The sleek CX-7 Sports SUV from Mazda goes as well as it looks.
The five-seater can really shift thanks to a powerful 2.3 litre turbo petrol engine that is also used in the Mazda3 and 6 ‘MPS’ versions.
CX-7 lacks the rugged look of a conventional SUV and reflects the latest trend toward the ‘soft roader’ look. It is hardly subtle with massive 18 inch alloy wheels but it does fuzzy the lines between posh life-style estate car and your average four-wheel-drive. At least it can do what is says on the tin. With dynamic stability control (DSC) and traction control coupled to the intelligent four-wheel drive ensure the CX-7 is sure footed, capable and not just street jewellery.
Inside the cabin you sit behind a very sloped windscreen. That fresh Mazda interior styling that appeals to enthusiastic drivers is ever present. The interior is however slightly compromised by the quality of plastics used. A BOSE sound system is standard fit as is the iPod connector and while the sound is impressive so to is the exhaust note, as the engine can make quite a meaty roar at times.
Mazda was the first car company to deliberately tune a car’s exhaust note with the original 1989 MX-5 sportscar.
The cargo area has a modest 455 litre boot (smaller than most cars in the Mondeo class) but it is very usable thanks to ‘Karakuri’ (sounds like a pilot with a death wish!) In fact this is a one-pull lever system you operate from the boot that tumbles the back seats flat. Weekend ‘DIY-ers’, of which I’m sadly one, will have no complaints.
On the open road, the CX-7 makes effortless progress and why shouldn’t it with 260bhp to call on. 380nm of pulling power is useful too. All the power is delivered through a six-speed manual gearbox that feels tight as a nut and is sweet to use. The same engine in the front-wheel drive Mazda3 MPS is OTT but the larger CX-7 makes the best use of it. Mazda has made a concerted effort to reduce NVH levels (noise, vibration & harshness) and the result is a very refined motor that is easy to live with.
The steering is direct and the main ‘points of contact’ feel sporty and well placed. The only thing that surprised me with my top spec test car was the absence of parking sensors, something that should be standard when paying over fifty grand!
CX-7 was launched first in its home market of Japan and then the US where it has caught the imagination, but we’re a little more ‘fussy’ in these parts, especially when it comes to ride quality therefore Mazda has given CX-7 a suspension makeover at its European R&D centre in Oberusel just outside Frankfurt.
The CX-7 isn’t green but if you are going a little up-market with your SUV it has to be on your list. The only problem Mazda will have selling CX-7 is the fact it doesn’t have a BMW badge!
Michael Sheridan
