehicles with more safety features have been shown to reduce some of that risk. These are the 2022 Mazda CX-9 trim levels and the safety features that come in each.

The 2022 Mazda CX-9 Sport includes all of Mazda’s basic safety features

All 2022 Mazda CX-9 SUVs come with Mazda’s suite of important safety features. These include adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, which means that the CX-9 will automatically adjust its speed to maintain a safe distance between itself and the vehicle in front of it. It also comes with forward collision mitigation, which will alert your teen to a possible accident. In some instances, it will also utilize automatic emergency braking.

In addition, the 2022 Mazda CX-9 has blind-spot monitor with rear cross-traffic alert. This will warn your teen if there is another vehicle in their blind spot when they are attempting to change lanes or moving in reverse. There’s also lane keeping assist, which will keep the SV in its lane if it begins to drift. According to Edmunds, the Sport, which is the base model CX-9 has a starting price of $36,855.

The Mazda CX-Touring adds on a few key features

Upgrade from the Sport to the 2022 Mazda CX-9 Touring, and you’ll get a few more features. An auto-dimming rearview mirror comes standard, and adding on the Touring Premium package will also include front and rear parking sensors, which will help your new driver manage tight parking situations more easily. The Touring has a starting price of $39,005.

The 2022 Mazda CX-9 Touring Plus, while nice, doesn’t include anything extra that will keep your teen driver any safer. It has a starting price of $43,235.

The CX-9 Carbon Edition builds on the Touring Plus

For $45,155, the 2022 Mazda CX-9 Carbon Edition will get you everything in the Touring Plus, and then some. While many of these features are luxury-esque, there are a few key safety features that may make you want to consider the Carbon Edition. For example, this trim level comes with adaptive headlights, which swivel as you turn the steering wheel. This will help your teen see better as they are navigating turns.

A windshield wiper de-icer system will make it less likely that teens in snowy climate will try to drive before being able to see out the front window, and a driver attention warning system will alert a driver that’s becoming tired. In addition, the Carbon Edition has rear automatic braking, which will alert a driver to a potential collision behind the vehicle.

The Grand Touring adds on even more

Edmunds notes that the 2022 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring doesn’t include the same high-end looks as the Carbon Edition, but it does include a navigation system, as well a head-up display. This puts important information right on the windshield. The Grand Touring also has a traffic sign recognition system and a surround-view camera system, making difficult parking even easier. This has a starting price of $46,015.

The CX-9 Signature has a starting price of $48,785. This is the most expensive CX-9, but it doesn’t deliver any additional safety features. If you’re looking for the safest CX-9 you can buy, the Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring is it.

In addition to these safety features, ever 2022 Mazda CX-9 comes equipped with automatic climate control, a 10.25-inch infotainment system, and is compatible with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This should allow your teen to operate the vehicle hands-free, which makes them safer on the roads. That, in conjunction with all the safety features in the 2022 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring, make it the best option for your teen.