Brown's Alexandria Mazda

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Driving Impressions

Befitting its Zoom-Zoom marketing catchphrase, the Mazda CX-7 is more fun to drive than it is to sit in.

Directional stability at speed, even into the low three digits, is comforting. The brake pedal returns a solid, firm feel, and the vented discs all 'round deliver reassuring, controlled stops when called upon. Driven fast on winding, two-lane roads, the CX-7 tracks cleanly, with minimal body lean despite its somewhat upright stature. Yes, its design default mode when carrying too much speed into a corner is understeer (where it wants to go straight instead of turn), but the electronic stability control system shields all but the most lead-footed driver from ever experiencing this. There is some head toss in quick left-right-left transitions, not a lot, but it's notable.

The steering wheel, brake and accelerator pedals and shift lever are properly juxtaposed for spirited driving, or at least as spirited as is comfortable in the CX-7. In support of which, Mazda points out that the wheel/shifter geometric replicates that in the RX-8 sports car. Over rough pavement, the suspension tends more to stiff than firm, with a hint of harshness. This no doubt contributes to the disappointing amount of road noise the tires transmit into the cabin, which otherwise was fairly quiet, including over poorly graded railroad crossings.

Power from the turbocharged four-banger builds smoothly, with impressive torque at a very usable low engine speed. It's worth noting here the RAV4 V6's lesser torque peaking at a much higher engine speed. (The RAV4's V6 generates 246 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm vs. the CX-7's 258 at 2500; torque is that force that propels you from intersections and up steep hills.) However, the Toyota offers better EPA fuel-economy ratings (20/28 mpg city/highway vs. the Mazda's 18/24). But betraying their origins in an inline-4, the mechanical tones from the Mazda's engine compartment are decidedly low-key, more buzzy than throaty.

Left in Drive, the transmission adapts very well, quickly learning a driver's preferences and holding lower gears longer and adjusting shift points to match. Shift into the Sport mode and it executes manually directed shifts smoothly, up or down.

There's some torque steer (where the front tires pull one way or the other, most commonly to the right, under hard acceleration) in both the front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive models. It's somewhat less in the latter, which redirects up to 50 percent of the power to the rear wheels in extreme conditions.

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