I finally got a chance to climb around a CX-7 today at the NY auto show. I thought Id share some of my observations here.
First, I have to say Ive owned three Jeep Grand Cherokees over the last ten years and I continue to prefer a luxury SUV. But my current GC averages only around 12mpg, and gas is now back over $3.00, so Im troubled getting another big gas guzzler truck. A crossover is definitely in the picture. Since our family has also owned a Miata in the past and currently also owns both a 6 and a 3, were big Mazda fans. Im in my fifties no youngster, and long done with any midlife crisis and thus not necessarily in the CX-7s target demographic, but the CX-7 has intrigued me since its initial announcement and I made a special trip in to the auto show to check it out and compare it to some of the other models Ive been considering: Nissan Murano, Acura RDX, Mitsubishi Outlander and Ford Edge. Ive road tested the Murano before (and loved the way it handles), but have not driven any of the other vehicles (theyre just not out yet). So, from my particular perspective, and from only being able to sit in it and climb around a bit, Ive got some mixed feelings about this vehicle; some good, some bad:
Good stuff: Besides the CX7 being a beautiful looking vehicle, I found it has the most comfortable and most supportive drivers seat of any of the aforementioned competitors, as well as the best seat position and dash layout (the Murano has the worst). The seating was nearly as roomy as the Grand Cherokee and I did not feel crowded with people in the passenger or back seats. My wife and I fit perfectly. Fortunately of all my criteria (outside of performance) seating comfort is most important, so the CX-7 wins. However, that was about it for the good stuff.
Bad stuff: Dont know where to begin. Lets start with something simple like weather stripping it was merely tacked on around the doors, and kept falling off on people. Granted this was the auto show and vehicles get abused, but I could just imagine this happening to me after a few years of normal use. The cargo area seemed the smallest of all the aforementioned vehicles, as I had feared from the pictures Id seen (the Murano was the largest). Of course the seats fold down for added cargo capacity, but not if the front seats are back too far, and definitely not if the seats are needed for passengers. And the rear seats dont fold flat like other SUVs/CUVs. The cargo deck is reversible (carpet on one side, plastic on the other), which is a handy feature, but its cheaply made and flimsy. The cover beneath it, over the spare, is equally flimsy. I am concerned that there are no red lights on the doors to make them visible to oncoming traffic when opened (the Jeep and many other vehicles have this important safety feature). The map lights are like the 6 and 3 they look like flashlight bulbs with cheap reflectors. Most other vehicles are nicer. A car of this caliber should have available a power seat with memory and a power passenger seat. The CX-7 has neither. The competition does. Nor does it have a basic trip computer (miles left before empty, etc). The GPS Navigation system is touch screen rather than joystick controlled, and there are no steering wheel controls for it. This is not necessarily bad (Lexus does it this way), and many may think the touch screen is cool, but I think its hard to press the right spot on a touch screen in a moving vehicle and I noticed that no matter how often the attendant cleaned it, the screen quickly filled with fingerprints.
All of this being said, I liked the CX-7 better than the competitors mentioned, although the RDX felt more solid (it had better for the additional money it costs). Of course, this is all without taking a test drive. If the CX-7 lives up to its handling expectations I can probably overlook the bad stuff. Well see.
Meanwhile, after looking at all of the competing new CUV vehicles we then went over to Camp Jeep and sat in the new Jeep Grand Cherokee. In my opinion it won in all departments hands down. I guess Im a Jeep guy at heart. I just dont know how to stomach burning all that Middle Eastern gasoline.
First, I have to say Ive owned three Jeep Grand Cherokees over the last ten years and I continue to prefer a luxury SUV. But my current GC averages only around 12mpg, and gas is now back over $3.00, so Im troubled getting another big gas guzzler truck. A crossover is definitely in the picture. Since our family has also owned a Miata in the past and currently also owns both a 6 and a 3, were big Mazda fans. Im in my fifties no youngster, and long done with any midlife crisis and thus not necessarily in the CX-7s target demographic, but the CX-7 has intrigued me since its initial announcement and I made a special trip in to the auto show to check it out and compare it to some of the other models Ive been considering: Nissan Murano, Acura RDX, Mitsubishi Outlander and Ford Edge. Ive road tested the Murano before (and loved the way it handles), but have not driven any of the other vehicles (theyre just not out yet). So, from my particular perspective, and from only being able to sit in it and climb around a bit, Ive got some mixed feelings about this vehicle; some good, some bad:
Good stuff: Besides the CX7 being a beautiful looking vehicle, I found it has the most comfortable and most supportive drivers seat of any of the aforementioned competitors, as well as the best seat position and dash layout (the Murano has the worst). The seating was nearly as roomy as the Grand Cherokee and I did not feel crowded with people in the passenger or back seats. My wife and I fit perfectly. Fortunately of all my criteria (outside of performance) seating comfort is most important, so the CX-7 wins. However, that was about it for the good stuff.
Bad stuff: Dont know where to begin. Lets start with something simple like weather stripping it was merely tacked on around the doors, and kept falling off on people. Granted this was the auto show and vehicles get abused, but I could just imagine this happening to me after a few years of normal use. The cargo area seemed the smallest of all the aforementioned vehicles, as I had feared from the pictures Id seen (the Murano was the largest). Of course the seats fold down for added cargo capacity, but not if the front seats are back too far, and definitely not if the seats are needed for passengers. And the rear seats dont fold flat like other SUVs/CUVs. The cargo deck is reversible (carpet on one side, plastic on the other), which is a handy feature, but its cheaply made and flimsy. The cover beneath it, over the spare, is equally flimsy. I am concerned that there are no red lights on the doors to make them visible to oncoming traffic when opened (the Jeep and many other vehicles have this important safety feature). The map lights are like the 6 and 3 they look like flashlight bulbs with cheap reflectors. Most other vehicles are nicer. A car of this caliber should have available a power seat with memory and a power passenger seat. The CX-7 has neither. The competition does. Nor does it have a basic trip computer (miles left before empty, etc). The GPS Navigation system is touch screen rather than joystick controlled, and there are no steering wheel controls for it. This is not necessarily bad (Lexus does it this way), and many may think the touch screen is cool, but I think its hard to press the right spot on a touch screen in a moving vehicle and I noticed that no matter how often the attendant cleaned it, the screen quickly filled with fingerprints.
All of this being said, I liked the CX-7 better than the competitors mentioned, although the RDX felt more solid (it had better for the additional money it costs). Of course, this is all without taking a test drive. If the CX-7 lives up to its handling expectations I can probably overlook the bad stuff. Well see.
Meanwhile, after looking at all of the competing new CUV vehicles we then went over to Camp Jeep and sat in the new Jeep Grand Cherokee. In my opinion it won in all departments hands down. I guess Im a Jeep guy at heart. I just dont know how to stomach burning all that Middle Eastern gasoline.
Last edited:
I disagree with you, however, regarding the touch screen verses a joystick or iTouch knob. For a joystick or iTouch knob, the driver will have to see where the current cursor is located on the screen first, then find the joystick/iTouch and navigate the cursor to the desired location. This involves multiple trips for the eyes going back and forth from the road and screen. Whereas with the touch screen, you should only need to see the screen once and be able to push the desired button and activate the feature. Yes, sometimes you might press the wrong button on the screen, but I've had that happen even with joystick/iTouch simply because I didn't quite push the joystick/iTouch squarely in the center causing the cursor to move before the clicking action occurred, thus selecting the wrong option. So, in my opinion, the touch screen is still better. And yes, there's the fingerprint issue on a touchscreen. You'll need to constantly clean it as the natural body oil on your fingers will be left on the screen and will ruin the touchscreen if not cleaned off. I'd buy some screen protectors for this that they have for other touch screen products like PDA and TabletPC. But from a safety stand point, the touch screen is still my preference. Of course with the assist of voice command, the touch screen won't be used as much.
