Test drive: Mazdaspeed 3 and CX-7
07-27-2007, 05:18 PM
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Test drive: Mazdaspeed 3 and CX-7
Our local dealer here (non-mazdaspeed) just got in a speed3 on a trade-off for a Mazda3 (bet that persons kickin himself in the butt) so I decided it was high time to finally get a lil update on some of the 8's siblings. Been wanting to drive a CX-7 as well, but never found the right time. In leu of the Speed3 on the front lot, it was reason enough.
Thoughts
Mazdaspeed3
Overall it seemed like a pretty fun little box. This was the basic sport model, so it had VERY few of the bells and whistles. Suspension was pretty tight, but still faded in comparison to the 8's. Handling was about a nimble as one would expect a sporty lil box to be. The shifter, while still not on the same page as the 8's, was a step up from the MS6 that I test drove a few months back.
In terms of ride smoothness, it seemed maybe just a hair more tame and forgiving over the bumps then the 8. The turbocharged 4 was very peppy, but I didn't find myself as super-impressed as i'd built up the anticipation with. The fact that they limit the power in the first 2 gears is VERY evident once you hit 3rd. It by far pulls the hardest once the turbo spools up. And speaking there of, I didn't think it was that quick of a spool in comparison to the other turbo's i've drove. Just about the same as the MS6 (i wonder why), but it just didn't feel like it had the whole sporty attitude i was expecting.
As with almost every other car outside the 8, the biggest pro to the car was the TQ. Once the turbo spooled for a moment, it did provide a rather entertaining burst of power. HOWEVER, much unlike the 8, the MS3 is known for it's power drop off...and wow, it sure is there. That car almost feels like it falls flat on it's face after about 4500, and feels exhausted at 5K. Still wondering why it redlines all the way up at 6500. hmm. I'm used the keepin the 8 around it's regular 3-4K when needing power, so it defientely took a good amount of re-mapping the power to keep it down by around 2K. For an 8 owner, i'm sure any of you can relate in how hard it is to break this habit lol.
As with most any car that makes some TQ, getting back in the 8 to head home always immediately shows you the difference in the engines. you have to jump back up to 5K+ to feel any pull at all in equivalence to what the MS3 was making at barely 3K. It was a very fun car, but in the end, it left me more excited to get back to the 8 and run the wild zing up to 8K again. Its just more entertaining to me
. Is the MS3 faster? Oh i gaurantee it. But on almost every other level, I walked away wondering why it's been hailed so greatly. Maybe all the bells and whistles of a fully loaded MS3 GT would help to sway a little, but all all in all...it surprisingly found itself BEHIND the MS6 in my preference. That was one heck of a shock to me.
CX-7
OK so they had about 10 of these on the lot, and not a SINGLE one had navigation, so already I was behind the 8 ball on the test drive. Ever since these first showed up, i'd been wanting to see how one drove. well...
First off all, despite the loving and cute commercials about the soul of a sports car, it felt like...an SUV to me. It felt big, and it felt VERY underpowered IMO. I found the power deficit to REALLY become bothersome. Likely due to it being a turbocharged SUV, it felt like it was taking too long to spool on take-offs. The gear that the auto kept popping into consistantly felt too low, requiring frequent downshifts with the auto-stick. And this was with only the dealer and I in the car. I don't think i'd feel all the reassured if I had a wife and 2 kids in the car with a rear packed with luggage that she'd TAKE OFF if I really stomped it in a hurry. I think the power might be suffiecient for just one person driving around without any cargo...but then again, why would you buy an SUV for that?
The interior...well I liked how spacious it was and all, but it just looked too, i don't know, plain. The control panel seemed extremely crowded with ***** and such, but looked very odd without a screen anywhere close. It intially left me wondering how i'd even know if the A/C was on, or the radio or anything. It was only then that I FINALLY discovered that the only readout of any info was ALL the way to the front of the windshield, which also was a little different location. Seats were comfortable and the ride was very smooth for an SUV. No turbo wine was prevalent, making the cabin a lot more quiet then anticipated.
Suspension was about as firm as expected from a "sporty" SUV. Nothing to fly around corners with, but defiently sufficient to be darting in and out of traffic with a certain amount of confidence. With space being one of the main concerns in an SUV, i found a surplus of it in the rear seats, but that was quickly dampered by the drivers seat being a good ways back (i'm 6'1"). All in all, if I was primarily considering a 2-3 child family vehicle, it would be up on the list, but probably not before a MS6 or 3 if maximum space isn't a primary concern.
Did anything else think that the engine wasn't quite up the task of hauling this baby around? I mean, its a 244HP engine, so it sounds great and all...but come on. The MS3 makes 263 HP is hauls around probably close to 1K lbs less. This would by FAR be the biggest deturrent if I were ever seriously considering a CX-7.
I try not to be biased more to cars then SUVs, but its still hard being an engaged fella with no kids. I tried to give the 7 a chance...it just didn't seem to fit up to what I was hoping for either.
All said and done, it was a well spent hour at the Mazda dealership...especially when you walk away without paying a dime for some entertaining views. However, returning to the 8 everytime still makes me smile, and reminds me why i bought it to begin with. It's no wonder the 8, being relatively unchanged in 4 years, STILL has beat out cars such as the Shelby GT and 350Z in magazines. It's just one of those things that you can't put into words, but there's just some fun factor involved in the 8 that makes its potent 232 HP throw that car for an unbelievably fun run. As for now, i'm still clearly gonna stick with the 8
Thoughts
Mazdaspeed3
Overall it seemed like a pretty fun little box. This was the basic sport model, so it had VERY few of the bells and whistles. Suspension was pretty tight, but still faded in comparison to the 8's. Handling was about a nimble as one would expect a sporty lil box to be. The shifter, while still not on the same page as the 8's, was a step up from the MS6 that I test drove a few months back.
In terms of ride smoothness, it seemed maybe just a hair more tame and forgiving over the bumps then the 8. The turbocharged 4 was very peppy, but I didn't find myself as super-impressed as i'd built up the anticipation with. The fact that they limit the power in the first 2 gears is VERY evident once you hit 3rd. It by far pulls the hardest once the turbo spools up. And speaking there of, I didn't think it was that quick of a spool in comparison to the other turbo's i've drove. Just about the same as the MS6 (i wonder why), but it just didn't feel like it had the whole sporty attitude i was expecting.
As with almost every other car outside the 8, the biggest pro to the car was the TQ. Once the turbo spooled for a moment, it did provide a rather entertaining burst of power. HOWEVER, much unlike the 8, the MS3 is known for it's power drop off...and wow, it sure is there. That car almost feels like it falls flat on it's face after about 4500, and feels exhausted at 5K. Still wondering why it redlines all the way up at 6500. hmm. I'm used the keepin the 8 around it's regular 3-4K when needing power, so it defientely took a good amount of re-mapping the power to keep it down by around 2K. For an 8 owner, i'm sure any of you can relate in how hard it is to break this habit lol.
As with most any car that makes some TQ, getting back in the 8 to head home always immediately shows you the difference in the engines. you have to jump back up to 5K+ to feel any pull at all in equivalence to what the MS3 was making at barely 3K. It was a very fun car, but in the end, it left me more excited to get back to the 8 and run the wild zing up to 8K again. Its just more entertaining to me
. Is the MS3 faster? Oh i gaurantee it. But on almost every other level, I walked away wondering why it's been hailed so greatly. Maybe all the bells and whistles of a fully loaded MS3 GT would help to sway a little, but all all in all...it surprisingly found itself BEHIND the MS6 in my preference. That was one heck of a shock to me.CX-7
OK so they had about 10 of these on the lot, and not a SINGLE one had navigation, so already I was behind the 8 ball on the test drive. Ever since these first showed up, i'd been wanting to see how one drove. well...
First off all, despite the loving and cute commercials about the soul of a sports car, it felt like...an SUV to me. It felt big, and it felt VERY underpowered IMO. I found the power deficit to REALLY become bothersome. Likely due to it being a turbocharged SUV, it felt like it was taking too long to spool on take-offs. The gear that the auto kept popping into consistantly felt too low, requiring frequent downshifts with the auto-stick. And this was with only the dealer and I in the car. I don't think i'd feel all the reassured if I had a wife and 2 kids in the car with a rear packed with luggage that she'd TAKE OFF if I really stomped it in a hurry. I think the power might be suffiecient for just one person driving around without any cargo...but then again, why would you buy an SUV for that?
The interior...well I liked how spacious it was and all, but it just looked too, i don't know, plain. The control panel seemed extremely crowded with ***** and such, but looked very odd without a screen anywhere close. It intially left me wondering how i'd even know if the A/C was on, or the radio or anything. It was only then that I FINALLY discovered that the only readout of any info was ALL the way to the front of the windshield, which also was a little different location. Seats were comfortable and the ride was very smooth for an SUV. No turbo wine was prevalent, making the cabin a lot more quiet then anticipated.
Suspension was about as firm as expected from a "sporty" SUV. Nothing to fly around corners with, but defiently sufficient to be darting in and out of traffic with a certain amount of confidence. With space being one of the main concerns in an SUV, i found a surplus of it in the rear seats, but that was quickly dampered by the drivers seat being a good ways back (i'm 6'1"). All in all, if I was primarily considering a 2-3 child family vehicle, it would be up on the list, but probably not before a MS6 or 3 if maximum space isn't a primary concern.
Did anything else think that the engine wasn't quite up the task of hauling this baby around? I mean, its a 244HP engine, so it sounds great and all...but come on. The MS3 makes 263 HP is hauls around probably close to 1K lbs less. This would by FAR be the biggest deturrent if I were ever seriously considering a CX-7.
I try not to be biased more to cars then SUVs, but its still hard being an engaged fella with no kids. I tried to give the 7 a chance...it just didn't seem to fit up to what I was hoping for either.
All said and done, it was a well spent hour at the Mazda dealership...especially when you walk away without paying a dime for some entertaining views. However, returning to the 8 everytime still makes me smile, and reminds me why i bought it to begin with. It's no wonder the 8, being relatively unchanged in 4 years, STILL has beat out cars such as the Shelby GT and 350Z in magazines. It's just one of those things that you can't put into words, but there's just some fun factor involved in the 8 that makes its potent 232 HP throw that car for an unbelievably fun run. As for now, i'm still clearly gonna stick with the 8
07-30-2007, 11:26 AM
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Suspension was about as firm as expected from a "sporty" SUV. Nothing to fly around corners with, but defiently sufficient to be darting in and out of traffic with a certain amount of confidence. With space being one of the main concerns in an SUV, i found a surplus of it in the rear seats, but that was quickly dampered by the drivers seat being a good ways back (i'm 6'1"). All in all, if I was primarily considering a 2-3 child family vehicle, it would be up on the list, but probably not before a MS6 or 3 if maximum space isn't a primary concern.
)
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Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts
08-06-2007, 06:57 PM
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Sold my RX-8 :(
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Any CX-7 owners (or test-drivers) have driving experience with a Lexus RX300? My wife's '99 RX300 has about 130k miles on it and as I've been playing with my upcoming RX-8 purchase it got me to thinking about Mazda's "zoom zoom" philosophy and whether the CX-7 might be a good replacement for the RX300 in a year or two.
08-06-2007, 07:55 PM
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speed3 may be quicker, but it's ugly and still a station wagon-type of vehicle. RX8 has the drivers position which puts you at one with the road, a unique high revving engine which is a ton of fun to spool up, and the handling aspect. For me, besides the RX7, the 8 is the best sports car mazda ever built
08-06-2007, 11:12 PM
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I autocrossed a CX-7.
For an SUV, it rocks the cones, and the turbo lag, although existent, is not as bad as say, a WRX. 0-60 in 7.7 secs is not so bad for a 3700 lb. car. You don't really drag SUVs you know.
Lexus RX300 doesn't even come close in terms of handling. It's a different demographic altogether.
For an SUV, it rocks the cones, and the turbo lag, although existent, is not as bad as say, a WRX. 0-60 in 7.7 secs is not so bad for a 3700 lb. car. You don't really drag SUVs you know.
Lexus RX300 doesn't even come close in terms of handling. It's a different demographic altogether.
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