Hi All,
I haven't been around for a while, but I wanted to come and post some of my impressions of the CX-7 FWD GT after taking our first family road trip in May.
Memorial Day weekend we went to the Poconos. It was a great trip, and all-in-all the CX-7 was great.
Gas Mileage: Okay, I didn't clock it that close, and I think it could always be better, but we seemed to average somewhere around 20 for the trip there and back. We did hit a lot of traffic and I'm sure that sapped on the mileage, but hey, I didn't buy this car for it's fuel efficiency. I certainly didn't feel like we had to fill it up all the time, but it obviously wasn't like driving my last car (Toyota Matrix, which got like 36 mpg on the highway).
Ride: The ride was very comfortable. That weekend turned out to be unseasonably hot and humid, and I had been concerned about the AC since hearing people complain about it here. Honestly, with the automatic climate control I've had no issues with the car from day one. Warm enough in the winter, cool enough in hot weather (and that's held true even on some real hot days we've had). I have black interior also, and was worried about that, but it hasn't been an issue at all. I DO think the heavily tinted windows help.
The AC performed very well. If anything, we found we were TOO cold at times.
I've had problems in the past with getting soar from driving long distances. This is the first car I could sit in for over and hour and not have my hips bothering me. The ride was very comfortable.
Anyone who's been driving it also knows it's fast - one of my favorite things about it - and on country windy uphill downhill roads it was a blast to drive. I never felt it was too sluggish to pass someone, even on some of those mountainy Poconos roads.
The auto headlights ARE still too sensitive and I've found that I tend to turn them off during the day. Going under and overpass briefly shouldn't trigger them, but it does. And yes, I've tried adjusting the sensitivity myself and it doesn't help.
Audio/Nav Experience...
I have the tech package nav system, and this is where Mazda has tragically failed. I've learned the system inside and out, and am a computer/tech geek, so none of this is user error... but a failure on Mazda's engineering department to design and use something practical and reliable.
We all know about lack of iPod support. I won't gripe more about it as I've already done so until I'm blue in the face. Maybe it matters more to me than others, but it SUCKS that it's not already integrated into a touch-screen based system. We've been stuck with MP3 CDs, and a CD player that doesn't offer some of the most basic controls (like pause, mute and a "smart" random function). We are all audiophiles in my family, so it is more than a mild annoyance.
Locally the navigation system hasn't let me down, but this was our first trip out of state... and "Pocahontas", as we like to call her, was a ditz and a half (and YES, we changed the "state zone" to include Pennsylvania).
Too often she doesn't understand the voice commands.
There are clearly not enough POIs represented, and they are pretty out of date. They also aren't always accurate, and we're not talking that they're off by only 1000 feet, but sometimes by MILES.
We also found that often, while the roads showed up on the map, the system wouldn't recognize them as actual roads and map routes utilizing them. For example, we'd be in the middle of a town and want to map a route out... and the route guide wouldn't start until outside the outer limits of the town (this wasn't a "preferences" error on my part).
One good indication of how stupid Pocahontas really is reared it's ugly head right at the beginning of our trip... and I'll try to explain this so those outside NYC can visualize...
We were on the Cross-Bronx Expressway (CBE). The Cross-Bronx is a road that goes STRAIGHT to the George Washington Bridge (where we needed to go). You do not have to get off this road... it will take you directly there.
We were stuck in horrendous holiday traffic... bumper to bumper much of the way along the CBE. As we traveled we saw that Pocahontas wanted us to get off at the Major Deagon. The Major Deagon is a road that takes you TO the CBE if you are coming from the south and trying to get to the George Washington Bridge. If you are on the CBE already, there's no reason to get off on the Major Deagon unless you DON'T want to go to the George Washington. So curiosity got the best of us and we decided to follow the nav... why would it take us off the CBE we wondered?
Well, for no reason whatsoever, Pocahontas wanted us to proceed south on the Major Deagon three exits, to make a complete u-turn to come back north and get back on the CBE!!!
Well obviously, with traffic the way it was we ignored her and took back roads back onto the CBE... but, in notorious internet lingo... WTF??!
Needless to say, I am pulling the whole system next week and replacing it. I cannot express how disappointed I have been with it from the beginning, and it's only gotten worse as time has gone by.
Random GOOD points...
The locking console box is huge and comes in handy on a long trip. Would be great if it was actually refrigerated, but we used large ziplock bags with ice packs and kept quite a few things cold in there. The fact that it locks is awesome. I didn't need to lock my laptop in there, but if I had to, I could have... it's THAT big.
Cargo space and cargo shade are awesome. We had no problems with the things we needed to lug along with us, or carrying around a large cooler for picnic days.
The roomy and comfortable interior was great on a long trip. We're driving to Disney in August and I have no doubts it will be pleasant ride.
All-in-all I do LOVE my CX-7 and wouldn't trade it for another car. Would I like better gas mileage? Sure, but not at the expensive of the car's get-up-and-go. Maybe in a few years time they'll be a hybrid version that still totes good horsepower and I'll be in!
(enguard)
I haven't been around for a while, but I wanted to come and post some of my impressions of the CX-7 FWD GT after taking our first family road trip in May.
Memorial Day weekend we went to the Poconos. It was a great trip, and all-in-all the CX-7 was great.
Gas Mileage: Okay, I didn't clock it that close, and I think it could always be better, but we seemed to average somewhere around 20 for the trip there and back. We did hit a lot of traffic and I'm sure that sapped on the mileage, but hey, I didn't buy this car for it's fuel efficiency. I certainly didn't feel like we had to fill it up all the time, but it obviously wasn't like driving my last car (Toyota Matrix, which got like 36 mpg on the highway).
Ride: The ride was very comfortable. That weekend turned out to be unseasonably hot and humid, and I had been concerned about the AC since hearing people complain about it here. Honestly, with the automatic climate control I've had no issues with the car from day one. Warm enough in the winter, cool enough in hot weather (and that's held true even on some real hot days we've had). I have black interior also, and was worried about that, but it hasn't been an issue at all. I DO think the heavily tinted windows help.
The AC performed very well. If anything, we found we were TOO cold at times.
I've had problems in the past with getting soar from driving long distances. This is the first car I could sit in for over and hour and not have my hips bothering me. The ride was very comfortable.
Anyone who's been driving it also knows it's fast - one of my favorite things about it - and on country windy uphill downhill roads it was a blast to drive. I never felt it was too sluggish to pass someone, even on some of those mountainy Poconos roads.
The auto headlights ARE still too sensitive and I've found that I tend to turn them off during the day. Going under and overpass briefly shouldn't trigger them, but it does. And yes, I've tried adjusting the sensitivity myself and it doesn't help.
Audio/Nav Experience...
I have the tech package nav system, and this is where Mazda has tragically failed. I've learned the system inside and out, and am a computer/tech geek, so none of this is user error... but a failure on Mazda's engineering department to design and use something practical and reliable.
We all know about lack of iPod support. I won't gripe more about it as I've already done so until I'm blue in the face. Maybe it matters more to me than others, but it SUCKS that it's not already integrated into a touch-screen based system. We've been stuck with MP3 CDs, and a CD player that doesn't offer some of the most basic controls (like pause, mute and a "smart" random function). We are all audiophiles in my family, so it is more than a mild annoyance.
Locally the navigation system hasn't let me down, but this was our first trip out of state... and "Pocahontas", as we like to call her, was a ditz and a half (and YES, we changed the "state zone" to include Pennsylvania).
Too often she doesn't understand the voice commands.
There are clearly not enough POIs represented, and they are pretty out of date. They also aren't always accurate, and we're not talking that they're off by only 1000 feet, but sometimes by MILES.
We also found that often, while the roads showed up on the map, the system wouldn't recognize them as actual roads and map routes utilizing them. For example, we'd be in the middle of a town and want to map a route out... and the route guide wouldn't start until outside the outer limits of the town (this wasn't a "preferences" error on my part).
One good indication of how stupid Pocahontas really is reared it's ugly head right at the beginning of our trip... and I'll try to explain this so those outside NYC can visualize...
We were on the Cross-Bronx Expressway (CBE). The Cross-Bronx is a road that goes STRAIGHT to the George Washington Bridge (where we needed to go). You do not have to get off this road... it will take you directly there.
We were stuck in horrendous holiday traffic... bumper to bumper much of the way along the CBE. As we traveled we saw that Pocahontas wanted us to get off at the Major Deagon. The Major Deagon is a road that takes you TO the CBE if you are coming from the south and trying to get to the George Washington Bridge. If you are on the CBE already, there's no reason to get off on the Major Deagon unless you DON'T want to go to the George Washington. So curiosity got the best of us and we decided to follow the nav... why would it take us off the CBE we wondered?
Well, for no reason whatsoever, Pocahontas wanted us to proceed south on the Major Deagon three exits, to make a complete u-turn to come back north and get back on the CBE!!!
Well obviously, with traffic the way it was we ignored her and took back roads back onto the CBE... but, in notorious internet lingo... WTF??!
Needless to say, I am pulling the whole system next week and replacing it. I cannot express how disappointed I have been with it from the beginning, and it's only gotten worse as time has gone by.
Random GOOD points...
The locking console box is huge and comes in handy on a long trip. Would be great if it was actually refrigerated, but we used large ziplock bags with ice packs and kept quite a few things cold in there. The fact that it locks is awesome. I didn't need to lock my laptop in there, but if I had to, I could have... it's THAT big.
Cargo space and cargo shade are awesome. We had no problems with the things we needed to lug along with us, or carrying around a large cooler for picnic days.
The roomy and comfortable interior was great on a long trip. We're driving to Disney in August and I have no doubts it will be pleasant ride.
All-in-all I do LOVE my CX-7 and wouldn't trade it for another car. Would I like better gas mileage? Sure, but not at the expensive of the car's get-up-and-go. Maybe in a few years time they'll be a hybrid version that still totes good horsepower and I'll be in!
(enguard)
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