Australians have fallen out of love with the mini van.

Seven seat SUVs have become the default choice for growing families – Toyota's Kluger SUV outsells the Tarago van by more than 10 to one, and it's a similar case at Hyundai and Kia, where the Santa Fe and Sorento are much more popular than their flat-sided siblings.

Mazda hopes that an all-new CX-9 can tempt buyers away from established rivals by addressing the shortcomings of its predecessor.

These "soft roaders" lack the rugged ability of ute-based four-wheel-drives such as the Toyota Prado or Ford Everest, though they are more refined on the road.

Our quartet offers the option of two-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive traction. We put popular mid-range all-wheel-drive models to the test.

Toyota Kluger GXL

The Kluger is a car with a target on its back.

Easily the most popular model here, Toyota sells about 1000 examples of the Kluger month – not a bad feat considering it has other family-friendly SUVs in the RAV4, Fortuna, Prado and LandCruiser.

It's easy to grasp the Kluger's appeal. This is a full-bodied, practical beast that offers plenty of space along with one of the most trusted names on Australian roads.

Unlike other Toyotas, the Kluger is built in the US to American tastes, lending it a different personality to other models in the range. Its 3.5-litre V6 is the most powerful engine among the four models assembled here, and there is no diesel option. The smooth and sonorous V6 produces strong 201kW and 337Nm outputs, though it is the thirstiest in this group, with claimed fuel use of 10.2L/100km growing well beyond 11L/100km in the real world.

The all-new Mazda CX-9 has arrived with much fanfare, but can it topple the segment benchmarks the Kia Sorento, Toyota Kluger and Hyundai Santa Fe. Photo: Mark Bean

The Kluger's archetypically American nature extends to its dynamic behaviour, where the sizeable machine offers loose body control, and more roll in the bends than any of its compatriots. The steering is effortless, the brakes spongy. The Kluger has a smooth ride, though its suspension is a little noisy over bumps.

Though it could be the least driver-focused car here, the Kluger makes up for its shortcomings by serving ably as a family wagon. Storage is ample, with a good number of cubby holes and an impossibly voluminous centre console that offer handy places to stash knick-knacks, while there are a couple of 12 volt power and USB outlets up front to keep gadgets on the go.

The Kluger's second row is the most spacious here, benefiting from a clever design that allows the middle seat to tilt and slide. Back seat passengers get their own air conditioning controls, while mum and dad up front have a clever roof-mounted microphone that amplifies their voices for little ears in the back.

Toyota's equipment list covers essentials (reversing camera, sat nav, leather trim) but active safety kit such as blind spot monitoring is reserved for the $60,000-plus Grande.

All of the models here have airbags that extend to the third row, and all bar the Mazda have air conditioning vents for all seven seats, and Kluger's third row is the most accommodating of the lot. Toyota's boot storage (529 litres in five-seat mode, or 1195 litres as a seven-seat proposition) is solid, and the brand's capped price servicing scheme ($1080 for the first three years or 60,000 kilometres) is more than competitive, even if its six-month service intervals are inconvenient. The same could not be said of Toyota's warranty, a three-year, 100,000 kilometre agreement that feels tight-fisted in this company.

Toyota Kluger GXL AWD price and specifications

Price: $53,990 plus on-road costs.

Engine: 3.5-litre V6 petrol

Power: 201kW at 6200rpm

Torque: 337Nm at 4700rpm

Transmission: Six-speed auto, front-wheel-drive

Fuel use: 10.2L/100km petrol)

Kia Sorento SLi

Kia's flagship comes into our test as something of a favourite. The Sorento won the Best Family SUV title in the 2015 Drive Car of the Year awards, impressing judges with its combination of practicality and refinement.

Those attributes continue to win favour for the Sorento, which is well equipped for family life with 12 volt and USB power for the first two rows. There are basic air conditioning controls for front, middle and back row occupants, along with plenty of cup holders and storage spaces. Kia's third row isn't quite as spacious as the Toyota, while hard plastic seatbacks behind the driver and passenger are durable, but uncomfortable.

The sharply priced $49,490 Sorento SLi offers plenty of standard kit including a reversing camera, sat nav and front and rear parking sensors, but as with the Toyota, active driver aids are reserved for the top-end Platinum variant.

Out on the road, the Kia's 2.2-litre diesel motor offers the same 147kW power peak as the Hyundai Santa Fe, but it has a tauter transmission tune with more direct engine and transmission responses than its South Korean cousin. It's an impressively efficient machine, returning fuel figures close to its 7.8L/100km claim, though Kia's $2003 servicing scheme for the first three years or 60,000 kilometres is a little dear. A cheaper V6 petrol option is available only in front-wheel-drive.

Kia takes its own approach to suspension tuning, supple, loose-limbed responses that feel both more comfortable and aloof than the Hyundai. The Sorento's steering is the liveliest here, offering plenty of information about the road surface as well as the occasional spot of kick-back.

Kia's usually excellent fit and finish standards were let down in our test by a loose driver's footrest, though those sort of niggles are likely to be addressed by Kia's peerless seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty.

Kia Sorento SLi diesel AWD price and specifications

Price: $49,490

Engine: 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel

Power: 147kW at 3800rpm

Torque: 441Nm at 1750-2750rpm

Transmission: Six-speed auto, all-wheel-drive

Fuel use: 7.8L/100km (diesel)

Hyundai Santa Fe Elite

Hyundai updated its Santa Fe at the end of 2015, though that was a skin-deep refresh of a third-generation SUV that has been on sale since 2012. Slipping inside the Santa Fe, it's clear that this is the oldest car here, with dated cabin presentation and familiar styling cues that should be replaced in the near future.

Unlike the Sorento, this Santa Fe does not offer USB power to the second row, and it has fewer cup holders than its cross-town rival.

The Hyundai's transmission calibration feels a little elastic after the tautly tuned Sorento, and its engine is a little noisier on the road. But the Santa Fe's scores lift when driven with determination, revealing a crisply honed chassis that is comfortably the driver's pick here. The finely poised Hyundai offers a direct connection with the road, feeling sporty and car-like compared to its conservatively tuned siblings, even if its ride is a little bumpier than ideal.

It helps that the 1857kg Santa Fe is the lightest car here, contributing to sharper reactions as well as better fuel economy and more eager straight-line performance than the similarly powered Sorento.

The Santa Fe's $50,990 asking price brings gear such as front and rear parking sensors, satellite navigation and a reversing camera, but, like Kia and Toyota, Hyundai reserves emerging safety tech for the top-line Highlander trim.

That's a pity, as the Santa Fe's strong basics and satisfactory third-row utility make for an otherwise compelling package. While it can't quite match Kia's seven-year warranty, Hyundai offers the best resale value and its five-year, unlimited kilometre guarantee is still good going, as is a $1626 capped price servicing program for the first three years or 60,000 kilometres of ownership. Better still, Hyundai is currently offering five years of free servicing and 1 per cent finance on its largest SUV, a deal that could tempt many customers into a proven package.

Hyundai Santa Fe Elite diesel AWD price and specifications

Price: $50,990

Engine: 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel

Power: 147kW at 3800rpm

Torque: 440Nm at 1750-2750rpm

Transmission: Six-speed auto, all-wheel-drive

Fuel use: 7.7L/100km (diesel)

Mazda CX-9 Touring

Cars don't get much newer than the CX-9, which has a fresh platform with more compact dimensions, a new turbocharged engine and a redesigned cabin intended to please the whole clan.

There are plenty of thoughtful touches including four USB charging points spread throughout the front and back as well as third row seats that you can access easily.

Like the Kluger, it has independent temperature controls for back seat occupants, along with a sliding second-row bench common to all four models here. But its interior presentation is on another level, with a modern look and sophisticated multimedia controls that wouldn't be out of place in a luxury brand.

This new CX-9 is also the quietest Mazda we've driven in some time. It had the least intrusive road noise in this comparison test, which is something we haven't been able to say about a Mazda for quite a while.

While there's plenty of extra sound deadening, new glass treatments and revised window seals that help make the CX-9 a more refined place to be, the brand's new engine shoulders plenty of responsibility in keeping things hushed.

Mazda replaced the old car's hard-working, if more powerful, V6 with a new 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo engine that offers quiet and comparatively effortless performance as well as strong fuel economy, even if its 170kW peak represents a reduction. That deficit is accounted for by 420Nm of torque – almost as much as its turbo diesel rivals – on tap from early in the rev range, which allows the CX-9 to produce fuss-free power just about anywhere on the tacho. Like its rivals here, the CX-9 drives all four wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission, though Mazda goes further than most by using a pseudo-hybrid i-Eloop system to store braking energy before using it to power electrical components such as the headlights and stereo.

That helps the CX-9 return real-world fuel economy of less than 10L/100km, bettering the Kluger while getting close to what turbo-diesel rivals claim.

Mazda's dynamics are above-average too, with a pleasant blend of ride and handling that errs toward passenger comfort while offering a decent drop of agility. We weren't happy with strong kickback and rack rattle transmitted through the steering wheel, which wasn't the only shortcoming put forward by the CX-9.

The Mazda's 9's prestigious interior presentation offers less storage than rivals such as the Kluger, and cabin plastics next to the driver and passenger's knees can creak loudly if you lean against it.

It's also the most expensive car to service, costing customers at least $2244 for the first three years or 60,000 kilometres, and its third row offers a little less space for bigger kids.

That said, the CX-9 has an ace or two up its sleeves. For one, it's the only model here with a child seat anchor point in the third row, lending it real-world flexibility the others can't match.

But the big trump card is its safety pack, which includes autonomous emergency braking, blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert systems as standard. It's the only car here designed to automatically stop if someone walks behind the car while reversing, and the only one that will help drivers avoid common nose-to-tail crashes that cause plenty of grief.

While you can get more gear such as active cruise control and lane keeping assistance by spending another $10,000 on the top-of-the-range Azami, it's important to note that the more affordable all-wheel-drive CX-9 Touring offers solid safety credentials as standard kit for its $52,890 asking price that also includes basics such as sat nav and a reversing camera.

Mazda CX-9 Touring AWD price and specifications

Price: $52,890 plus on-road costs

Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol

Power: 170kW at 5000rpm

Torque: 420Nm at 2000rpm

Transmission: Six-speed auto, all-wheel-drive

Fuel use: 8.8L/100km

Verdict

There are no losers here. The Kluger has space and long distance-distance driving comfort, the Hyundai offers plenty of poise, and the Kia is unquestionably our value pick.

But Mazda's new CX-9 is the complete package. Its blend of safety gear, on-road refinement and family versatility make it the most compelling seven-seat family SUV this year, and strong evidence as to why full-sized crossovers have replaced people movers as the main mode of transport for modern families.

Interested in buying Mazda CX-9? Visit our Mazda showroom for more information.

Interested in buying Toyota Kluger? Visit our Toyota showroom for more information.

Interested in buying Kia Sorento? Visit our Kia showroom for more information.

Interested in buying Hyundai Santa Fe? Visit our Hyundai showroom for more information.