Took out an AWD Sport w/Goodyears for a test drive today. I loved almost every minute of it. This vehicle is a speeding ticket waiting to happen!
I have no problem with the vehicles acceleration. As others have experienced, its a little slow accelerating from a stop until the engine comes up to 2500 RPM, but, while noticeable its not bad. Once at 2500 the power is quite outstanding.
I found the CX7 handling to be amazing for a CUV - or for any car for that matter. I took twists and turns and ramps probably faster than I should have and enjoyed every second.
I did not find road noise to be the issue I was afraid of. I took the vehicle on asphalt and concrete and, while noticeable, the road and wind noise was not as prevalent as in my Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited, and certainly much less prevalent than our Mazda 6.
What I didn't like was the vibration of the 4-cylinder engine at cruising speed. I'm in my 50's and I'm used to the smoothness of a V8. Our 6's V6 is okay too. But the 4 cylinder in the CX7, while hardly as bad as I expected, did produced a subtle but noticeable vibration at highway speed that, to me, was akin to nails on a blackboard. If there is to be a deal killer, this will be it. I will have to take it out one more time to see if this is real or something I am imagining.
The vehicle I drove had the stock stereo. It is adequate, not great. However, when I returned from the test, I found the dealer was prepping another CX7 that had the premium Bose system with Nav. The tech turned the stereo up for me and I must say it is extremely impressive. If you like music, opting for the Bose is a must. The nav system is cool too. I was concerned about the touch screen and lack of steering wheel controls, but I was not aware the unit was controlled by voice command. It's cool.
Most importantly - I did have a unique opportunity to experience the CX7 at its absolute best. I was in the right lane of a three-lane highway coming up on an exit, doing about 65 or so. A crazy driver in a BMW coming up way too fast in the left lane decided to take the oncoming exit - cutting off two lanes of traffic. He turned so fast he was literally on two wheels. I thought he was going to flip over as he cut directly in front of me. I instinctively hit the brakes and swerved sharply onto the shoulder to avoid hitting this goofball (who made it to the exit ramp and disappeared). The point of this is how impressed I was by the emergency handling capabilities of the CX7 - the stopping power and precise steering saved me from an accident that could have been quite serious (and also saved me the embarrassment of wrecking a dealer's car on a demo ride). With Mazda we usually think of "zoom-zoom" and driving fast around twisty roads, but the reality that hit home today is that these fun features can be life savers - and the CX7 definitely proved itself today in that department. Had this happened while I was driving my Jeep I do not believe the outcome would have been very pleasant.
Here are some pics I took in the dealer's lot. I drove the blue one. Note the comparison to the Mazda 3 wagon and Miata that happened to be parked around one of the CX7's.
I have no problem with the vehicles acceleration. As others have experienced, its a little slow accelerating from a stop until the engine comes up to 2500 RPM, but, while noticeable its not bad. Once at 2500 the power is quite outstanding.
I found the CX7 handling to be amazing for a CUV - or for any car for that matter. I took twists and turns and ramps probably faster than I should have and enjoyed every second.
I did not find road noise to be the issue I was afraid of. I took the vehicle on asphalt and concrete and, while noticeable, the road and wind noise was not as prevalent as in my Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited, and certainly much less prevalent than our Mazda 6.
What I didn't like was the vibration of the 4-cylinder engine at cruising speed. I'm in my 50's and I'm used to the smoothness of a V8. Our 6's V6 is okay too. But the 4 cylinder in the CX7, while hardly as bad as I expected, did produced a subtle but noticeable vibration at highway speed that, to me, was akin to nails on a blackboard. If there is to be a deal killer, this will be it. I will have to take it out one more time to see if this is real or something I am imagining.
The vehicle I drove had the stock stereo. It is adequate, not great. However, when I returned from the test, I found the dealer was prepping another CX7 that had the premium Bose system with Nav. The tech turned the stereo up for me and I must say it is extremely impressive. If you like music, opting for the Bose is a must. The nav system is cool too. I was concerned about the touch screen and lack of steering wheel controls, but I was not aware the unit was controlled by voice command. It's cool.
Most importantly - I did have a unique opportunity to experience the CX7 at its absolute best. I was in the right lane of a three-lane highway coming up on an exit, doing about 65 or so. A crazy driver in a BMW coming up way too fast in the left lane decided to take the oncoming exit - cutting off two lanes of traffic. He turned so fast he was literally on two wheels. I thought he was going to flip over as he cut directly in front of me. I instinctively hit the brakes and swerved sharply onto the shoulder to avoid hitting this goofball (who made it to the exit ramp and disappeared). The point of this is how impressed I was by the emergency handling capabilities of the CX7 - the stopping power and precise steering saved me from an accident that could have been quite serious (and also saved me the embarrassment of wrecking a dealer's car on a demo ride). With Mazda we usually think of "zoom-zoom" and driving fast around twisty roads, but the reality that hit home today is that these fun features can be life savers - and the CX7 definitely proved itself today in that department. Had this happened while I was driving my Jeep I do not believe the outcome would have been very pleasant.
Here are some pics I took in the dealer's lot. I drove the blue one. Note the comparison to the Mazda 3 wagon and Miata that happened to be parked around one of the CX7's.
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