CX-7 Off-Road Abilities

[g8888]

I am thinking about buying a CX-7 AWD. I believe it is a very good car for my needs (95% Street/Highway) but I would like to hear your opinions about driving it out of paved roads.

I dont really need true offroad capabilities (this it obviously not the vehicle for that), but I will like to have a vehicle than I can drive thru miles of unpaved road up to the camping site without having to worry about it.

Any opinions/recommendations and owner experiences in this area?

Thanks in advance,
Greg

 

[Platonium]

Well, Greg, I haven't taken mine "off-road." But if I did, it would be like your scenario, soft roads/trails back to campsites and fishing holes. I think judiciously driven most sand and shallow mud would be no problem. Ground clearance is an issue, so no rock climbing. Also, the AWD system is ineffective if even one wheel leaves the groud, so mostly flat trails would be better.

 

[randyscycle]

Hi,

I don't own a CX-7, but have admired and looked at a few.

As an avid off-roader (I don't always do the Mazda thing!) I have seen many similar style vehicles in our National Forests here in Virginia. You'd be surprised where a vehicle can be taken with some careful driving. I have seen campers in Nissan Altimas miles back in the forest. Most of the fire roads are graded at least once a year, and there are bypasses around the really rough stuff. Most parks/forests I've been in are similar.

My advice would be to approach any road thats not paved with a little common sense and not be in a hurry. Be sure to carry supplies ( a jack, shovel, water, first aid, etc.) and have fun! If in doubt about a trail, just get out and walk it first. This goes a long way in not removing parts from the underside of your car, or having to dig out of a big hole. That said, there are some wonderful places you can go, that not everyone else does, and that is the whole fun of it all.....

Good luck!

 

[mikey1981]

Check out the comparison test on Edmunds.com between the Mazda, Toyota, and Hundai.

they actually i dont want to say rave, but were amazed on just how capable the CX-7 was offroading

 

[g8888]

Thank you everyone for your comments.

Yes, I would drive carefully out the highway. But even driving like that in the past I got stuck with my FWD VW Passat just after parking on the gravel sideway of a road (the car was parked uphill and the gravel was soft and damp). I am also always worried when driving a gravel road (even going slow) that a pothole may damage the tires or the car bottom.

Those are some of the main reasons to considering switching to an SUV (even a Crossover SUV since I will drive most of the time on the streets/highways). So I suppose that my question is how much better the CX-7 would be than my current Passat in those situations. Would I still need to be worried, or the CX-7 is more than enough SUV for that?

I am specifically worried about the performance Goodyear eagle tires (furthermore it seems that there are not any all-terrain tire with that specs available). Would be dangerous for the tires driving that kind of bumpy roads? (again, just gravel/dirt, not really offroading).

Thanks again in advance,
Greg

 

[Byrnie]

^what he said. Great now you guys put ideas in my head...

 

[tviera]

As someone who has lived off a dirt road most my life, I'll tell you that as long as you don't drive like an idiot the CX-7 will be fine for your needs. Pothole will not hurt your vehicle unless you hit them. This meaning approach them with caution. Your wheels anf tires will be fine, its the alignment you would have to worry about. Just stay out of mud unless you get a more aggressive tread on tires. Ones that selfclean. The stock tires should get you through soft sand and all the gravel you could fathom.

 

[g8888]

Thanks Tony,

Anyone has some insight about driving diferences with a Passat?

Any gravel/soft-offroading experiences with a CX-7?

 

[9Hooker]

I'm more than willing to bet 80% of CX-7''s will NEVER see off road driving. I'm driving to Montana this week. I'll be happy to let you know how it goes in the snow/off road. I've got an AWD model, and methinks it will have traction like an AWD Subaru... I haven't been under the chassis yet, but I *think* it's a viscous LSD in the rear and in the center. Why else would Mazda say it can't be towed unless all 4 wheels are on the ground....

 

[g8888]

... I am looking forward to hear from your driving.

I remember reading somewhere that the rear was a limited slip torsen differential. I have read very contradictory things about this car AWD though. Some people saying that is almost always FWD with RWD only used rarely when the FWD have already slipped. It would be good to hear your experience with some light off-roading to see if the AWD is effective in slippery terrain (snow/ice also).

 

[g8888]

Hi... any news about the driving. As a prospective buyer I am eager to know how current owners think the CX-7 AWD manages in rain/snow and gravel/soft off roading.

 

[9Hooker]

The driving is fine. The TCS and AWD are a must have for snow/ice + any sort of steep grade. I took the 7 snowboarding in Montana this week and off road and up hills in snowy/icy conditions.

I had the TCS (not so much the throttle back) kick on multiple times (the little slippery car looking light that flashes in the speedo cluster) and felt brake modulation in multiple corners of the car to include one wheel locking/unlocking on wet pavement when the others were in snow/ice.

I never saw the AWD light come on, ever. I was able to get all 4 wheels to spin on ice though, so I dunno what would trigger that light...

I also had an emergency stop situation on the highway when I almost met a snow plow's rear end.

And last, I the TCS came on along with reduced throttle @ 78 mph on the highway when I hit a patch of black ice. I disengaged cruise control and still maintained partial throttle through the whole ordeal. The back end fished around for a bit. I was not helping things creating PIO's (pilot induced oscillations) with the front end trying to compensate when I could have just kept the wheel straight and it would have worked itself out.

 

[nkabak]

The driving is fine. The TCS and AWD are a must have for snow/ice + any sort of steep grade. I took the 7 snowboarding in Montana this week and off road and up hills in snowy/icy conditions.

I had the TCS (not so much the throttle back) kick on multiple times (the little slippery car looking light that flashes in the speedo cluster) and felt brake modulation in multiple corners of the car to include one wheel locking/unlocking on wet pavement when the others were in snow/ice.

I never saw the AWD light come on, ever. I was able to get all 4 wheels to spin on ice though, so I dunno what would trigger that light...

I also had an emergency stop situation on the highway when I almost met a snow plow's rear end.

And last, I the TCS came on along with reduced throttle @ 78 mph on the highway when I hit a patch of black ice. I disengaged cruise control and still maintained partial throttle through the whole ordeal. The back end fished around for a bit. I was not helping things creating PIO's (pilot induced oscillations) with the front end trying to compensate when I could have just kept the wheel straight and it would have worked itself out.

Ice & rain with cruise control.

"And last, I the TCS came on along with reduced throttle @ 78 mph on the highway when I hit a patch of black ice. I disengaged cruise control and still maintained partial throttle through the whole ordeal. "

I always thought that was a big NO,NO!!

 

[9Hooker]

Alas!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_ice

... on the highway ... hit black ice ... disengaged cruise ...

so, uh, yeah.

I've never heard that as a rule, but it makes sense not to run cruise in those situations, or at least run it at a significant speed decrease.

 

[P5w3kids]

Back in 1989 I drove a Celica All-trac Turbo on many unpaved roads in the southwest, most notably the climb up Pikes Peak. But also on the reservations in Arizona. Left me wishing for just a bit more ground clearance, as I had a couple of rock scrapes. The CX-7 isn't quite the car I had in mind, as I was thinking a soft-roading sports car. But now that I think of it the Mazda should do very well in such conditions.

 

[solid_snake]

I never saw the AWD light come on, ever. I was able to get all 4 wheels to spin on ice though, so I dunno what would trigger that light...

it turns on when there's a malfunction in the AWD system

 

[9Hooker]

ah. so its a caution light. I thought I read int he manual it comes on when it's "working". Maybe it was the TCS light. Mazda should really standardizer their light-ology.

 

[JO777]

It's a pitty thet there are not more offroad experiences of CX7 owners.
So I thought I'd pick up this thread again.
Took my CX7 Sport (260 hp, manual 6 gear) to unpaved stretches of tracks in the Swiss Jura mountains. Some were muddy, others thickly covered with wet fallen leaves others loose or densified gravel.
In my opinion the car felt very stable on these roads. Even on quite steep parts, traction was not a problem. Only to start moving on a steep slippery road was quite difficult to find the right ratio of throttle action vs clutch to prevent the engine from stalling, but finally I moved on.
Most of the roads were quite even, so I wonder about other experiences on more bumpy roads?

Greetings from Switzerland
Jo

 

[blkcherimika]

It's a pitty thet there are not more offroad experiences of CX7 owners.
So I thought I'd pick up this thread again.
Took my CX7 Sport (260 hp, manual 6 gear) to unpaved stretches of tracks in the Swiss Jura mountains. Some were muddy, others thickly covered with wet fallen leaves others loose or densified gravel.
In my opinion the car felt very stable on these roads. Even on quite steep parts, traction was not a problem. Only to start moving on a steep slippery road was quite difficult to find the right ratio of throttle action vs clutch to prevent the engine from stalling, but finally I moved on.
Most of the roads were quite even, so I wonder about other experiences on more bumpy roads?

Greetings from Switzerland
Jo

We own a FWD CX-7 (automatic tranny in the states). In October, on a trip to Arkansas' Ozark Mountains, We found ourselves on a terrible logging road than was indicated on our map as a US Forestry Service wilderness road. The road was very steep, rocky, and washboard-rough with lots of tight switch-backs and shallow mud holes. But the "7" handled it all with ease - and no loss of "footing". I had never intended to subject the XUV to such, but am now glad to know that it can handle it. Ground clearance made it possible. In a sedan, I'd have needed a tow truck..

 

[koala]

I've driven my previous S2000 off road many times (ground clearance was the largest issue), so if that can do it, so can the CX-7.

I've also driven it through 3 feet of snow, so again, if that can do it, so can the CX-7.