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Mazda's 'crossover' Makes Most Of Its Size


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BY MARK VAUGHN

AUTOWEEK

 

 

 

May 28, 2006

 

With the CX-7, Mazda has created a vehicle that is not easily categorized. Is it a minivan? A sport utility vehicle? A wagon? Actually, it's none of the above. Though Mazda says the CX-7 is an SUV, it's really not because an SUV, even a sedan-based one, has a little more ground clearance and maybe a roof rack.

 

Similarly, the CX-7 is not a minivan because the roof is too low and there's not enough room behind the second row of seats. There is no third row, which also limits its "minivan-ness" and at the same time reminds us there will be a CX-9 later this year.

 

CX-7 also is too agile-looking to really be a minivan.

 

And it's not a wagon because it's too tall.

 

That leaves crossover, a term so ill-defined that it could mean almost anything, although it usually is categorized as a car-based design produced with the general shape of an SUV.

 

Meanwhile, Mazda has gone to some lengths to assure us the CX-7 is not just a MazdaSpeed6 sedan with a larger body, although the vehicle has more in common with the MazdaSpeed6 than it does with other Mazdas or Fords. It has the same powertrain, available in front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, and it has much of the same suspension, though much of that is tuned specifically to this application.

 

But the CX-7 also has Mazda5, Mazda3, European Ford Focus and Ford Edge in there. It is a parts-bin wonder but a wonderful sum of all parts.

 

Imagine driving a larger, heavier, far more practical MazdaSpeed6.

 

The 2.3-liter direct-injection turbocharged four is detuned from 274 hp. to 244; the transmission is still a six-speed but an automatic, and the 18-inch wheels are still 18s, though they are 235/60 H-rated all-seasons instead of 245/40 summer rubber.

 

The vehicle weighs 3,710 pounds, goes from zero to 60 mph in 8.4 seconds, and is EPA-rated at 20.9 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving.

 

All of the above makes you feel like your MazdaSpeed6 suddenly and violently grew. The CX-7 is 3 inches longer, 3 inches wider, 8.5 inches taller and a couple of hundred pounds heavier, but it still has something of the 6's responsive touch.

 

The power rack-and-pinion steering is responsive enough, and the front struts and rear multilink suspension are well above average by crossover standards.

 

The automatic and detuned engine means midrange acceleration is a bit sluggish, though.

 

Go for a pass on the freeway and you have to wait for the kickdown, wait for the revs, and then later the car starts moving forward. But the CX-7 launches well off the line for such a large vehicle.

 

Inside, the monster windshield makes you feel like you're landing an atrium on a carrier deck. Dashboard elements show up intermittently, reflected in the big glass.

 

The two-plus-three seating is spacious and comfortable, and the back seats flop flat at the tug of wall-mounted releases to open a 70-inch-long load surface (39 inches with the seats up). The CX-7 makes the most of its size, but there are many minivans and larger SUVs that offer more.

 

Pricing starts at $24,310, including the destination charge; a fully loaded CX-7 would probably run about $32,000.

 

Mazda predicts it will sell 40,000 a year.

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