Dangerous Winter Vehicle

[vbbuilt01]

To all who question MY driving . . . I truly believe we have MUCH more snow in NW MI than in moderate Chicago (by comparison). As such, yes, I am accustomed to driving in snow as my 40+ yrs. driving experience would indicate. FYI, the tires are Goodyear Eagle RSA's and yes, they do NOT perform in snow. And, remember, I'm only talking about 2-3 inches of snow, any respectable all season tires should perform adequately. Last point, to the moron who complained that my few posts were negative, well, I didn't realize you could only post positive CX-7 experiences. I've said I loved the car, appearance wise and for the ride BUT when you have a white knuckle experience every time you get a measly 2 inches of snow, something's wrong.
And, I won't put close to $600+ in tires on a leased vehicle. Perhaps I expect WAY too much for a vehicle that cost nearly $30K.

Resler, down here in northern VA, it only snows moderately. Last winter, my 2007 came equipped with OEM Goodyear RSA. One day, mother nature dumped over 8 inches. The CX-7 performed admirably. It hugged the road and I was truckin' through unplowed 5 - 6 inch snow on the interstate, doing 45 MPH while most other vehicles were crawling along the right lane doing 10. I wasn't slipping or sliding. I could feel traction control kick periodically. No swerve, no slide. I've also driven on icey roads and of course, I slow down and drive more conservatively, but still, the CX-7 handles quite well.

You may claim you have 40 years experience, but I'm not a newbie, either. Total thumbs up for the CX-7 !!

You may poo-poo the CX-7 but for me, the CX-7 is a fabulous vehicle and I've now logged over 38K miles.

Instead of whining about the CX-7 why not do something positive - get rid of the CX-7, get another vehicle. You'll be able to channel all of that negative energy into positive pursuits.

Take care, Vince.

 

[resler]

What many fail to understand is that the tires, I feel, make this an unsafe vehicle for winter driving. Perhaps my expectations of more than 17K miles before unusual wear is overly ambitious. Last winter, I didn't experience the same issues as it was the 1st winter with the Goodyear RSA's. Hey, I'm not made of money, that's why I won't buy a new set of snows for a vehicle I'll be turning in at the end of my lease in 6 mo's. If you're not experiencing any problems, great, I can only tell you what I've experienced. It's not due to bad driving, lack of experience, being a malcontent, or anything else. It's just that it's been my experience. Unfortunately, unless your experience is positive, your input on this forum isn't valued. Vince, you're right, I will get another vehicle, I really don't have enough time to reply to insults from others who only want to read positive reviews and flowery praise. Peace!

 

[xtrememps]

Resler, it's not that negative input isn't valued...it's just that you're not going to get much sympathy from the folks on this board when the CX-7's poor handling in the snow (and it's not bad at all IMO..I've driven even FWD ones in the snow and was fine at the dealership I work at) comes down to the tires.

It's easy to get better tires on there. Even more "all around" all seasons would probably make you happier if you don't want to swap snows on/off. And then hey...sell the old all seasons and make a few bucks and you won't have to complain that much about your money.

 

[jred321]

normally i'd agree with the "shoulda bought snow tires" crowd but come on, it's an SUV. it should be equipped to handle a little snow without a dedicated snow tire

 

[SuperStretch18]

normally i'd agree with the "shoulda bought snow tires" crowd but come on, it's an SUV. it should be equipped to handle a little snow without a dedicated snow tire

It is; he basically said in his last post (I'm paraphrasing here) that the tires are worn and he is not replacing them because he is turning in at the end of lease in 6 months. Others have posted their experience and maintain their cars appropriately.

Fortunately, this is a moot point for me. S. FL FTW! (outie)

 

[erhayes]

The thread title is misleading. After reading comments from the author I feel the title should be changed. Worn tires on my vehicles cause driving problems in deep snow.

 

[SuperStretch18]

Just found this and thought it provided an interesting counter-arguement to this thread (not me BTW):

Winter - Snow Driving Update - CX-7 ROCKS

 

[CX-7owner]

Yeah, the thread title should be changed to:
Dangerous CX-7 driver refuses to buy new tires because he's too cheap and puts value on new tires over family's safety.

 

[Mazda3]

I agree with you that the RSA's are crap in the winter, especially if they're half worn out already. Where we disagree is that Mazda has somehow wronged you. Again, the CX-7 is marketed as a sporty "CUV" not a rugged "SUV". It has to come with a tire that will provide the sporty handling. In this case that particular tire doesn't do as well as some in winter conditions. I realise that the RSA isn't the best dry handling tire available either, but it provides the CX-7 with the minimum excepted handling and was probably dirt cheap for Mazda.

Most auto manufacturers don't spend more on tires then they have to. It was mention earlier that the 300C SRT8 came with a mediocre performance tire when it probably should have come with tires comparable to a Corvette ZO6. It's your responsibility to put proper tires on whatever car you buy.

To those debating the performance of the RSA in the snow, I think they are ok in the "snow", its the extreme "icy" conditions where they suck. Driving down an unplowed road with 6" of snow on it is no problem, its sliding through an intersection covered in glare ice where this tire lacks.

Lastly, the reason everyone is jumping on you is the title of the thread. The CX-7 is not a POS because it came with crappy tires. The vehicle itself is great, but some might need different tires to meet there expectations in certain situations, this is the same with all vehicles. A better thread title might have been something like "Why does Mazda put these crappy tires on the CX-7 ?"