2010 Mazda CX-7 Reviews

Ewan Kennedy reviews the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 Mazda CX-7 as a used buy.

Mazda's heavy use of "Zoom Zoom" in its advertising was enough to tell you it was playing the sports card with its cars, no matter the model. The CX-7 SUV was no different. New From the moment the CX-7 was launched in 2006 Mazda pushed the sporty message, and it didn't back off with the introduction of the Series 2 in

Graham Smith reviews the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Mazda CX-7 as a used buy.

Top of the list is its new "one size fits all" philosophy as Mazda reveals it will next year make a single vehicle platform to suit different models.At its first showing in Berlin, Mazda previews its new diesel and petrol engines, new automatic and manual transmissions, and a raft of new chassis systems.Though shown within old Mazda6 bodies, the drivetrains will be seen - as early as next year in Australia - in the upcoming Mazda3, Mazda6, new SUV models including the future CX-5, commercial vehicles and further out, in the small B-class car bracket in which Mazda2 sits.Mazda also reveals it has achieved fuel consumption as low as 5.8litres/100km from a normally-aspirated 2-litre petrol four and 4.2-litres/100km from its new 2.2-litre bi-turbo diesel. More importantly, the engines meet future strict emission regulations including Euro-6. So here's what's new.ENGINESMazda rolls out its Sky-G (gasoline) and Sky-D (diesel) engine range. Technically, they represent a fresh wave of ICE development. For example, a diesel usually has a very high compression ratio of about 20:1 but Sky-D has an unusually low 14:1.The Sky-G also has 14:1 when normally-aspirated petrol engines are about 10:1. Powertrain Development Division head Mitsuo Hitomi says by raising the compression ratio and controlling cylinder head temperatures, it is possible to reduce fuel use. A side benefit - aided by a high-performance four-into-two-into-one exhaust system and long-stroke cylinder design - is a 15 per cent increase in torque while the longer stroker/smaller bore allows the cylinders to be placed closer and the engine block to be 20mm shorter and lighter.Sky-G is a 2-litre engine but Mazda is finalising a 1.3-litre version that is intended for the Mazda2. A smaller diesel is also being developed. Both diesel and petrol engines - and manual and automatic transmssions - come with Mazda's "i-stop" stop-start system.TRANSMISSIONSThere are four transmissions branded Sky-Drive: six-speed manuals and six-speed automatics for petrol and diesel applications. The big story is the lock-up system for all cars that Mazda claims allows up to 7 per cent fuel savings while delivering rapid shifts. Mazda is considering paddle shifters in some automatic models and even a "sports" shift button to accentuate shift points.CHASSISMazda shows the next Mazda6 body and chassis details and says it will be used across the board - with the same suspension design, steering and brakes. So Mazda3 would use identical Mazda6 components but sit on a smaller platform.In the case of the Mazda6, the body itself is only marginally bigger than the current Mazda6 but sits on a 50mm longer wheelbase. Front track is up 18mm but because of a new rear suspension cross-arm that can accommodate a rear drive system, the track is up 27mm.Mazda has dispensed with front double-wishbne suspension and will, from the new Mazda6 late next year, use MacPherson struts. The steering is all-electric assistance with the motor set within the cabin, halfway up the column.Total body weight is claimed to be down 100kg even though no aluminium is used.DRIVINGFour test 'mules' are available in Berlin with 2011 mechanical components under '06-model Mazda6 bodies.The first car I drive - a Sky-G petrol manual - is quiet and smooth. Mazda makes a lot of noise about the shift feel of the manual gearbox but it feels pretty much like the transmission in today's Mazda6. The petrol's outputs of 123kW and 210Nm feel irrelevant on the tight country lanes and open speed limit autobahns near Berlin. The engine has good response but perhaps its best feature is its smoothness and linear power delivery.The automatic petrol is a better drive. The automatic torque converter unit is far snappier on upchanges. But the Sky-D diesel is the standout engine. It has 420Nm of torque and that's possibly too much in the Mazda6. The manual transmission model can easily be short-shifted or gears can be skipped. In the auto, upchanges are quick and the engine would rarely need to exploit Mazda's engineering that allows it to spin to 5200 revs - unusually high for a diesel.Engines aside, the steering is a vast improvement. It has sufficient feel through the bends to come close to a hydraulic system and unlike many rivals, isn't overly light and vague.

The Mazda CX-7 is a serious contender in an increasingly well-supplied section of the market – comfortable SUVs with just enough ability to let you wander off the road on weekends. But a lack of real ground clearance, coupled with the absence of a locking differential, means that those who want to head into truly rough terrain have to look elsewhere.However for the majority who will drive their CX-7 around the urban battleground, the six-speed manual transmission in our test car could prove to be a trial, even if it’s mated to the punchy 2.2-litre intercooled turbodiesel. At 3500 revs the engine spits out 127kw of power, but it’s only once you get through the 1500 mark that you feel any extra gravity, and you are left waiting for the engine to catch up with your intentions on the first two gear changes off the line.The reported economy of the diesel engine is good at 7.6 litres for every 100kms travelled on the open road, but you can expect around 9 for city driving. You can also expect to put 202 grams of CO2 into the atmosphere for each km you travel.The structured curves of the CX-7 front are attractive and flow pleasingly from front to rear, but a walk around the back disappointed a little, even if it did provide an answer to the age-old question of ‘who ate all the pies’. The slender top of the tailgate seems out of place on the wide mid-section and square bottom, and inside reflects this with an almost triangular luggage space. I also found the cargo area cover required two hands to secure it; a hassle if you have a set of golf clubs or a baby under one arm.In the cabin, the well-configured dash keeps everything important at your fingertips with large-enough buttons on the centre console to keep your eyes on the traffic while you scroll between CD’s in the six-stacker.   I’m not a fan of the Mazda instrumentation and its use of the silver-rimmed tube (deeper on the CX-7 than other models), but having said that, it’s easy to keep an eye on your speed and revs under a wide range of driving conditions.A generous goodies list includes climate control aircon, heated front seats with eight-way power adjustment, cruise control, leather trim, power mirrors and windows, Bluetooth and MP3 compatible 240 watt Bose audio system, reversing camera, sat-nav and trip computer among the impressive list of interior features.The 18-inch alloy wheels are halted by an anti-lock braking system with electronic brake-force distribution and emergency brake assist (EBA), while the safety is upped by dynamic stability control and  six airbags (front / side; driver and passenger, curtain; front and rear).Without being exceptional, the seats are comfortable for several hours of driving or watching, and the interior layout is pleasingly usable.   While on the small side, the sat-nav and reversing camera were a welcome inclusion and the map seemed up-to-date during our test.But the glare from the sat-nav to dash to windscreen at night is annoying — and surely something the engineers could have avoided.   Setting up the voice-command Bluetooth connection was intuitive and easy, and it came in handy in situations where both hands were needed to shift and steer.The manual transmission and slightly finicky clutch will most likely put off a segment of otherwise interested buyers who spend significant time in start-stop traffic, but the benefits of the high-torque drivetrain outweighed the trouble of regular shifting.Initially I was surprised to find myself craning around or behind the A-pillar during right-hand turns, but seemed to get used to this the more I drove it.   On the highway it felt sure and slightly caged, with the little 6 on the gear shifter tempting you to push past the speed limit and into a licence-risking range.It’s on more flowing stretches of sealed roads that the CX-7 really turns up, especially when you find some well-manicured curves to point the unseen bonnet into.  Entering corners with steady power felt comfortable and controlled, while breaking late or entering under power tended to pull the front in slightly, helped along by the grip of the 18-inch alloys.Despite the reported improvements in cabin isolation from the previous model, on b-grade sealed roads the tyre roar was surprisingly loud — but no match for an extra couple of points added to the nine-speaker Bose sound system.It’s off-road that the CX-7 shows that it is a true SUV rather than a 4WD with the low road clearance of 170mm (the Sorento gives 184mm, the Tiguan 195mm, and the Grand Vitara and Captiva are both 200mm) requiring extra care to avoid grounding the car on rocks and in the muddy ruts left behind by bigger trucks. However, on flatter or better groomed sections of dirt it maintained the sureness it displays on tarmac, thanks in part to the traction control system.It had no trouble with a weather-worn fire track at low speeds, easily coping with some steeper sections where the footing could be unsure, but we didn’t feel confident enough in its balance to test above third gear — even on a road I am reasonably familiar with.   On any surface the driver could be caught short by steeply pitched corners at low revs, and this clutch / gearbox combination certainly wasn’t designed with snap-shifts in mind.Serious off-roaders would most likely be looking elsewhere for their next ride, but I was pleasantly surprised by the way it handled and the range offered by the miserly diesel (7.6 L / 100km) could help sway the casual camper. Indeed, I would like to re-run this test with 500+kg of people and gear in this car, as my guess is that some of the sharpness would be clipped from the suspension and the available torque would show why it’s really there.

I don't often lament the presence of a clutch pedal and I'm not about to now. But it seems such a shame that so few people will get to experience this particular diesel, just because they won't swap their own cogs.The Mazda CX-7 has been revamped and the highlight of the upgrade is the addition of the 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine to the specs sheet.The diesel packs a 400Nm wallop in this and the Mazda6, but the CX-7 gets the AdBlue emissions system that cuts nitrogen oxide (NOX) - something to assuage the guilt perhaps, but that and the single-digit fuel consumption that can regularly appear on the trip computer might help as well.The diesel claims a fuel economy figure of 7.6 litres/100km and CO2 emissions of 202g/km, with the AdBlue system cutting NOX emissions using a urea-based natural chemical reaction within the exhaust system.It's a comfortable cabin that has all its features falling easily to hand, Mazda says they've used improved-quality plastics, more sound deadening and given it more to combat vibration and it feels like its all been done to good effect.The dashboard and instrumentation has thankfully followed the path of the Mazda3, with the dashboard-mounted multi-information display to control sat-nav (when fitted), the Bluetooth phone link, the sound system, the reversing camera and the trip computer.The standard features list includes stability and traction control, anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution, emergency brake assist, dual front, front-side and full-length curtain airbags, the multi-information display, a reversing camera and a trip computer.There also is climate control, a 6-disc in-dash MP3-compatible CD sound system, an auxiliary jack for an MP3 player, cruise control, a leather-wrapped gearshift and steering wheel, power windows and mirrors, remote central locking, reach'n'rake adjustable steering and variable intermittent wipers and 17in alloys.The added features on the diesel include sat-nav, powered and heated front seats, heated front exterior mirrors, leather trim and the up-spec Bose nine-speaker sound system.Anyone looking to hit anything other than A-grade dirt roads should be looking elsewhere - with 170mm of clearance this is not an offroader, it's an SUV that is definitely a sealed-surface machine, a good one at that.  Its ride is not uncomfortable in day-to-day traffic, but this is where the lack of an auto hits home.Given the close proximity in fuel pricing at the moment, the solid shove of the diesel powerplant is attractive given the turbo petrol's thirst, although the servicing will make up for some of that - let's hope Mazda has a good automatic on the way to complete the package.The six-speed manual is a nice-enough transmission to use, although the clutch is a little snappy, making it less at home in the traffic and better when slinging it around on a country road.That's where this machine is more at home, whisking its passengers quietly along a country road, gently sipping on the tank as its makes good use of its torque. Pointing into corners has little of the body roll and vagueness normally associated with the SUV segment.It still has its limits, it is a tall-bodied machine after all, but the enthusiasm for corners is well beyond the norm for a segment that still has plenty of trucks in it.