- suv 116,583
- 6,995 fair
- Belton, TX
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- autoshopper.com
- suv 116,583 gasoline white automatic
2008 mazda cx-7 review this car review is specific to this model, not the actual vehicle for sale. Zoomy crossover suv competes with cr-v. introductionthe mazda cx-7 fits neatly into the zoom-zoom mold: sporty but functional; roomy but svelte; snappy but comfortable. We found it fun to drive, with responsive handling and good high-speed stability. mazda introduced the cx-7 for 2007 as a totally new crossover utility vehicle to compete against the toyota rav4 and honda cr-v, among others. Crossovers, as they're called, have become the hottest segment in the auto industry. They combine the high seating position and cargo capacity of a truck-based sport utility vehicle with the agility, smoothness and fuel economy of a car. And many folks who find a minivan or station wagon just to ego-bruising seem okay with a crossover. as the cx-7 was all-new for 2007, very little has changed for the 2008 model year. There has been some fiddling with the option list and, thanks to some reprogramming of the engine management, premium fuel is now recommended rather than required, so it will run on regular gas. The cx-7 still starts at less than $24,000 for the front-wheel-drive version. A well-equipped, nicely featured, all-wheel-drive model goes for less than $30,000; and the top model with every option box checked comes in just around $35,000. The transmission is a six-speed automatic with a sport shift feature. Front-wheel drive is standard, all-wheel drive is optional 1700). the least expensive cx-7 is the sport model 23,750). Air conditioning and cloth upholstery are standard, as are cruise control and the usual complement of power windows, mirrors and locks. A power driver's seat with manual lumbar support is available 350), and must be ordered with most other major options. Two more factory-configured packages are available on all three models: the moonroof/bose audio/6cd changer package 1585) includes a tilt-and-slide power moonroof and a nine-speaker bose sound system with vehicle speed-sensitive audiopilot and a six-cd, in-dash changer. All cx-7 models come with three-point seatbelts (so be sure to use them), adjustable head restraints at all outboard seating positions, and rear-seat child safety seat anchors (latch). Which is much the case with the cx-7, especially the front end. for starters, the fenders are seemingly transplanted directly to the cx-7 from the company's sports car, the rx-8. To fit those bulbous wheel housings to a sedan-like body required pinching the nose and squeezing headlights into the tops of the fenders. This leaves substantial mass below the bumper line that's only slightly lightened by a massive mouth braced by large intake-like recesses that double as housings for the optional fog lamps. The way the cx-7's bulk is suspended across its exceptionally wide track (distance between the tires side to side) leaves it looking almost as if it's drooping, or sagging, from the weight. the side view appeals more, with wheels pushed to the corners and 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. The beltline rises as it moves rearward, peaking just aft of the severely blistered rear wheelwell before tucking in between the steeply sloped backlight and the sculpted back end. 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. the rear aspect is somewhat plain, with a modest spoiler sitting atop the backlight, itself resting in a gentle dip in the liftgate. A rather large, seamless bumper stretches the width of the back end, above a widespread pair of exhaust tips, this last a feature that's beginning to wear. It works on a vehicle boasting a robust powerplant under the hood, preferably a v8 or some other v-configuration, where each pipe nominally runs directly back from its individual bank of cylinders. But for draining burnt gases from an inline engine, especially an inline-4, and one sitting transversely, to boot, it's a bit overdone. A single pipe, or maybe two running tightly parallel and exiting out one side, seems more fitting. interiorthe interior makes no less of a statement than the exterior, and with much the same result. Some parts seem to work, others not so well. Importing styling elements and even components from other mazdas no doubt makes sense in terms of cost savings and even consistency of so-called dna but doesn't always yield the desired harmony in look, feel, and function. the dash is a prime example. Some parts look right, while others come across almost as an exercise in design 101, and not much of it looks of a piece with the rest. For starters there's what mazda calls the double-roof instrument panel. Translated, this constitutes, first, a ridge stretching across the top of the dash that's supposed to make the front seat passenger feel included in the interior's dynamic. Below this floating lip is the second part, a more traditional dash construct comprising three elements: the instrument cluster, the center stack and the section holding the passenger airbag and housing the glove box. This lower part, the designers say, is intended to play to the driver, concentrating on the interfaces necessary for managing the car. All the pieces for this are there, so the job is doable, but the way everything is put together doesn't make it all that easy or appear that seamlessly integrated. beyond the quirky design, the instrument cluster is deeply hooded, stylishly compartmentalized and softly lit to the point where it's not a quick and easy scan. 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. large buttons and knobs populate the stack of air conditioning and sound system controls in the center, but their arrangement and assigned functions are far from intuitive. The optional navigation system only adds complexity, as it incorporates many of those functions into one of the menus accessed only through the touch-screen lcd and, for example, allows switching preset radio stations by exchanging the map display for the audio display. Cruise Control✔ Climate Control✔ Power Windows✔ CD Changer✔ Passenger Airbag✔ Navigation System✔ Sunroof/Moonroof✔ Air Conditioning✔ DVD Entertainment System
6,995 Belton, TXBelton, TX at autoshopper.com