Mazda's Sweet Little CX-7

After a promising start, sales of Mazda's attractive CX-7 crossover are faltering—largely because of all the fierce competition

by Thane Peterson

Editor's Rating:

The Good: Curvaceous good looks, sporty handling, classy interior

The Bad: No available V6 engine, no third-row seats, mediocre fuel economy

The Bottom Line: A good-looking crossover vehicle—but comparison shop before buying

Reader Reviews

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Up Front

Crossover vehicles are hot sellers right now. So why is one of the hottest models in the segment—Mazda's curvaceous CX-7—suddenly not doing so well? The answer seems to be that there are now so many excellent crossovers crowding onto the market that shoppers can afford to be far more finicky than they were even six months ago.

For all of last year, North American sales of the CX-7 were up 86.6%, to 41,659. But the model peaked late last summer. Sales fell by 23.2% in October, 21% in November, rose a meager 1.9% in December, and fell again by 7.6%, to 2,555, in January.

What pulled the rug out? Shoppers have a lot more crossover vehicles to choose from than before, for one thing. These include Honda's (HMC) wildly popular CR-V and Toyota's (TM) Rav4, as well as such new models as the Nissan (NSANY) Rogue, the redesigned Saturn Vue, and the redesigned Ford Escape. Mazda also may be competing with itself. My guess is that the company's new CX-9 crossover vehicle is luring customers away from the smaller, less expensive CX-7. The CX-9 costs about $10,000 more on average, but it got rave reviews when it came out early last year and it's roomier and has a bigger engine.

The CX-7 has several shortcomings. One is that—like the CR-V, Rogue, and Saturn Vue—it lacks a third row of seats, meaning it can hold a maximum of only five passengers. Both the Toyota Rav4 and the CX-9 can carry up to seven, which gives them a big advantage if you do a lot of car-pooling.

Not Up to Speed

Another downside for the CX-7 is that it only comes with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. That powerplant generates a respectable 244 horsepower and is coupled with a six-speed automatic transmission with a manual shifting function. But both the Rav4 and CX-9 are available with powerful V6 engines that make them a lot quicker.

Fuel economy also doesn't improve much by going with the smaller engine. The CX-7 is only rated to get 17 miles per gallon in the city and 23 mpg on the highway with front-wheel drive, dropping to 16/22 with all-wheel drive. In 310 miles of heavy-duty winter driving, I got 19 mpg in an all-wheel drive CX-7.

The Mazda's main competitors get better mileage. For instance, the rating is 20/26 for an all-wheel-drive Honda CR-V, and 21/26 for an all-wheel-drive Nissan Rogue. Even with a V6 engine, a four-wheel-drive Toyota Rav4 is rated at 19/26. The Mazda also requires expensive premium gasoline, while its competitors use regular.

If those deficiencies aren't deal-breakers, the CX-7 is a sweet little vehicle. One of its biggest appeals, at least for me, is its distinctive-looking exterior. The CX-7 has the prominent fender arches typical of Mazdas, and its windshield is sharply raked. The roofline reaches its peak height just behind the driver, and then curves sharply downward as it moves toward the rear. This gives the vehicle a stylish profile without squeezing down headspace in the second row of seats too much.