Discussion
Following the, er, surprising news that Mrs Bishop is expecting twins our beloved Mini Cooper S had to make a premature departure in favour of a family bus.
Having tried various different cars including a rather tired Mazda 6 estate, a casual wander into one of our local garages revealed this 2.2 diesel CX-7. It's a 2010 model with 58,000 on the clock however it is as tight as a drum and has a full Mazda service history. Despite being a bit of a flop sales-wise, the CX-7s were a pretty high spec cars and so it comes with full leather interior, sat-nav, electric heated seats with memory function, automatic lights and wipers and a ridiculous Bose sound system all as standard. I think the only real option was a sunroof which ours doesn't have.
We've been pleased with it so far and it has just done about 1,200 miles around Devon in a week without complaint. It handles surprisingly well for its size and is pretty refined. The only downside is that it's hard to get it going through first and second gear so trying to nip into gaps at junctions can be entertaining. It is also massive so multi-storey car parks are terrifying - the reversing camera is very useful though and in fact it's easier to reverse-park than it is to park forwards.
Once it's under way it has buckets of what I can only really describe as 'shove' and it shot up every hill we threw at it in Devon. It returned about 41 mpg on the motorway down and then around 35 during the week which I didn't think was too bad, especially as the quoted figure from Mazda is only 38.
Haven't taken an interior pic yet but it looks like this:
We had a trial fit of the car seats the other day - Isofix bases caused much swearing but once they were in it was fine!
Having tried various different cars including a rather tired Mazda 6 estate, a casual wander into one of our local garages revealed this 2.2 diesel CX-7. It's a 2010 model with 58,000 on the clock however it is as tight as a drum and has a full Mazda service history. Despite being a bit of a flop sales-wise, the CX-7s were a pretty high spec cars and so it comes with full leather interior, sat-nav, electric heated seats with memory function, automatic lights and wipers and a ridiculous Bose sound system all as standard. I think the only real option was a sunroof which ours doesn't have.
We've been pleased with it so far and it has just done about 1,200 miles around Devon in a week without complaint. It handles surprisingly well for its size and is pretty refined. The only downside is that it's hard to get it going through first and second gear so trying to nip into gaps at junctions can be entertaining. It is also massive so multi-storey car parks are terrifying - the reversing camera is very useful though and in fact it's easier to reverse-park than it is to park forwards.
Once it's under way it has buckets of what I can only really describe as 'shove' and it shot up every hill we threw at it in Devon. It returned about 41 mpg on the motorway down and then around 35 during the week which I didn't think was too bad, especially as the quoted figure from Mazda is only 38.
Haven't taken an interior pic yet but it looks like this:
We had a trial fit of the car seats the other day - Isofix bases caused much swearing but once they were in it was fine!
Edited by HaroldBishop on Monday 4th September 17:04
Edited by HaroldBishop on Tuesday 13th February 13:51
That's surprised me the cockpit photo - it looks rather cramped?
I have (what I assume is) the same engine in a Mazda6 and the interior looks much more spacious. Is it 4wd? Is the transmission tunnel sapping the interior space?
I've always quite liked the look of these - they don't photograph well, but in person they look quite funky.
I have (what I assume is) the same engine in a Mazda6 and the interior looks much more spacious. Is it 4wd? Is the transmission tunnel sapping the interior space?
I've always quite liked the look of these - they don't photograph well, but in person they look quite funky.
It isn't cramped but I guess it is smaller than you might expect for such a big car - it feels like sitting in a giant estate car rather than a small 4x4. For comparision we use a Mondeo estate at work and it always feels small inside after being in the Mazda.
It has a fancy active all-wheel drive system which I confess I still don't fully understand but essentially it varies the drive between 100:0 front-rear and 50:50 front-rear.
It has a fancy active all-wheel drive system which I confess I still don't fully understand but essentially it varies the drive between 100:0 front-rear and 50:50 front-rear.
We've had the Mazda a year now and it has just passed its MOT with only one advisory for a worn suspension part. I had it replaced and then received a letter from Mazda the next day about a recall for the very same part. 
Never mind.
It is now doing the job it was bought for - lugging about twins and associated paraphernalia - admirably. It's on 72,000 miles and still tight and sharp to drive.
We've just had a week in Scotland with it and it (just about) swallowed all our gear. I had thought about getting a roof box for it but then realised I would also need to take a stepladder to reach the thing. We had a minor scare when the DPF light started flashing - a trip to Mazda Inverness confirmed that this was due to my local garage not realising that it has an oil life monitoring system on it that has to be reset at service by hooking it up to a computer. A quick reset and £102(!) later and all was well. Lesson learnt.
Loaded up to come back from Scotland... Note that there is a dog-guard behind that lot in case of accidents.
Loch Ness
The results of living in the sticks...
Whilst it hardly sets the world on fire it is engaging to drive and doesn't wallow about like I thought it would. I like the fact that it's unusual - I think I've seen about 10 others since I bought it - and I've been surprised how many people have come up to ask me about what is really a diesel family bus.
I can't see us getting rid of it any time soon.
Never mind.It is now doing the job it was bought for - lugging about twins and associated paraphernalia - admirably. It's on 72,000 miles and still tight and sharp to drive.
We've just had a week in Scotland with it and it (just about) swallowed all our gear. I had thought about getting a roof box for it but then realised I would also need to take a stepladder to reach the thing. We had a minor scare when the DPF light started flashing - a trip to Mazda Inverness confirmed that this was due to my local garage not realising that it has an oil life monitoring system on it that has to be reset at service by hooking it up to a computer. A quick reset and £102(!) later and all was well. Lesson learnt.
Loaded up to come back from Scotland... Note that there is a dog-guard behind that lot in case of accidents.
Loch Ness
The results of living in the sticks...
Whilst it hardly sets the world on fire it is engaging to drive and doesn't wallow about like I thought it would. I like the fact that it's unusual - I think I've seen about 10 others since I bought it - and I've been surprised how many people have come up to ask me about what is really a diesel family bus.
I can't see us getting rid of it any time soon.
Edited by HaroldBishop on Tuesday 13th February 14:21
Apologies, only just seen your post.
No problems to report other than having to get the tracking and alignment done following an altercation with a rock on Hardknott Pass... No other damage which is good. Also a new set of wiper blades (the passenger side one is a pig to change unless you're about 8ft tall).
I would definitely recommend a CX-7, it's the comfiest car I've ever owned and it eats up the miles on long journeys. There has just been a safety recall for suspension parts, make sure this has been done. Tell tale sign of the worn parts is a slight knocking from the front end. Also a full service history is very desirable as I think the 2.2 diesels can be a bit fussy about oil changes.
No problems to report other than having to get the tracking and alignment done following an altercation with a rock on Hardknott Pass... No other damage which is good. Also a new set of wiper blades (the passenger side one is a pig to change unless you're about 8ft tall).
I would definitely recommend a CX-7, it's the comfiest car I've ever owned and it eats up the miles on long journeys. There has just been a safety recall for suspension parts, make sure this has been done. Tell tale sign of the worn parts is a slight knocking from the front end. Also a full service history is very desirable as I think the 2.2 diesels can be a bit fussy about oil changes.
The original repair was done at my friendly local as we live about an hour away from the main dealer. I guess I could have tried to claim it back from Mazda but to be honest it was only a few quid for the part so I decided to just let it go.
Couple more (slightly tongue in cheek) pics from the last few months
Meanwhile a snow deluge over the weekend provided an opportunity to test the CX7 out - I was very impressed with it, the grip and traction it gave were excellent. I did still manage a few tail out moments in a deserted car park but that's another story...
Couple more (slightly tongue in cheek) pics from the last few months
Meanwhile a snow deluge over the weekend provided an opportunity to test the CX7 out - I was very impressed with it, the grip and traction it gave were excellent. I did still manage a few tail out moments in a deserted car park but that's another story...
Edited by HaroldBishop on Tuesday 13th February 14:23
Four and a half years in and the Mazda is still soldiering on. It's just ticked over 97,000 miles and still drives as well as when we first got it. Everything still works with the only minor ongoing niggle being that one of the front marker lights goes out every so often - give the lens a firm knock and it comes back on.
Due to the wonderful state of the world at the moment its only current use is trotting along the ten minute drive back and forth to the kids' nursery twice a day. I walk to work but often have to drive elsewhere in company vehicles so I've taken it to work and used it a few times just so it gets a good run and a blast out. In the first lockdown it was filled up mid-March and didn't require fuelling again until the end of May
The year before last was a bit expensive as it required a rear wheel bearing, four new tyres, new pads and discs all round, a full service and MOT all within the space of about 8 weeks
Obviously, wheel bearing aside, this was all routine/wear and tear so you can't really complain. Just before Christmas it needed a new front brake caliper as the old one had seized.
As a family car it's absolutely fantastic and I can't think of anything else I would rather have had with us over the madness of the last few years. It's been looked after but worked hard and it's taken everything we've thrown at it and never let us down. We were thinking of trading it in this year but if it behaves itself I can see us hanging onto it for a while longer. :-)
Due to the wonderful state of the world at the moment its only current use is trotting along the ten minute drive back and forth to the kids' nursery twice a day. I walk to work but often have to drive elsewhere in company vehicles so I've taken it to work and used it a few times just so it gets a good run and a blast out. In the first lockdown it was filled up mid-March and didn't require fuelling again until the end of May
The year before last was a bit expensive as it required a rear wheel bearing, four new tyres, new pads and discs all round, a full service and MOT all within the space of about 8 weeks
Obviously, wheel bearing aside, this was all routine/wear and tear so you can't really complain. Just before Christmas it needed a new front brake caliper as the old one had seized.As a family car it's absolutely fantastic and I can't think of anything else I would rather have had with us over the madness of the last few years. It's been looked after but worked hard and it's taken everything we've thrown at it and never let us down. We were thinking of trading it in this year but if it behaves itself I can see us hanging onto it for a while longer. :-)
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