Mazda CX-7: Spotted
A 260hp, four-wheel-drive family wagon for less than £3,000 bears closer scrutiny - even if it comes wrapped in an SUV body
But what if you choose not to choose your usual diesel child box? Well, how's about an SUV that hasn't just got style and character, but also a turbocharged petrol engine kicking out 260hp? One which combines all this with four-wheel drive and a smart interior laden with toys? Piqued your interest yet?
Why? Well, for starters, just look at it. It's terrific, isn't it? Not just 'for an SUV', either; the CX-7 is well-proportioned and genuinely appealing in its own right. There are loads of references to the contemporary RX-8 in there, too, from the bulging wings to the kinked window line and the circle-in-circle taillights.
The CX-7's beauty is more than skin deep, though. Mazda's trick of making a big car feel like a little one, which it honed with the 6 and CX-5, is in evidence here too; there's more than a sense of the hot hatch in the way the CX-7 changes direction. Meanwhile, that 2.3-litre turbo, pilfered from the MPS models of its time, provides more than adequate go - granted, it's not going to kick your average Audi RS4 in the teeth away from the lights, but it'll give you a significant amount more get-up-and-go than you can expect in your average diesel family slugger.
That money doesn't buy you a hound, either. A very reasonable 100k-ish mileage, a recent major service and a decent chunk of MOT left over all mean this example isn't the kind of thing you'd have to buy while burying your fingers in your ears and shouting 'la la la la la' very loudly.
In other words, not only does the CX-7 offer the antidote to the family-spec car buying blues, but it does so at a very tempting price, too. More than enough reason for a closer look, we say.
SPECIFICATION - MAZDA CX-7
Engine: 2,261cc, 4-cyl turbo
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power (hp): 260@6,300rpm
Torque (lb ft): 280@4,000rpm
MPG: 27.7
CO2: 243
First registered: 2008
Recorded mileage: 106,000 miles
Price new: £23,960
Yours for: £2,895
I wanted to like it, but just couldn't.
Bought a JDM Subaru Legacy GT Spec B instead - same power, 4wd, very similar space inside, but lower, lighter and nailed to the ground by Bilstein (although a bit less flash in terms of interior trim).
2008 Mazda is probably £500+ car tax - a nice pre 2006 Forester XT would give you nearly the same driving height, with a tunable and warbley flat four.
I'd go Tribeca if I wanted to be different, not sure if they're down to 3k yet though. Or CRV if you want 100% bulletproof, but not as quick.
I wanted to like it, but just couldn't.
Bought a JDM Subaru Legacy GT Spec B instead - same power, 4wd, very similar space inside, but lower, lighter and nailed to the ground by Bilstein (although a bit less flash in terms of interior trim).
No manuals or diesels available, all with the 2.3 engine.
Price range is £6-10k for 2008 model.
Linkey
Off to see a Rav4 and a CRV today. It will be between one of these, a Lexus RX or an X-trail depending on which I can find in the best condition within my budget.
Back then we were set to get a new Outback, but the CX tipped the balance in that it was a new design.
We change our main car every couple of years but kept this in front line service for five years for the simple reason that we loved it. A minor accident on black ice requiring it to be out of commission for a couple of weeks prompted its replacement with a then new Freelander2.
We got it back and really couldn't bear to part with it but it was surplus to requirements so it now lives in retirement with my FIL.
There is no intention to replace it and while the Freelander and subsequent two Discovery Sports are great, none can match the Mazda for that combination of decent performance, space and practicality.
It carried all our gear, whether shopping holidaying or trips to the dump. It lapped up regular high speed cross country 130 mile runs between Newcastle and Galloway and never got stuck in those big snows we had around 2010. As happy on a motorway as it was on a Scottish farm track it attracted - and still attracts - admiring glances and curious questions as to what it is from fellow drivers when filling up.
Filling up is a regular event but the pay off it a decent dollop of performance and a sweet silky smooth engine. Silky smooth? OK, I'm exaggerating, but no matter how good, clever and modern JLR's Ingenium diesels are, they are still rattly, smelly-fuelled lumps that with the milage on my current DS at 2.5K, regularly scream out to be filled with synthetic piss to keep emissions down.
As for reliability. The CX ate its turbo when new. It was fixed. Apart from wear and tear items, a replacement for a spectacularly stone cracked screen and some suspension bits following the black ice incident, it's fine.
The wheels were poor quality. Paint flaking off. They were fixed twice under warranty and after a further refurb my FIL swapped them for some aftermarket wheels which aren't to my taste.
Step into it from a 2018 Discovery Sport and it does feel old. Its a design from 2006/7 but the interior is still impressive, with a great Bose sound system, leather seats and heaps of storage.
Now and then I find an excuse to take it out and stretch its legs on the Northumberland back roads we once played on when we were both a decade younger.
I love this car.
When new
A couple of years old
5 years old - Usurped by a New Landy
Into its 11th year. Dubious wheels and shiny door handles not to my taste, but it'll still do things it's 2018 replacement x 3 won't. Plus it's spent a lot less time in the workshop.
A car designed for school runs in the US; they had no place in Europe.
My sister has one in Australia, they're sluggish and unwieldy due to their weight and high COG. As others have mentioned, better off getting the Subaru Legacy if you want faster shopping and school runs.
My sister has one in Australia, they're sluggish and unwieldy due to their weight and high COG. As others have mentioned, better off getting the Subaru Legacy if you want faster shopping and school runs.
I don't get the sluggish and unweildy bit. I mean, its not a sports car. What car are you measuring it by?
I agree that it's not a car designed for the UK market. A Yank Soccer Mom car in many ways. It feels like it may benefit from an auto box, but for the use ours got a manual was perfect.
Downsides.
If you drop off turbo boost (i.e roundabouts) you can feel the weight until the turbo spools up. Boot isn't that big considering size of car. Main issue ADBLUE
I get the low adblue light coming on (again this week) despite the tank being nearly full, it suddenly decides theres only enough Adblue for 500 miles & puts the engine management light on - keep driving & when the adblue range drops to 320 miles it goes into 'Limp Home' mode.
The DIY fix is to disconnect battery, wait 10 mins & reconnect, this resets the gauge to 500 mile range & if you are lucky, after a few stops & starts, the EM & Ablue warning lights go out. If they don't its a trip to my local 'Indy' jap car garage to get them turned off.
Looks like its a faulty level sensor, Main dealer answer "you need a new adblue tank mate, that'll be £1200 plus..."
Annoying issue that spoils an otherwise good car (neighbour has a LR velar & thinks the CX7 is a nicer place to be)
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