Review of Mazda CX-7

There comes a time when people have to sacrifice their dreams of driving a sporty 2 door coupe for a more realistic 4 door wagon of sorts. This usually happens when you get married and have kids. :)

Out the window goes their dreams of spirited driving, and the feeling of driving a freedom machine. Meet the Mazda CX-7.







When I first saw this car in the showrooms, the first thing which I noticed is the size of this car. It appeared to be bigger than the likes of Honda's CRV and Toyota's Rav 4, and it is. It is more into the territory of Lexus' RX300. The next thing I noticed is the styling. It is not a boxed up 4WD car following the footsteps of Land Rovers, far from that. This car is sleek.





From the steeply shaped 66 degree windshield to the rounded accents flowing throughout the car, you get a hint of sportiness of what this car is all
about. In fact, some call it an RX-8 in a 4WD body. Pretty bold claim isn't it?

I didn't begin to see that it has such credentials until I looked at the specs. MZR DISI Turbo inline, 4 cylinder, 16-valve DOHC, 238PS / 5000, 350Nm / 2500, 0-100km/h in 8.6 secs.





Quite something for a 2.2 litre SUV isn't it?

The car is no where near harsh either. The drive is silky smooth through its 6-speed Activematic transmission. Class leading? sure is. Obviously different class from Rav 4's 4 speed and CRV's "class leading" 5 speed transmission. Cornering is confident, and very poised indeed, with less body roll than you would expect from a 4WD. You get top specs with this car too, vented brakes all round, Auto headlamps, Side mirror with turn indicators, Electric sunroof, 9-speaker BOSE premium sound system, ABS, DSC, TCS . .. the list goes on. Talking about having it fully decked out. You sure have it with this car.



The attention to detail and the quality of finish is superb in this car as well. For one thing, it has proper front seats. You can actually sit in them, rather than on them. I find it a joke in many Japanese cars that they have lumber support on them but you can't actually sit in them, and they seem to be made for really skinny people, maybe more to the size of severely starved P.OWs. :)

The rear leg room is comfortable as well, no need for any leg crushings here. Long trips for average sized adults should be comfortable back in the rear.

This would be the perfect car for those looking for something different from the mainstream lots of 4WDs and SUVs out there. You want a more upmarket 4WD, perhaps a step up from your usual Rav 4s and CRVs, and you want more grunt and power, and you want your car to corner like a car and not a boat, this might be the perfect choice for you.