2009 Mazda CX-7 Review

With a starting MSRP of $23,900 - $28,400, and an EPA Fuel Economy 16 - 17 through the city and 22 - 23 on the highway, the 2009 Mazda CX-7 is a crossover vehicle with a great value. The CX-7 sits between the compact Tribute and the large CX-9 crossover in the Mazda lineup and delivers the utility of a small SUV with the driving experience of a passenger car. Its trim levels include the Sport, Touring and Grand Touring.  The 2009 CX-7's competitors are the Ford Edge, Toyota Highlander and Nissan Murano. New for 2009 are dual illuminated vanity mirrors and an auxiliary audio jack as standard equipment. Grand Touring models receive integrated turn signals in the side mirrors and an auto-dimming rearview mirror as standard equipment.  The Mazda CX-7 offers seating for five, decent cargo space, a comprehensive set of safety features and distinctive looks.  It is fun to drive, with responsive handling and good high-speed stability. It may be a bit more expensive than its competition, but when it comes to ride and handling, the CX-7 excels.   

CX-7 Power

For 2009 premium gasoline is no longer required thanks to revised engine programming; both front- and all-wheel-drive models are available. The CX-7's only available power plant is a turbocharged 2.3-liter inline-four.

Driving the Mazda CX-7

Power from the turbocharged four-cylinder engine builds smoothly, with impressive torque at low engine speeds. The CX-7 develops more torque at significantly lower engine speed (258 pound-feet at 2500 rpm) than the Toyota RAV4 V6 (246 pound-feet at 4700 rpm) or Honda CR-V (161 pound-feet at 4200 rpm). This is important because it's torque, not horsepower that propels you from intersections and up steep hills. More torque sooner is always better. The one downside to driving the CX-7 is that it gets the poorest EPA fuel economy within its competition.

2009 CX-7 Design

The CX-7 offers a taste of Mazda's recent passenger cars with its thin, dual-bezel headlamps and five-point grille. Its large lower air dam with flanking side portals recalls Mazda's RX-8 sports car. At 184 inches long and 73.7 inches wide, the CX-7 is relatively narrow compared to competition. The wheels are pushed to the corners and there is a super-fast windshield sweeping back over tautly drawn side glass. Side mirrors separate the front door glass from an odd-looking, wind-wing-like, but fixed, tiny piece of glass at the base of the A-pillar.  Full-round, easy-to-grab door handles ride the crest of a soft bulge connecting the tops of the fenders. An understated crease highlights the lower door panels, skipping over the rear tires to continue around the bottom fold of the rear bumper.

Cabin Features

The CX-7 can seat up to five people. The interior is comfortable, but rather average.  The dashboard ascends away from the driver, and there's a shelf just below the windshield that shades a thin information display. There are a few storage and organizational features; the front center console's lockable bin is deep enough for a laptop computer and includes a secondary power point for that purpose. The glove box is medium sized and lockable, and there are fixed, hard-plastic, front door map pockets. The seat-bottom cushions are a bit short on thigh support, but there are substantial front-seat side bolsters that would be fitting for a vehicle with sporty aspirations. The front seat center armrest sits about the same height as the front door armrests, promising comfortable postures for long drives. The steering wheel, borrowed directly from the sporty MX-5 Miata with its much more confined cockpit, feels undersized in the more expansive interior of the CX-7. Folding rear seats provide a nearly flat load floor when down, and the seatbacks and rear cargo compartment are coated in plastic. With the rear seats up, cargo volume is 29.9 cubic feet, and with the seats down, cargo volume expands to 58.6 cubic feet. Overall, the CX-7's cargo room is tighter than on other crossovers in its class. At 101.7 cubic feet, passenger space is comparable to its competitors.

Safety for the CX-7

Safety features on all models include frontal airbags, front  seat-mounted side-impact airbags, front and rear side air curtains with extended inflation and a fold-away brake pedal assembly.  All CX-7 models come with three-point seatbelts, adjustable head restraints at all outboard seating positions, and rear-seat child safety seat anchors (LATCH).  The CX-7 also comes standard with four-wheel antilock disc brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist; plus electronic stability control and traction control.

2009 Lineup

The 2009 Mazda CX-7 comes in three trim levels, all with the same engine, a 244-horsepower, turbocharged four-cylinder.  Mazda CX-7 Sport is the base model.  Air conditioning and cloth upholstery are standard, as are cruise control and the usual complement of power windows, mirrors and locks.A six-way, manually adjustable driver's seat is standard, along with a tilt steering wheel hosting cruise and secondary audio cont rols, satellite radio pre-wiring, 60/40 split folding rear seatbacks, and carpeted floor mats.

Mazda CX-7 Touring comes with leather upholstery, heated front seats with eight-way power for the driver, and the retractable cargo cover.

Mazda CX-7 Grand Touring upgrades with automatic climate control, unique trim for the leather seats and steering wheel, electroluminescent gauges with indirect blue lighting, auto-dimming inside mirror with a universal garage-door opener, and an outside temperature readout. Also standard are fog lamps, automatic xenon high intensity discharge (HID) headlamps, high-gloss painted wheels, and chrome door handles.

Summary

The Mazda CX-7 echoes what the crossovers of today have to offer, the driving experience of a car with the utility of an SUV.  Compared in size to other Mazda's, the CX-7 is in between the compact Tribute and the large CX-9 crossover in the Mazda lineup. The 2009 Mazda CX-7 offers excellent safety features and a variety of trim levels, making it perfect for a family vehicle with style. View the official Mazda CX-7 site for more information.