convince me please!!! desperately need help

[sy0296]

noob here, just joined up today and am looking to join the cs-7 family. i'm in the market for a suv to replace my old ml350 whose lease just ended. i was really only considering a few cars--namely, new ml350, cherokee srt-8, and lx400h. after some searching i came upon the acura rdx which seemed like such a great value compared to the three i mentioned.

i had specific reasons for the three suv's i listed but without getting into too much details it really comes down to a few deciding factors (in no particular order): appearance, performance, comfort, gas mileage, value. to me, the rdx clearly wins, handsdown.

then while on the freeway the other day, something going the other direction catches my eye. it was a reddish orange in color and sport yet elegant in style. busting a quick u-turn i try to catch up but before i could it made some turns and was gone. when i got home i search on the net and eventually found out that it's the new compact suv by mazda--a brand i wouldn't have considered (sorry guys, no flaming please).

i'm pretty much sold on the cx-7 over the rdx. looks wise it's much better. performance wise it's not as quick and doesn't have the sophosticated 4wd system in the rdx but it seems aftermarket support for the cx-7 will be stronger (click my m3 link in the sig and you'll see why that's important to me). downpipe, intake, exhaust, software should make the cx-7 walk away from the rdx easy. i would say the only single feature that the rdx has which i'm dying to try out is the nav w/ real time traffic.

then as i read reviews and threads i find out that the car gets about 12~15mgp just cruizing around town...that to me is pretty absurd. that means if i drive it aggresively and start to mod it, mileage is going to dip in to the 10's. the rdx is running similar displacement, similar compression, similar boost, has higher dear ratio and stills gets much better mileage around town. even compare to my M which is modded and i drive pretty hard, the cx-7 is still gozzles much more juice (on avg i get about 18mpg). this puts the cx-7 in the same range as the srt-8 (heck, it puts it in hummer territory if i mod it and drive it hard) which i was also considering...

now i'm stuck. how can a car that is so perfect have such horrible gas mileage. there must have been something the the engineers forgot to do. i drive a lot. if the car gets the kind of mileage i read about, that mean i'm going to fueling up 4~5 time a week...now i'm not a poor guy but i'm not rich enough to be spending a couple hundred bucks on gas every week in just one car.

convince me guys...i really want to get this car.

 

[NoRotorNoMotor]

i don't own one myself, but even my 89, 91 and 93 rx7's got slightly better MPG's than that and i drove them like a *** at a leapfrog competition

i am sure the cx-7 masses will chime in and let you know what they are getting real world cause that seems a bit low(or at least i hope it is)

 

[azcat]

Don't believe what you read. I picked my CX-7 AWD GT up Saturday and on the drive home (150+ miles; I shopped six dealers on-line), I got 21.8 mpg. I think the bad mpg ratings come from the reviewers kicking it in the butt; I wondered, at one point, why traffic was moving so slow, looked down, and saw that I was doing 95 mph. I set the cruise at 75, and just moved on home. It's quiet (compared to a 2004 Santa Fe) and fast, looks great, and the handling reminds me of my '97 Miata, which I still have. Forget the critics--you'll love the CX-7.

azcat

 

[smo0f]

i don't own one myself, but even my 89, 91 and 93 rx7's got slightly better MPG's than that and i drove them like a *** at a leapfrog competition

i am sure the cx-7 masses will chime in and let you know what they are getting real world cause that seems a bit low(or at least i hope it is)

so you drove into walls all the time? because i'm sure a *** wouldn't exert much effort into leaping over anyone. and the other *** would just be bent over giggling. i rate that similie a dismal 2 out of 10.

 

[xavier]

Ok this just puzzles me. If you have an M3 like that, why even consider a cx-7?? Maybe Im being nosey but If I didnt have 2 kids, Id prolly have an m3 as well and wouldnt even have considered the CX-7. DOnt get me wrong, I am in absolute love with my cx (white w/tan leather GT with tech package) but all things considered, its no M3.

 

[NoRotorNoMotor]

so you drove into walls all the time? because i'm sure a *** wouldn't exert much effort into leaping over anyone. and the other *** would just be bent over giggling. i rate that similie a dismal 2 out of 10.

i was implying that i drove them like an ass

i.e flat out everywhere i went and gas mileage was better than that

 

[smo0f]

fine, upgrading you to a 6

 

[910MSPRacer]

has neone drove the new srt8 jeep yet? what are they like? j/c. im lookin to trade my msp in on a ms3. dont kno till i drive it and see it.

 

[xavier]

good luck with gassing a SRT8 jeep. The regular jeeps are hard to keep filled let alone a performance version. Im sure it would be fun though.

 

[CRZbrussian]

GET IT!!!!! IF YOU DON'T GET IT I WILL PERSONALLY COME DOWN THERE AND KICK YOU IN THE EYEBROW!!

the cx-7 is an awesome car! don't get no Dodge, man come on! poor gas milage, yes it has some power, but come on...it's a freaken Dodge...i think you know what needs to be done

 

[spike blue]

^^^^im with you

 

[sy0296]

like i said, i'm considering cx-7 as a replacement to an suv that i had but have since returned due to lease end. it's not a replacement to the M (toy), nor the clk (cruizer, job car), nor the a4 (for the fiance)...to say the truth, i have never owned a japanese car (have driven many) and did not consider any when i wanted a replacement for the old suv. however after some research i discovered what great value companies like mazda and acura has to offer in the crossover/suv market.

in any case, i went to the local mazda dealership last night and took a breif test drive. initial impressions are very positive. the interior is well finished and nicely laid out (regretably, even much better than the ml350 that i just returned). seating position is very comfortable and even with my buddy driving (he's 6'5") i can still sit some what comfortably in the rear seats. overall "feel" of the cabin is pretty nice. it definitely has a very "cool factor" inside and out. the crecendo of the lighting in the gauge cluster when i turned the car was very cool.

as far as acceleration goes, the car does have some juice but definitely runs out of steam at around 4500rpm. i would have opted for lightly less torque but more high end hp...it doesn't feel like a turbo car--although this is something a few bolt ons would fix. i think this would take away some of the jerkiness when getting back on the throttle coming out of turns as well; but then again, this might just be the transmission which is my only other complaint. compared to other cars i have driven, the auto tranny seems somewhat hesitant to either down shift or up shift. this may just be due to my driving preference though. i think a cvt would suit this car very nicely. mazda should defintiely make it an option.

handling is great as many have described it to be. turn in is precise and body roll is minimal considering the car is pretty high up. brakes are good with good pedal feel which made modulation a peice of cake--the sales guy didn't appreciate me telling him this as i made multiple hard brakes to see if i could get it to fade, oops.

i am going to swing by the acura dealer tonight to check out the rdx in person. although aesthetically it's not as appealing (to me at least) there are a lot of positive comments on that car as well. in fact, the sale person i was talking to said if he were to choose between the two and the $3.5k in difference is not factored in, it would be a difficult decision to make. anyways, so far it's +1 for the cx-7 unless the rdx does something amazing

 

[gimpo2]

I think the RDX can make sandwiches for you if you're on your way to a picnic.

 

[sy0296]

so i swung by the acura dealer on the way home from work tonight and test drove the rdx. it actually looks very good in person. i thought it was sort of wedge-like in the pictures but looking at an actual example it's actually quite sporty (though granted different from the cx-7).

i hate to say this guys, but acura has built a better car than mazda. from fit and finish to performance and ergonomics, i have to say the rdx wins hands down. now styling wise both interior and exterior i do have to say cx-7 takes the win. another area mazda has done it's home work on is seating. driving position and the comfort of the front seats are both much better than in the cx-7. and although i didn't take official measurements, it seems the mazda has a bigger cargo area.

although not much faster than the cx-7, the acura is more revy (sporty) and i feel has more usable power. combined with the taller final gear )4.15 compare 3.5 or something like that) the rdx was smoother off the line but pulled harder than the cx-7. i mentioned the cx-7 is a bit jumpy which comes from the avail. torque early on. i think with a continuous variable tranny, the extra torque can be used more efficiently.

although the rdx is a few grand more expensive, i feel all the extra gadgets more than make up for it. the touch screen in the mazda is very cool and perhaps more user friendly when the car is in motion, but the acura unit seems to be better thought out. using the menus is more intuitive and the traffic feature works pretty well. also standard with the tech pkg is dvd-audio which i will use the the prologic II will make good use of the 5.1 system.

in any case, both are great cars but i think i will end up going with the rdx for now. when mazda makes updates to the cx-7 i may consider a change...

 

[X FIRE N]

Wow, what a surprise Beemer and Daimler why would you what a Mazda
or even Honda CRX for that matter. I too have driven both and guess what I bought VALUE ..... More ground clearance which is important if you live where there's snow, more headroom, more shoulder room, more cargo,longer,wider and so on and so on...... BUT IT'S A ACURA. Sounds like you decision was made up before you even asked. THANKS FOR THE VISIT.

P.S. It didn't look any better to me when I saw it up close ????? FUNNY...(glare)

 

[spike blue]

so i swung by the acura dealer on the way home from work tonight and test drove the rdx. it actually looks very good in person. i thought it was sort of wedge-like in the pictures but looking at an actual example it's actually quite sporty (though granted different from the cx-7).

i hate to say this guys, but acura has built a better car than mazda. from fit and finish to performance and ergonomics, i have to say the rdx wins hands down. now styling wise both interior and exterior i do have to say cx-7 takes the win. another area mazda has done it's home work on is seating. driving position and the comfort of the front seats are both much better than in the cx-7. and although i didn't take official measurements, it seems the mazda has a bigger cargo area.

although not much faster than the cx-7, the acura is more revy (sporty) and i feel has more usable power. combined with the taller final gear )4.15 compare 3.5 or something like that) the rdx was smoother off the line but pulled harder than the cx-7. i mentioned the cx-7 is a bit jumpy which comes from the avail. torque early on. i think with a continuous variable tranny, the extra torque can be used more efficiently.

although the rdx is a few grand more expensive, i feel all the extra gadgets more than make up for it. the touch screen in the mazda is very cool and perhaps more user friendly when the car is in motion, but the acura unit seems to be better thought out. using the menus is more intuitive and the traffic feature works pretty well. also standard with the tech pkg is dvd-audio which i will use the the prologic II will make good use of the 5.1 system.

in any case, both are great cars but i think i will end up going with the rdx for now. when mazda makes updates to the cx-7 i may consider a change...

the rdx is really nice and sporty but doesn't handles as good as the cx-7 and the brakes in the cx-7 is way better than the rdx , is a little faster and it has 6 speed so think hard before you make that decition!!!

 

[xavier]

If you dont mind the extra clams go for the RDX. To me I did mind the extra clams