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Mazda CX-7 Test Drives
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I am waiting until the FWD comes in to try that. I am also grappling with the mileage/premium gas issue. It is not so much the cost but my dislike for having to fill up frequently.
Curious to see what others think.
Here's my brief review.
Vehicle - AWD GT, Galaxy Gray w/Sand interior, Moonroof/Bose package, Goodyear tires.
Test Route - Over 20 miles on Freeway, city, and country roads.
Looks - Better than the pictures, bigger than expected, but not huge (I once owned an Expedition).
Interior - Roomy, well appointed (excellent materials), cool displays (it even displays the transmission gear number when in automatic), excellent controls positioning and access, excellent visibility (hey man, where's the hood?), quiet (my RX has summer tires), very comfortable front seats, back seats adequate (I'm six feet tall), easy and plentiful cargo access (includes a full size inside spare).
Handling - This is what it is all about, firm but comfortable ride, very responsive, it's not an RX-8, but for an SUV it's great (big grin on face), no noticeable body role on curvy rural roads, comfortable responsive freeway cruising.
Engine - Not loud (yes, it is a four cylinder and it has a turbo and I already know what it's like to buy premium fuel), surprisingly more power than expected based upon the size of the vehicle and previous reviews, turbo lag was insignifant.
Brakes - Very responsive, straight ahead.
Price - Less than $30K.
It's a great looking car and the interior is done extremely well. I thought the fit, finish and materials were spot on for a car in this price range.
The only negative I can see is the powertrain. The lack of a non-turbo that would not require premium fuel and get better MPG may turn off a few folks. Car and Driver clocked a 7.9 0-60 and 14 MPG (14!!!) in their test this month. Of course, that was over the course of some severe flogging. If it returns the 18-19 EPA rating that should be solid enough to entice more than a few buyers.
2021 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4xe Granite Crystal over Saddle
2024 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Daytona Gray over Beige
2017 BMW X1 Jet Black over Mocha
-juice
I understand that they want to push the car, and I'm interested to know how it performs in that manner, but I'm more interested in MPG this day and time before I'd put down almost 30k of my $$ for a vehicle.
Wonder if the 14MPG figure will scare off any passing readers?
2021 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4xe Granite Crystal over Saddle
2024 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Daytona Gray over Beige
2017 BMW X1 Jet Black over Mocha
Picked up our CX-7 on 5/31. First tank of fuel we got 18.7 MPG with 330 mi range. This was about 70% city and 30% highway with many short trips. I know that fuel consumption should improve after we get a few miles on her.
We are going on a trip up the California Coast starting on the 24th of this month. I'm sure we should get some mid twenty numbers on the highway. GT fwd with A/C on.
I need to see the upcoming Acura rdx and the Lincoln mkx. I don't think there are too many similar vehichles out there yet. The Rav 4 doesn't offer xenon headlights which, for us makes it a non-starter.
boy your not kidding. World class brakes.
I was playing with the buttons and the traffic in front of me had stopped...well i pushed the brakes to the floor and my eyeballs flew out of their sockets....I never got to test the airbags but the braking ability amazed me. Compared to this vehicle, most SUV brakes will seem sub-par.
My husband then spent the next 3 days doing amazing research regarding pricing and financing and by yesterday, we'd reached an acceptable price for the car. I'm going back to the dealer this Saturday to do all the paperwork and in essence, to purchase the car! Am very excited! The funny thing is, Lexus just called me a few moments ago to let me know they're running some specials but I happily told them that I'll simply be giving my car back to them...the guy was shocked that I'd decided not to purchase or lease another one. Well, not when I can get a fully loaded CX-7 for about $13K less!!
That sounds like fun.
-juice
LOL :P
Vince.
However, the price has simply gotten too rich for my blood. I'm not naive enough to think that after making the same lease payments since 2002 that the price wouldn't change upon leasing or buying something new. But I was completely flabbergasted at just HOW much more I'd have to pay. I'm a "spender" by nature, but I could not in good conscience pay as much as Lexus was asking; and that was even with some "deal" they were offering. A good chunk of what I find so attractive about the CX-7 is the value I'm getting, as per my standards.
-juice
Understand perfectly what you're talking about. One of the best selling points for the CX7 is it's value. The CX7 is routinely compared with the Murano and from what I've read, a similarily equipped Murano costs thousands more.
Vince.
1) the bit of turbo lag takes a bit of time to get used to (esp for front passenger)
2) no roof rails to install Yakima or THule mounts
3) no iPod integration option.
Personally, I feel riding my CX-7 is much more fun than the ML320 truck ever was. I don't know why there are so many Mercs out there. I bought my mine just as these luxury 'utes' starting arriving. There were no BMWs etc. only ML320 vs. Lexus.
Vince.
Vince.
I actually didn't think it was bad, but I wasn't the one driving, either.
-juice
You should be able to install almost any Yakima accessory using the oval adapters on the Mazda cross bars. As far as roof rails are concerned, that may be something you'll see on the CX-7 in the future.
"3) no iPod integration option."
Stay tuned. By the end of summer this should no longer be a concern.
Depending on what you're hauling, using a hitch-mounted basket is another good way to bolster a vehicle's cargo capacity. When I had skis on the roof, I used a rubbermaid tote on the hitch.
-juice
But, even so, the standard Yakima and Thule crossmembers are either a square or circular cross-section. (I forget which company uses which.) Neither of those shapes is especially aerodynamic for the purpose of reducing wind noise. A tear drop or oval cross-section would be preferred.
-juice
Earlier, we test drove Suzuki Grand Vitara and Ford Escape, but I found out that CX-7 belongs to a totally different class. It felt more like Lexus sedan than an affordable SUV. Very quite, couldn't even notice the engine was on! Good acceleration, good handling, decent interior space and finish!
Right after test-driving CX-7, we went to Toyota dealer to try RAV4 V6. It had more power (because it was V6? or because it was lighter?), but it was just an SUV with good power. RAV4 had some noise at low gear for quick step on gas, which is normal and also acceptable for an SUV, but CX-7 was better at quiet speeding. A pleasantly quiet zoom zoom!
RAV4 lacked the feel of refined vehicle that CX-7 appealed to me with. The exterior and interior of RAV4 was just okay, but far behind Mazda. So, CX-7 beat RAV4 in and out.
Cloth seats of CX-7 felt a lot better than RAV4's. I am a big fan of leather seat, but cloth material of CX-7 seemed good enough.
RAV4 has more power, better MPG, but today's overall winner was CX-7.
To grade 1-10, Suzuki Grand Vitara 5, Ford Escape 7, Toyota RAV4 8, and CX-7 9.
To allow myself a little exaggeration, I felt that buying CX-7 will save $10K because it seemed more like one of the SUVs with $10K higher sticker price.
:shades:
Weak engine or weak driver? There isnt anything weak about the CX-7 engine...unless the turbo isnt working.
hopefully mazda will put a good v6 in there, in a year or two.
I would think that this is where the large discrepancy is between the lots of power and no power reviews come from.
The acceleration is brisk and in my experience, I've out-gunned other vehicles that supposedly have better performance. In my mind, the CX-7 is a "SUV LITE", which isn't a bad thing. The only disadvantage that I can think of, is that the CX7 isn't equipped to carry heavy loads nor tow large trailers. If you want towing and hauling, you'll have to find another SUV with more HP and torque.
The CX7 was never meant to be an off-road vehicle, either. It's a street machine, designed to be very flexible in functionality, with enough "bling-bling" to satisfy my ego. :shades: :P
Vince.
Now, now! Let's be nice.
tidester, host
I thought everyone did that.
tidester, host
By the way the reports I have seen from the "pros" focus on styling and few have actually test driven the vehicle.
You are absolutely right about the benefits of a "regular people" forum like this, but with regular people come regular opinions that are all over the map...
First off, the course was not ideal for this car. They were tight and short, and never really let the turbo spool up. As soon as the engine began to build steam, you had to brake or turn, so we could not make good use of the power.
Overall, the vehicle felt very big, good if you like a substantial feel, but bad if you want something small and sporty. It was very hard to place, in fact in 4 laps between the two of us we only succeeded once at the challenge of coming within 12-24" of the yellow cones they'd set up.
Basically it felt like a bull in a china shop. Mazda should have planned the course out more carefully.
Complaints? Visibility - you could not see the front corners of the car to place it on the course, which is why so many people did poorly. That plus we felt turbo lag because the engine never really got a chance to spool up. Cargo space could be better, the Mazda5 for instance has a lot more room and it's smaller.
Likes? Very comfy. Felt wide inside and out. Felt very substantial. I've loved the styling since the MX-Crossport concept came out and I still do, by far it's the best looking CUV on the market.
So perhaps it was the way the course was set up, but I actually left preferring the Mazda5. It's cheaper and roomier, plus sans turbo lag and weighing much less it actually felt a little peppier going around those tight courses. It also is more narrow and with better visibility, was easier to place at the apex.
Strange outcome, I know.
-juice
How were the air conditioners holding up in each of the different cars? We've been hearing they are inconsistent across the board. No excuse these days for poor A/C.
I'd like to attend the event if it is upcoming in the L.A. area... I will look into it. Any suggestions?
Thanks again Juice.