Performance should be the CX-7’s strongest suit. We already know that Mazda’s turbocharged 2.3-litre four is a mighty engine, so an additional two wheels to help channel the torque to the road should prove mighty effective.
Mazda claims the CX-7’s additional 283kg over the 3 MPS extends its 0-62mph time to 8.0sec. However, according to the MIRA weighbridge our test car weighed an extra 40kg than claimed, yet still went from rest to 60mph in just 6.8sec. Even if you simply drive off the line, the CX-7 will only take 7.5sec to hit 60mph, which is quick by any standards, let alone those of a £25k SUV.
Even the gears encourage spirited driving, with a gearbox that’s nearly as satisfying to use as that of the MX-5, feeling light, precise and enjoyably mechanical. The brakes offer good pedal feel and, given the CX-7’s weight, posted excellent stopping distances in wet and dry tests. But they did succumb quickly to repeated hard use on the dry handling circuit.
So the CX-7 has the pace of a hot hatch, but does it, as Mazda suggests, have the handling to match? The answer is no, but for something weighing over 1800kg and hoisting its centre of gravity high above the road, the CX-7 doesn’t make a bad fist of things.
While not as uncompromising as BMW’s X3, with noticeably more body roll (but with it more comfort), the CX-7 is relatively agile, and lighter on its feet that its closest conceptual rival, the Nissan Murano. Add to this the accurate hydraulic steering and 58/42 weight distribution, and the CX-7 gets a keenness to change direction that betters most in the class.
The ride quality over broken urban streets and pitter-patter rural B-roads is good if not exceptional, and any harshness is quickly and effectively damped.
So what of the CX-7’s more conventional SUV attributes? Has Mazda combined fine on-road manners with serious off-road credentials? Not even close; in fact, Mazda suggests that CX-7 not be taken off road at all.
