In a car market where everything appears to be getting more expensive, it’s nice to hear some news about a brand new model that will actually be cheaper in the next model year. For 2022, Mazda’s CX-9 three-row crossover will have a lower MSRP and standard AWD.

The updated and turbocharged CX-9 has been out since 2016 and since then has gotten a bit lost in the crowd of family haulers. , we found it to be way more fun than most drivers would expect given its size. As a professional car shopper, I was getting a ton of requests for them years ago, but I have seen the demand shift a bit towards the usual suspects from Japan and hot sellers from Korea. According to , Mazda moved around 20,000 units of the CX-9 compared to about 76,000 Pilots and a whopping 144,000 Highlanders. While Mazda is a smaller carmaker and doesn’t have the same production capacity as the bigger players, given the popularity of three-row SUVs the CX-9 should perform better.

The automaker is looking to change that for 2022 by making its i-Activ AWD standard across all models, and while other brands are increasing MSRPs and destination fees, Mazda will reduce the starting price of the CX-9 Sport to $36,505 including destination. This will make it cheaper than an AWD-equipped sport 2021 Sport that stickers at $37,285. The Sport also comes standard with the advanced safety tech that most parents would want in their family hauler including adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and lane-keep assist.

New to the 2022 CX-9 trim lineup is the Touring Plus Trim, which builds on the already well-equipped Touring trim by adding, ventilated front seats, power driver’s seat with memory, black metallic 20-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, gloss black front grille, aluminum roof rails, and a frameless rearview mirror. Pricing for the Touring Plus comes in at $42,885. Keep in mind that most other brands will push closer to $50,000 if you select 20-inch wheels and vented seats.

The CX-9 will retain its 2.5-liter engine that makes 250 horsepower and 320 lb-ft of torque providing that you fill it up with 93 octane. Regular fuel will bring the power down to 227 and 310 torque with Mazda claiming the AWD CX-9 will get 26 MPG on the highway, which is not bad for the class. However, customers have reported back to me that “real world” efficiency is quite a bit lower, but perhaps they are enjoying the turbo-boost a bit too much. Also, the CX-9 is on the smaller end of the spectrum when it comes to mid-size three-row crossovers.

If you are in the market for a family crossover and you prefer something sportier and upscale over big and bulky, the 2022 CX-9 should be one of the better values on the market.

(Tom McParland is a contributing writer for Jalopnik and runs AutomatchConsulting.com. He takes the hassle out of buying or leasing a car.)