DETROIT (AP) — Motor Trend magazine has selected the 2008-model Mazda CX-9 as its sport utility vehicle of the year. The award from a field of 11 finalists is to be featured in the magazine's Nov. 6 edition, Motor Trend said in an announcement prepared for release Monday.

"We wondered if it would be possible for Mazda to inject its sports car DNA into their first-ever three-row crossover — a crossover that happened to be one of the largest in the lineup," said editor-in-chief Angus MacKenzie.

He said tests showed that the CX-9 was "arguably the most enjoyable sport utility to drive, and a great reminder that SUVs can be as exciting as any car."

The Mazda CX-9 has a base price of $35,250 and was listed at $41,540 as tested. It has a 3.7-liter, 273 horsepower V-6 engine and goes from zero to 60 mph in 7.8 seconds. It weighs 4,633 pounds, seats seven, and is rated at 15 miles per gallon in the city and 21 mpg highway.

The other finalists were the Buick Enclave, Hyundai Veracruz, Jeep Liberty, Jeep Patriot, Land Rover LR2, Nissan Rouge, Saturn Vue, Subaru Tribeca, Toyota Highlander and Toyota Land Cruiser.

You've heard Mazda's marketing spiel before. From "Zoom-Zoom" to the "Soul of a Sports Car," the brand's ad gurus have pushed harder than starving telemarketers to convince shoppers that Mazda's cars and trucks are sportier and more fun to drive than the competitions'.

Generally, those slogans hold true, as Mazda's vehicles-from the rotary-powered RX-8 and the exuberant MX-5 to the minivan-esque Mazda5 and the rakish CX-7-indeed deliver quick, agile (okay, zoomy) sensations that are akin to, well, a sports car. As the only Japanese car company to ever win the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, Mazda knows a thing or two about sports-car DNA and, more important, how to inject it into just about everything it slaps the winged badge on.

But could Mazda really inject that DNA into its first-ever three-row, largest-in-the-lineup crossover? Well, after three days of testing 11 vehicles at the dragstrip and skidpad, in and around greater Los Angeles, and on the twisty, high-elevation roads that squiggle through the mountain town of Lake Arrowhead, we're here to report that the CX-9 is not only Mazda's finest demonstration of infusing sports-car qualities into an SUV, but also Motor Trend's 2008 Sport/Utility of the Year.....