Just reserved my CX-7. The dealer had to change the order to upgrade from the moonroof package to the technology package. The production date is listed as end of March which means I probably will see my Black Cherry Mica AWD Grand Touring w/Sand Leather interior and Technology package in the April/May timeframe.
Now that I've done it, I'm a little relieved that I got what I wanted at a good price, and a little nervous since there aren't even any test drives or first looks to read yet.
It's also still a LONG wait till it even gets built, much less arrives.
I contacted several dealerships and got prices of $200 over invoice, $500 over invoice, $1000 under MSRP, $500 under MSRP, and MSRP. To get the color and trim I wanted, however, I ended up going out of my immediate area (about 100 miles away), but got an even better deal -- invoice.
I ordered mine end of December, with the similar tech package, Grand Touring, in the Copper-Red!! I'm be letting go of my 02 Milli S, which I love, but this is going to be a great ride!!! This will be my 6th Mazda in 5 years! My kids drive 626's, and my wife drives an 05 Tribute S. Love the product line, and never had a problem. I'm not at all worried about the turbo. Everyone needs to keep in mind a couple of things, this engine has been out awhile, in the speed6. They've put a better intercooled turbo on it, and one of the most important things is that it's made in Japan! I've owned 2 Milli's. One was an 02 Milli P product built here, the other was the 02 Milli S, built in Japan, what a difference! Trust me, I've owned and driven both, and the are very, very different cars!! The Japanese product is far superior!!
Everyone needs to keep in mind a couple of things, this engine has been out awhile, in the speed6. They've put a better intercooled turbo on it, and one of the most important things is that it's made in Japan!
I would not say the MS6 has been out that long, only here since late November, early December.
Where did you hear about a better intercooled turbo?
"One was an 02 Milli P product built here, the other was the 02 Milli S, built in Japan, what a difference!" I believe that all Mazda Millenias were built in Japan regardless of the production year. Mazda uses more robots in their plants in Japan than in the US. I think this explains the difference in perceived product quality. Here is a link to a Mazda site showing a mazda6 (Atenza) in production. http://special.atenza.mazda.co.jp/
Sorry about that, but I still have the window stickers for both cars, and the P was built here and the S was built in Japan...they will only make two products this year that are shipped to the US, the RX and the CX. All other products are produced here in the US.
The only Mazdas built in the US are the Truck, Mazda6 and the Tribute. All others plus the Mazdaspeed 6 are made in Japan. The 626 and the MX-6 were the only other Mazdas made here in the US.
not true...Mazda is doing a pre-sale of the CX-7. Info can be found on mazdausa.com... We have several deposit's already....subject to test drives of course.
avi...be cautious. Brokers are all over trying to buy CX-7's for export. This violates Mazda's dealer agreements and the sales will be rejected and future allocation gets put in jeopardy.
Yes I've had a CX-7 on order since Nov 2005, My pre order should arrive at dealer the last week of this month. As of today there are still no dealers with cars in physical inventory to sell.
The boats have arrived in the US filled with CX-7's.....Mazda will process them and start to ship to dealers in a week or so. They are trying to get at least one to every dealer in the initial shipments.
Just got back from my dealer..My current Tribute lease is due back next week!! Anyway, no CX7's in, but on the way.. As I was with the salesman, the Mgr came over and said he just got the leasing programs in onthe CX7..........
WTF
He said the current lease program was for 24 mos.....3000+ down, and a monthly price around 440.00..(W/O taxes)
YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING I said!! He said NO, that is what is currently onboard from Mazda
Oh well, after waiting patientlt, it looks like we WILL NOT be in a CX7!! NO WAY I will pay those prices..
Looks like the wife will have to settle on either : Mercury Mariner Pontiac Torrent Suburu Tribeca (though not really in running)
Any thoughts on any of this...Including second choices!!
You do not mention which level CX-7, how many miles the lease covers, what the lease-end buyout price is, or whether you are in US or Canada. At first glance, without crunching any numbers, assuming 12k miles per year for a fully loaded CX-7 in US Dollars ($32-$34k sticker) the price does not seem too out of line to me, although it does not seem especially great.
Also remember - interest rates are up, which will affect all leases.
Sorry.. This was a prliminary quote in the Northeast..specifically NJ. I don't believe they truly know all the numbers, since most dealers couldn't even talk pricing.. According to the Mazda site, they have a lease incentive of 3500 down and 299 mos..For the entry level I believe..
Unfortunately for me the 400 mark is WAYYY outta my need and league at this point..
If they start selling these at a price OVER list, forget about it.. :mad:
My time is cruching down..my vehicle is due back the 31 of this month, so we need to SERIOUSLY consider other options..
Like I said the choices narrow to: Tribeca Ltd; Torrent ; Mercury Mariner..... OH WELL!! :sick:
My dealer also indicated the same May 19th date as released from port. There must be an issue holding up their release. Mazda I am sure does not want to miss the Memorial Day sales opportunity. I e-mailed Mazda yesterday but they were vague with only a comment of May week 5. Hope they come in the next few weeks as we already sold our H Accord. :confuse:
I just hope they get here soon. It would not be good for Mazda to wait too long, because there is a lot of buzz out there about this vehicle, and you do not want it to wear off. Everyone want's it. You don't want to give potential customers a chance to get sold on another brand because they just can't wait anymore. We are in the prime selling season right now. People do not like to wait.
Local Los Angeles dealer called today and said they got their first CX-7 in a lunch today, with three more on next truck. Going for a test drive tomorrow. Will post review after drive.
Got a call on Friday 5/26 that local dealer had received their first CX-7. Wife and I went out yesterday for a test drive. Their unit was a GT FWD with Moonroof/Bose package in Silver Metallic, with the sand leather and GT seats. Dealer was Norco Mazda in So Calif. First off the car really looks great in person every time I see one. Rear seat legroom was much better that I expected, I'm 6'2". Seat materials and comfort were first rate but I'm not a big fan of the accent stripe. Door and dash materials had a nice upscale appearance, but the plastics were on the hard side. Rear cup holders are in the fold down center seat armrest. Rear seats are real easy to fold and the storage space is more than enough for us weather the seats are up or down.
On the road is where this vehicle shines. Ride is firm but not jarring. The transmission shifts smoothly, and with six speeds you always feel that it finds the right gear for the job. Did not play with the manual shift mode on this test. There is a noticeable growl from the engine under hard acceleration, but at anything below half throttle the engine is smooth and quiet. Brakes, as previously reviewed are first rate with smooth short stops. Road noise on the freeway was low (Goodyears)and it looks like they had added extra insulation in the wheel wells. Visability is excellent all around, but it is tough to gauge where the front bumper is.
Dealer said that they should be receiving 3 more later in the afternoon. They were willing to sell for sticker on this car which I thought was ok for it being one of the only cars delivered in the area. Looking forward to the arrival of our CX-7 which we pre ordered, and is due in next week.
Just got back for picking up our CX-7. Dealer recieved them late friday 5/26 but did not have a PDI crew working on the Holiday weekend. Purchased Grand Touring FWD with Moonroof/Bose. Had pre-ordered the car back in October and it had 4/06 build date with a vin# of 4500. Ours came with Goodyears so we did not have to ask for any changes. Even though we were their 1st CX-7 sold at the dealer we got a discount off MSRP due to our order being placed over 6 months ago. Too late today for pics. Got to go Zoom Zoom
I just got a quote of $465 (NY) on a grand touring awd with tech package. Their asking for $5212.00 down payment that includes 1st month, sec., tax and dest. fee. Way out of control!!!!! Looking to get quotes from other dealerships. I also am a returning lease customer (tribute) preapproved.
Hi I just saw my Mazda dealer and he said it could take up to four months to order a new CX-7. I was amazed. Hopefully, I can find one in the showroom which is the model I want (touring model in black cherry with tech package)
Hopefully, I can find one in the showroom which is the model I want (touring model in black cherry with tech package)
You might have better luck finding a CX-7 in the Grand Touring Model for only $800 more. You get the GT seats, Xenon headlights, chrome door handles, fog lamps, auto on and off headlights, exterior thermometer, leather wrapped steering wheel with piano-black accents, with a few other features.
To be honest, I would pay the $800 to have the car now, and not wait 4 months. That is only $13 extra dollars a month minus interest on a 60 mo finance.
Your Mazda representative is probably correct if you were to place an all new order. I ordered a 2003 Mazda6 and it took about 110 days and it was manufactured in the US. However, based upon a side by side online CX-7 orders review at my Dealership last Thursday, here's how an existing vehicle order may be changed and possibly speed up the delivery process. If the car is in production (past the scheduled production date), obviously there can be no changes other than what the Dealer can install. If the car is scheduled but not in production, the color may be changed but equipment (model, accessories) cannot be changed. If the vehicle has been ordered, but not yet scheduled for production, almost everything on the order can be changed. So, your Dealer Rep may not know how to or want to change an order which may reduce the delivery time. My Dealer sales representative is also the New Car Manager and thereby has direct access to the orders database. The Dealership obtained 3 (2 GT AWD, and 1 GT FWD) CX-7s last Wednesday. Both of the AWDs have been sold (one of them to myself). During the online orders review, it appeared that the Dealership has numerous CX-7s on order which would seem appropriate for the pipeline. I would assume that your Dealer must have some future orders that may be subject to the changes I've outlined. I would also completely agree with aviboy97, the GT is worth it. I belive you'll find a better selection with the GT. Good luck.
Yeah baby! A GT AWD with Tech package sits beautifully in my driveway. True Silver Metallic. I'll try to prepare a complete review of the Nav system in the next few days as I learn it a bit more. I had arguably the best Nav in my former Acura TL 04 so the bar is high for me.
Hello, Thank you for your advice... the Cx-7's in my area will be arriving on the eleventh so I will definitely check out the GT models, that will probably be my choice when I buy in July. Have a great week!
- Visually Stunning - Great Interior - Good overall acceleration / performance for an SUV - Con: Requires 91 octane gas!! - Con: AWD has poor gas milage (city: ~12, highway ~14, way off the advertised! - Con: Rear bumper isn't very strong - Con: Some dealers won't budge from MSRP (some over)
Advice: WAIT! Dealers will be overstocked soon. Dealer admitted close to 30 people test drove the CX-7 in 4 days, and nobody wanted to buy it. Why? 91 octane requirement was a big big problem for a lot of people with the gas prices, especially when the dealer won't budge from MSRP.
I got the opportunity to test drive the CX-7 yesterday. I didn't pre-order because I didn't want to sacrifice my 2003 Mazda 6s, if the CX-7 performance wasn't good. I own another SUV with a 3.4l V6, and it can accelerate pretty well, so I was hoping the CX-7's 2.3l turbo would be half-way decent.
The CX-7 is a visually nice car, its not as tall as I expected and the front is at a much steeper angle than it looks in the photos. The interior style is clean, there is a good command of the road, and the view from the drivers seat is pretty decent.
Performance wise its good. It accelerates well from a stop. It seems to struggle a bit when accelerating (foot down) once in motion in 2nd / 3rd gear. Its extremely quiet. Sales guy tried to say it was as good accelerating as the 6s, 6i yes, 6s, no way. Would I sacrifice the 6s performance for the bigger vehicle more family functional vehicle, maybe. I'll have to see if the lighter FWD Sport gets better gas milage.
Considering the gas milage issues, I would definately wait. I called around a couple of dealers in the state to see if anyone had the FWD model, and I'm going to test drive one later today.
Before the test drive the dealer's sales guy was like:
- Nobody has these - We won't budge from MSRP - 6-8 week minimum on orders - Everyone is coming to look at this - Everyone wants the AWD sport model (which is why the one they have isn't sold) - Gas milage on FWD and AWD is the same
Now the gas milage thing seemed off to me. I bought the 2WD model of my SUV with traction control in 2001 because the gas milage was 4-6 miles off on the 4WD model. This seems on par with lots of other car manufacturers. So I was interested in finding out why the AWD model had the same gas milage.
Answer: IT DOESN'T!
If you are driving it downhill with your foot off the gas, then maybe. But in a realistic drive around town, the CX-7 AWD got about 10 - 12 MPG. Due to some construction, one way streets etc, and the sales guy trying to make the sale, we ended up on about an hour long test drive.
91 octane is a requirement, at around $3.00 a gallon (was up as high as $3.25 around here a few weeks ago), that can get expensive fast. Compared to the SUV I have now, its pretty much double the gas costs.
Something to keep in mind, and a good way to get the dealer down on the price.
After the test drive, I was in a much better position. The dealer didn't evn try to sell me the AWD model, they started to talk ordering the FWD model and offering $600 over invoice, big change from the pre-test drive. Gas milage is the big issue here.
Seems to me there are a few too many hidden issues with the CX-7, its early days yet. So things could get a lot worse. When I was calling around dealerships, I found one that had the CX-7 marked as used. Apparantly it was a pre-order AWD Touring model that someone had for 3 days, and then returned it, because of the poor gas mileage performance.
I took delivery of my GT AWD last Thursday. Although, the CX was delivered with a full tank, I wasn't sure the odometer had been reset, so, I refueled and reset the odometer. Just completed a fill up with trip odometer showing 257.4 miles which was 90% highway with speeds from 55 mph to 80 mph. I got 23.64 mpg. Looks to me like a great start. BTW, I paid less than MSRP since I was a returning customer. My dealer got two GT AWDs and one GT FWD. Both AWDs have been sold.
Hi: The CX-7 (GT AWD) is on my list along with Infiniti FX35 AWD, and Infiniti G35AWD sedan (nixed Odyssey & Murano). I'm shopping these cars for all around safety, acceleration, handling, braking but not neccessarily in that order. I have a short term need (for a year and a half) to seat a small adult (mother-in-law) in the rear w/my two kids (age 15mos and 5yrs) for weekend drives.
Fuel economy was not high on my list because safety & handling is so important to me b/c my family is a far more precious resource than petroleum products. That notwithstanding, I find it hard to believe you got 12-14 mpg with 90% hwy driving (I'm not saying you didn't). Did you floor it from stop sign to stop sign and/or floor it at every red to green light transition???
I know a car's fuel efficiency is not optimal before the engine is broken in, but your mpg was atrocious - if you measured it correctly. Another poster got over 23 mpg on his first tank. Hopefully others will post their numbers & we'll get a better idea.
I agree w/you on holding off on a purchase at anywhere near MSRP. Unless you have an immediate need and no option to wait as supply catches up to demand (and prices approach $1000 above invoice or less), money is too precious to overpay. Mazda has no cachet, the warranty has been downgraded to 3yrs from 4yrs, reliability is unknown, and it hasn't been crash-tested yet.
The CX-7 is somewhat of a bread-and-butter commodity car like the 6 and 3, not some limited edition high performance vehicle like the Mazdaspeed 6, which isn't doing well by the way, and need I say that Mazda resale value is not particularly good? I could go on and on as to why this is not the car to buy at MSRP, but if the fuel economy is that bad, then add that to the list. Be patient everyone and the prices will drop for us all - sooner rather than later.
Comments
James
Good luck with it.
Now that I've done it, I'm a little relieved that I got what I wanted at a good price, and a little nervous since there aren't even any test drives or first looks to read yet.
It's also still a LONG wait till it even gets built, much less arrives.
Tom
B.
It looks like for the base, MSRP is about $1600 over invoice. Then the gap will go up depending upon what options you pick.
I would like to reserve one but not before driving one...
Not yet. They are not due here until late March, early April. My guess is they won't be here until late April, early May.
Here are invoice Vs. MSRP
FWD Sport: $22,225 $23,750
Touring: $23,857 $25,500
Grand Touring: $24,603 $26,300
AWD Sport: $23,811 $25,450
Touring: $25,442 $27,200
Grand Touring: $26,188 $28,000
Package invoice's Vs. MSRP
Moonroof/Bose audio/6CD changer $1,379 $1,585
Crystal White Pearl Mica Paint $174 $200
Power Seat $305 $350
Technology Package $3,484 $4,005
Keep in mind that you have to add $560 destination charge to the vehicle after you total it up.
I would not say the MS6 has been out that long, only here since late November, early December.
Where did you hear about a better intercooled turbo?
I believe that all Mazda Millenias were built in Japan regardless of the production year. Mazda uses more robots in their plants in Japan than in the US. I think this explains the difference in perceived product quality. Here is a link to a Mazda site showing a mazda6 (Atenza) in production.
http://special.atenza.mazda.co.jp/
Please share your experience including dealer name and price.
Thanks!
not true...Mazda is doing a pre-sale of the CX-7. Info can be found on mazdausa.com... We have several deposit's already....subject to test drives of course.
As of today there are still no dealers with cars in physical inventory to sell.
Anyway, no CX7's in, but on the way.. As I was with the salesman, the Mgr came over and said he just got the leasing programs in onthe CX7..........
WTF
He said the current lease program was for 24 mos.....3000+ down, and a monthly price around 440.00..(W/O taxes)
YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING I said!! He said NO, that is what is currently onboard from Mazda
Oh well, after waiting patientlt, it looks like we WILL NOT be in a CX7!!
NO WAY I will pay those prices..
Looks like the wife will have to settle on either :
Mercury Mariner
Pontiac Torrent
Suburu Tribeca (though not really in running)
Any thoughts on any of this...Including second choices!!
Also remember - interest rates are up, which will affect all leases.
This was a prliminary quote in the Northeast..specifically NJ.
I don't believe they truly know all the numbers, since most dealers couldn't even talk pricing..
According to the Mazda site, they have a lease incentive of 3500 down and 299 mos..For the entry level I believe..
If they start selling these at a price OVER list, forget about it.. :mad:
My time is cruching down..my vehicle is due back the 31 of this month, so we need to SERIOUSLY consider other options..
Like I said the choices narrow to: Tribeca Ltd; Torrent ; Mercury Mariner.....
OH WELL!! :sick:
Here's a pic of the CX-7 we received today from Mazda.
This is one of the freebies we were sent for being one of the First Choice program buyers. Our real one is due at the Dealer within two weeks."
<img src="http://www.msprotege.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=80308
My dealer also indicated the same May 19th date as released from port. There must be an issue holding up their release. Mazda I am sure does not want to miss the
Memorial Day sales opportunity. I e-mailed Mazda yesterday
but they were vague with only a comment of May week 5.
Hope they come in the next few weeks as we already sold our H Accord. :confuse:
ZOOM ZOOM!!!
Rear seat legroom was much better that I expected, I'm 6'2". Seat materials and comfort were first rate but I'm not a big fan of the accent stripe. Door and dash materials had a nice upscale appearance, but the plastics were on the hard side. Rear cup holders are in the fold down center seat armrest. Rear seats are real easy to fold and the storage space is more than enough for us weather the seats are up or down.
On the road is where this vehicle shines. Ride is firm but not jarring. The transmission shifts smoothly, and with six speeds you always feel that it finds the right gear for the job. Did not play with the manual shift mode on this test. There is a noticeable growl from the engine under hard acceleration, but at anything below half throttle the engine is smooth and quiet. Brakes, as previously reviewed are first rate with smooth short stops. Road noise on the freeway was low (Goodyears)and it looks like they had added extra insulation in the wheel wells. Visability is excellent all around, but it is tough to gauge where the front bumper is.
Dealer said that they should be receiving 3 more later in the afternoon. They were willing to sell for sticker on this car which I thought was ok for it being one of the only cars delivered in the area. Looking forward to the arrival of our CX-7 which we pre ordered, and is due in next week.
and it had 4/06 build date with a vin# of 4500. Ours came with Goodyears so we did not have to ask for any changes. Even though we were their 1st CX-7 sold at the dealer we got a discount off MSRP due to our order being placed over 6 months ago. Too late today for pics. Got to go Zoom Zoom
I also am a returning lease customer (tribute) preapproved.
I just saw my Mazda dealer and he said it could take up to four months to order a new CX-7. I was amazed. Hopefully, I can find one in the showroom which is the model I want (touring model in black cherry with tech package)
You might have better luck finding a CX-7 in the Grand Touring Model for only $800 more. You get the GT seats, Xenon headlights, chrome door handles, fog lamps, auto on and off headlights, exterior thermometer, leather wrapped steering wheel with piano-black accents, with a few other features.
To be honest, I would pay the $800 to have the car now, and not wait 4 months. That is only $13 extra dollars a month minus interest on a 60 mo finance.
If the car is in production (past the scheduled production date), obviously there can be no changes other than what the Dealer can install. If the car is scheduled but not in production, the color may be changed but equipment (model, accessories) cannot be changed. If the vehicle has been ordered, but not yet scheduled for production, almost everything on the order can be changed. So, your Dealer Rep may not know how to or want to change an order which may reduce the delivery time. My Dealer sales representative is also the New Car Manager and thereby has direct access to the orders database.
The Dealership obtained 3 (2 GT AWD, and 1 GT FWD) CX-7s last Wednesday. Both of the AWDs have been sold (one of them to myself). During the online orders review, it appeared that the Dealership has numerous CX-7s on order which would seem appropriate for the pipeline. I would assume that your Dealer must have some future orders that may be subject to the changes I've outlined. I would also completely agree with aviboy97, the GT is worth it. I belive you'll find a better selection with the GT. Good luck.
Thank you for your advice... the Cx-7's in my area will be arriving on the eleventh so I will definitely check out the GT models, that will probably be my choice when I buy in July.
Have a great week!
- Visually Stunning
- Great Interior
- Good overall acceleration / performance for an SUV
- Con: Requires 91 octane gas!!
- Con: AWD has poor gas milage (city: ~12, highway ~14, way off the advertised!
- Con: Rear bumper isn't very strong
- Con: Some dealers won't budge from MSRP (some over)
Advice: WAIT! Dealers will be overstocked soon. Dealer admitted close to 30 people test drove the CX-7 in 4 days, and nobody wanted to buy it. Why? 91 octane requirement was a big big problem for a lot of people with the gas prices, especially when the dealer won't budge from MSRP.
I got the opportunity to test drive the CX-7 yesterday. I didn't pre-order because I didn't want to sacrifice my 2003 Mazda 6s, if the CX-7 performance wasn't good. I own another SUV with a 3.4l V6, and it can accelerate pretty well, so I was hoping the CX-7's 2.3l turbo would be half-way decent.
The CX-7 is a visually nice car, its not as tall as I expected and the front is at a much steeper angle than it looks in the photos. The interior style is clean, there is a good command of the road, and the view from the drivers seat is pretty decent.
Performance wise its good. It accelerates well from a stop. It seems to struggle a bit when accelerating (foot down) once in motion in 2nd / 3rd gear. Its extremely quiet. Sales guy tried to say it was as good accelerating as the 6s, 6i yes, 6s, no way. Would I sacrifice the 6s performance for the bigger vehicle more family functional vehicle, maybe. I'll have to see if the lighter FWD Sport gets better gas milage.
Considering the gas milage issues, I would definately wait. I called around a couple of dealers in the state to see if anyone had the FWD model, and I'm going to test drive one later today.
Before the test drive the dealer's sales guy was like:
- Nobody has these
- We won't budge from MSRP
- 6-8 week minimum on orders
- Everyone is coming to look at this
- Everyone wants the AWD sport model (which is why the one they have isn't sold)
- Gas milage on FWD and AWD is the same
Now the gas milage thing seemed off to me. I bought the 2WD model of my SUV with traction control in 2001 because the gas milage was 4-6 miles off on the 4WD model. This seems on par with lots of other car manufacturers. So I was interested in finding out why the AWD model had the same gas milage.
Answer: IT DOESN'T!
If you are driving it downhill with your foot off the gas, then maybe. But in a realistic drive around town, the CX-7 AWD got about 10 - 12 MPG. Due to some construction, one way streets etc, and the sales guy trying to make the sale, we ended up on about an hour long test drive.
91 octane is a requirement, at around $3.00 a gallon (was up as high as $3.25 around here a few weeks ago), that can get expensive fast. Compared to the SUV I have now, its pretty much double the gas costs.
Something to keep in mind, and a good way to get the dealer down on the price.
After the test drive, I was in a much better position. The dealer didn't evn try to sell me the AWD model, they started to talk ordering the FWD model and offering $600 over invoice, big change from the pre-test drive. Gas milage is the big issue here.
Seems to me there are a few too many hidden issues with the CX-7, its early days yet. So things could get a lot worse. When I was calling around dealerships, I found one that had the CX-7 marked as used. Apparantly it was a pre-order AWD Touring model that someone had for 3 days, and then returned it, because of the poor gas mileage performance.
Not a great start!!
The CX-7 (GT AWD) is on my list along with Infiniti FX35 AWD, and Infiniti G35AWD sedan (nixed Odyssey & Murano). I'm shopping these cars for all around safety, acceleration, handling, braking but not neccessarily in that order. I have a short term need (for a year and a half) to seat a small adult (mother-in-law) in the rear w/my two kids (age 15mos and 5yrs) for weekend drives.
Fuel economy was not high on my list because safety & handling is so important to me b/c my family is a far more precious resource than petroleum products. That notwithstanding, I find it hard to believe you got 12-14 mpg with 90% hwy driving (I'm not saying you didn't). Did you floor it from stop sign to stop sign and/or floor it at every red to green light transition???
I know a car's fuel efficiency is not optimal before the engine is broken in, but your mpg was atrocious - if you measured it correctly. Another poster got over 23 mpg on his first tank. Hopefully others will post their numbers & we'll get a better idea.
I agree w/you on holding off on a purchase at anywhere near MSRP. Unless you have an immediate need and no option to wait as supply catches up to demand (and prices approach $1000 above invoice or less), money is too precious to overpay. Mazda has no cachet, the warranty has been downgraded to 3yrs from 4yrs, reliability is unknown, and it hasn't been crash-tested yet.
The CX-7 is somewhat of a bread-and-butter commodity car like the 6 and 3, not some limited edition high performance vehicle like the Mazdaspeed 6, which isn't doing well by the way, and need I say that Mazda resale value is not particularly good? I could go on and on as to why this is not the car to buy at MSRP, but if the fuel economy is that bad, then add that to the list. Be patient everyone and the prices will drop for us all - sooner rather than later.
Regards,
Deanie