Forgotten Cars: Mazda CX-7

"LJ909" (lj909) 07/16/2019 at 17:56 • Filed to: Mazda, Mazda CX-7, forgotten cars

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The Mazda CX-7, along with the CX-9, ushered in the era of Mazda crossovers giving them something that just wasn’t a badge engineered Ford like the Tribute was.

Debuting at the 2005 Detroit show as a concept called the MX-Crossport, it was supposedly designed to combine the sportiness of the RX-8 and the practicality of the Tribute. Mazda described it as:“ The MX-Crossport transcends the existing categories of SUV and crossovers, and steps into the realm of sports car where the driver can experience the world of sports cars every time they get behind the wheel .” Yea whatever.

The production version debuted not long after for the 2007 model year at the 2006 LA Auto show. Its competitors at the time were vehicles like the Hyundai Santa Fe and Ford Edge.Built at Mazda’s Hiroshima plant in Japan, it was a vehicle made from parts from all over the place: it rode on the joint Ford/Mazda CD3 platform that also underpinned the CX-9 and Edge/MKX and weirdly the Mazda6; it used the front suspension from the MPV van and the rear suspension from the Mazda5; the engine and AWD system were pulled from the MazdaSpeed6.

Speaking of the engine, like I mentioned, it was pulled from the MazdaSpeed6. A 2.3 turbo unit, it had 244 horses and 258 lb/ft of torque. This was routed to an AWD system through a 6 speed auto. Other markets saw a 6 speed manual trans we didn’t get here. This was kind of a knock against it by auto outlets at the time. Other markets saw a 2.5 I4 or a 2.2 liter diesel along with a 5 speed auto as well.

Testers praised the driving dynamics of it. It really epitomized Mazda’s Zoom Zoom tagline at the time. Car&Driver described it as “an SUV doing a rally car impression”. Part of its good driving dynamics came from its relatively low curb weight of 3916 lbs. This also helped it achieve .80 g on a skidpad and 70-0 stops in 167 feet which was comparable to some sports sedans and sports cars from the time.

Around 2010 saw a refresh of the CX-7 giving it  revised front and rear fascias as well as different interior gauges along with Bluetooth connectivity and a Blind Spot Monitoring system.

It wasn’t all praise though as it had a few hits against it. The aforementioned lack of a manual option was a main one. The engine, although performance derived from MazsdaSpeed duty was described as thrashy coarse and gutless. 0-60 came in a letdown of 7.4 seconds with power falling off too soon before its redline of 6500. Also fuel economy was poor, something another engine option or a manual could have remedied. C&D pointed out in their test that its overall of 19 mpg was 1 worse than the Hemi powered Dodge Magnum (R.I.P) they had recently tested.

CX-7’s haven’t seemed to hold up well over the years either and also seem to have had reliability problems. Research online indicates that the hodgepodge of various Mazda parts gave people problems as well as blown turbos, some on engines with relatively low miles. Some people on forums stated to avoid it altogether based solely on the engine alone. Whatever problems it had though, the CX-7 was the start of Mazda’s crossover foray that has grown to include the CX-3,CX-30,CX-5 and CX-9 who are all way better vehicles in every regard.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > LJ909 07/16/2019 at 18:11

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They should bring this back as a midsize 5 seater to compete against the Outback and others. Give it the 2.5 turbo, AWD the requisite plastic #rugged cladding and we’re good to go

Nauraushaun > LJ909 07/16/2019 at 18:13

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I never really thought of these as an RX-8-ish SUV but I can totally see it. That bold Mazda 00s styling, pumped arches etc.

Very cool.

Ps. A disproportionate amount of stock car pics on the internet seem to be from Australia, even Victoria. I’m happy to let you know that YJE076 is still registered as a 2011 SILVER MAZDA WAGON. Not dead yet.

MarquetteLa > LJ909 07/16/2019 at 18:29

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I’m f orever grateful for the CX-7 solely for the fact that it means there are plenty of parts out there for my Mazdaspeed 6.

LJ909 > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 07/16/2019 at 18:49

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They could, but their lineup is too crossover heavy now. The ones they have are all too close in size too each other enough to not make a new CX-7 make sense. It would have to be bigger than the CX-5 but smaller than the CX-9 and probably in the size class it would compete with would most likely require a 3rd row option. At that point it would make more sense to just get a CX-9 if you need a 3rd row or a Cx-5 because the siz e gains would be negligible .

LJ909 > MarquetteLa 07/16/2019 at 18:50

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Yep you could pretty much get one to have for a parts car. The whole drivetrain, sans the auto should bolt right in.

BarryDanger > LJ909 07/16/2019 at 19:15

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I had one like the top picture, 2009, red with roof racks and touring trim. It’s the newest, nicest car I’ve ever owned. The turbo was great for high altitudes (CO, NM, UT), was nimble enough, super practical, safe and was pretty good on fuel. 

... A nd i t was too nice for me, I didn’t know what I had at the time and traded it for a 6mt 06 GTO. Both were great cars but the GTO had like 60k more miles and had some questionable mods done by the P.O. Dealer got the better of me. 

I can’t even find a good picture of ole Jefflynn the Mazda :( 

SiennaMan > MarquetteLa 07/16/2019 at 19:34

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I now have a reason to not dislike the cx7.  Thank you. 

Khalbali > LJ909 07/16/2019 at 19:44

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I was a Mazda tech for 2 years, cx7s and cx9s were the money makers. N/a fwd cx7s are fine but the turbo engines had vvt and turbo problems and the transfer case was prone to leaks. Cx9s pretty much all have various stages of timing cover and transfer case leaks as well as rear axle seals. 

LJ909 > BarryDanger 07/16/2019 at 20:06

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Sounds like you miss it. But you regret getting the GTO over it?

LJ909 > Khalbali 07/16/2019 at 20:16

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Yea I read up on the turbo problems. Like I mention, a lot of people say to avoid the turbo engine altogether. its weird considering that I’ve never read the MazdaSpeed6 having these problems unless I’m wrong.

Captain Cayman... > LJ909 07/16/2019 at 21:00

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The better half’s DD, just over 100k on our 07 Grand Touring.  Had the transfer case leak fixed under warranty way back but other than the occasional CEL, for the gas cap it has been trouble free.  No complaints. 

Khalbali > LJ909 07/17/2019 at 06:20

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I haven't really seen it but they're rare cars so that's probably part of it. Plus maybe enthusiasts took better care of them? More regular oil changes/better oil would at least help the vvt issues. I did have a co-worker with a speed6 briefly but he said his was junk and got rid of it. Even speed3s seem more reliable though, never saw vvt issues on those, no transfer case to leak and a lot of speed3 guys upgrade to a bigger turbo anyways.

St4RH4x0R > LJ909 07/18/2019 at 09:19

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I have a 2011 cx-7 turbo Fwd

I’m super happy with it it looks nice, really comfortable and has plenty of power it’s my daily I’m at 92k miles

BarryDanger > LJ909 07/18/2019 at 15:05

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No - The GTO was a great car. I just wish I could have kept both as they serve different roles. Daily driving the GTO in Denver’s winter was problematic and I could never find a reliable winter beater. 

Amoore100 > LJ909 10/13/2019 at 01:47

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The irony is they make just that—except for some reason it isn’t offered here. I quite like the way the CX-8 looks, mind you.

As basically a LWB CX-5, it fixes a lot of the awkward proportions which are bound by the compact CUV class as a whole.

The pudgy rump probably isn’t quite as universally aesthetically pleasing  as the rounder tushes of the CX-5 and CX-9, but I think it has a unique flair to it that really sets the CX-8 apart.

LJ909 > Amoore100 10/13/2019 at 03:09

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I personally thinks this looks weird, especially in the bubble like rear. It looks like someones rendering of what a 6 and CX-9 would look like. Which is what I assume this thing pretty much is.