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Mazda CX7
Road test - April 2008
by Kevin Fenix.
Viewed from the front, the Mazda CX7 is a large substantial vehicle. It has muscular looking, boldly flared wheelarches, a big grille below the bumper and it stands head and shoulders above the cars around it. Viewed from the sides, it is still a large vehicle, but its steeply raked windscreen and its curved, flowing window line, gives it a very sporty look. You step up into the CX7, which in itself reinforces the image of its size and presence on the road. The test car looked very impressive in its striking Aurora blue paintwork.
Inside it was equally impressive, with its light coloured leather upholstery, skilfully set-off by black along the top of the facia and along the window line where it helps to reduce annoying reflections. My test car was fitted with the optional extra, glass sliding sun roof, which, in my opinion, was a very worthwhile extra. Besides making the interior even brighter and more cheerful, it allows the sun to come flooding in to give an almost holiday ambience to the interior on a good day.
Under the bonnet there is a 2.3 litre, turbocharged, intercooled, petrol engine, driving all four wheels through a six speed manual gearbox. This is the same engine as fitted in the ultra sporty Mazda 3 MPS, but of course in the CX7 it has a lot more weight to contend with.
In spite of the extra weight, when compared to a Mazda 3 MPS, it still delivers a very healthy performance, with a potential top speed of 210 kph (130 mph) and 0-100 kph acceleration in just 8.0 seconds. Its power/weight ratio is still a very sporty 11.947 kg/kW.
Keeping all that performance in check are large diameter ventilated disc brakes front and rear. The braking system includes anti-lock with emergency brake assist, electronic force distribution, traction control and a dynamic stability programme. It has an intelligent all wheel drive, that directs engine torque to the wheels with the most grip.
There is a sporty, leather covered, 365 mm diameter, steering wheel, giving three turns from lock to lock. For a car of this size and performance it has a nicely balanced feel between outright precision and everyday driving comfort. This gives easy handling in confined spaces, as well as out on the open road, helped by excellent exterior rear view mirrors. It has additional controls for the audio system on the left hand horizontal arm and the cruise control on the right hand arm.
The suspension gave a very comfortable ride, even over Fingal’s pathetic road surfaces. Mazda obviously see this as a mild off-roader, as they do not quote serious off-road driving information like approach, departure and breakover angles, or messy stuff like wading depth. However, off the tarred roads, it still performed well on dirt roads, but I did not subject it to any really serious off-road driving. For one thing it does not have a set of low ratio gears, so it is obviously not intended for that sort of thing. BMW coined the phrase Sports Activity Vehicle for their X3 and X5 models and I think that phraseology would apply equally well to this Mazda. Further proof of its on-road heritage, rather than any serious off-road potential, comes from the fact, that it is equipped with a Spacesaver spare wheel. This is located, out of harm’s way in a well below the luggage floor.
Tuned to deliver a very sporty specific output of 84.033 kW/lt, the engine uses fuel at the rate of 20 mpg (13.8 lt/100 km) on the urban cycle, improving to 34 mpg (8.1 lt/100 km) on the extra urban and averaging out at 27 mpg (10.2 lt/100 km) on the combined cycle. This results in CO2 emissions of 243 gm/km, which, if you buy and register after 1st July, will put it into the 2,000 euro per year, road tax bracket. I was surprised at the published figures, as the excellent torque allows you to get into sixth gear very quickly. Whatever about rush hour city driving, out in the suburbs I found that once you were moving it was possible to get into sixth and drive without difficulty. If the traffic was a little bit hesitant, it was still possible to use fifth for most of the time, with only the odd excursion into fourth or third.
The cockpit of the CX7 is beautifully laid out for safety and ease of driving. The gauges in the instrument binnacle have illuminated red lettering on a black background, making them easy to see at a glance all the time. There is a small digital information panel in the top centre of the facia, also with red lettering, so this too is easy to see whilst driving. The centre console houses the audio controls as well as the heating/ventilating and air conditioning.
Besides the optional extra sun-roof, the test car had four electric windows, electrically adjustable exterior rear view mirrors, heated front seats, electrical adjustment for the driver’s seat, air-conditioning and front fog lamps as standard. Two very useful features were the sliding extensions inside the sun visors, which slide out to fill the uncovered space between the visor and the interior rear view mirror. The rear seat is divided 60/40 and has ISOfix fittings in the two outer places. Two handles located in the boot, one on each rear wheel housing, allow a section of the backrest to drop down into a horizontal position on the seat cushion to provide extra luggage space.
When all five seats are in use, the CX7 offers 0.455 cubic metres of luggage space. This expands to 1.348 cubic metres when just two seats are being used and you load to the roof. In addition there is space in the well of the spare wheel, below the luggage floor. This floor section is also reversible to accommodate different loads. If that is not enough you can carry up to 100 kg in a suitable container on the roof. It will tow braked trailers/caravans of up to 1450 kg in weight, or unbraked trailers of 750 kg. This makes it a versatile family car for those families to like to lead an active life style.
Technical data
Dimensions
Overall length ------------------ 4675 mm
Overall width ------------------- 1870 mm (without mirrors)
Overall height ------------------ 1645 mm
Wheelbase ----------------------- 2750 mm
Front track ---------------------- 1615 mm
Rear track ----------------------- 1610 mm
Turning circle ------------------ 11.4 M (kerbs)
Unladen weight ---------------- 1695 kg
Gross vehicle weight ---------- 2270 kg
Max. towing weight ------------ 1450 kg (braked) ---------------------- 750 kg (unbraked)
Max. roof load ----------------- 100 kg
Power/weight ratio ------------ 11.947 kg/kW
Luggage capacity --------------- 0.455 cu.M (5 seats) ------------------ 1.348 cu.M (2 seats loading to roof)
Tank capacity ------------------ 69 lts
Special 4x4 data
Approach angle ---------------- Not available
Departure angle ---------------- Not available
Breakover angle ---------------- Not available
Max. angle of inclination ----- Not available
Ground clearance -------------- 205 mm
Wading depth ------------------ Not available
Engine
Type ------------------------------ 4 cyl. DOHC 16v, turbocharged, intercooled, petrol, direct injection
Capacity ------------------------- 2,261 cc
Compression ratio ------------- 9.5 : 1
Injection pressure ------------- 115 bar
Turbo boost pressure --------- 0.8 bar
Bore x stroke ------------------- 87.5 mm x 94 .0 mm
Power ---------------------------- 190 kW @ 5,500 rpm ----------------- Specific output -------- 84.033 kW/lt
Torque --------------------------- 380 Nm @ 3,000 rpm ----------------- Specific torque ------ 168.067 Nm/lt
CO2 emissions ------------------ 243 gm/km ----------------------------- Specific CO2 ---- 107.474 gm/km/lt
Transmission
Type ------------------------------ 6 speed manual with all wheel drive
Ratios ---------------------------- Gearbox -------------------------------- Overall
1st -------------------------------- 3.818 : 1 --------------------------------- 15.046 : 1
2nd ------------------------------- 2.238 : 1 ---------------------------------- 8.819 : 1
3rd ------------------------------- 1.535 : 1 ---------------------------------- 6.049 : 1
4th -------------------------------- 1.171 : 1 ---------------------------------- 4.614 : 1
5th -------------------------------- 1.085 : 1 ---------------------------------- 3.364 : 1
6th -------------------------------- 0.853 : 1 ---------------------------------- 2.857 : 1
Reverse -------------------------- 4.139 : 1 --------------------------------- 13.865 : 1
Final drive ----------------------- 3.941 : 1 (1-4)---3.350 : 1 (5-6-R)-- ***********
Suspension
Front ----------------------------- MacPherson strut, L-shaped lower transverse arm, 28 mm anti-roll bar
Rear ------------------------------ Blade type trailing arm, short, forward, lower transverse arm, upper centre transverse arm, long, lower, rear transverse arm, seating coil spring and telescopic damper, 19 mm anti-roll bar
Steering
Type ------------------------------ Power assisted, rack and pinion
Turns lock to lock ------------- 3.0
Wheel diameter ---------------- 365 mm
Brakes
Type ------------------------------ Servo assisted, dual circuit with anti-lock, electronic force distribution, emergency brake assist. traction control and dynamic stability control
Front ----------------------------- Ventilated disc ------------------------- 320 mm x 28 mm
Rear ------------------------------ Ventilated disc ------------------------- 302 mm x 18 mm
Wheels
Type ------------------------------ 5 Y-spoke, cast alloy, 5 stud
Size ------------------------------- 7.5J x 18
Spare ----------------------------- Pressed steel Spacesaver -------------- 4T x 18J
Tyres
Type ------------------------------ Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport
Size ------------------------------- 235/60 R 18 ---- 103V
Spare ----------------------------- Dunlop Space Miser ------------------- T155/90 D 18 ---- 103 M
Performance
Top speed ----------------------- 210 kph --------------------------------- 130 mph
0-100 kph ----------------------- 8.0 secs
Fuel consumption
Urban ---------------------------- 13.8 lt/100 km ------------------------- 20 mpg
Extra urban --------------------- 8.1 lt/100 km -------------------------- 34 mpg
Combined ----------------------- 10.2 lt/100 km ------------------------- 27 mpg
Warranty/service
Coverage ------------------------ 3 years (100,000 km), 3 years roadside assistance, 3 years paint, 12 years perforation
Service interval ---------------- 15,000 km (10,000 miles)/1 year
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Recommended retail price (excluding delivery and associated charges)
Mazda CX7 ----------------- Euro 49,995 + sun roof 1,000 ------ Price as tested Euro 50,995
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Photo gallery
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