Weekend Athlete: 2008 Mazda CX-7

Cargo-carrying is really what these tests are about, and here the CX-7 really excelled. Surprisingly, there’s a cargo shade that I can actually live with. I fit gear under it easily without removing it. Even with it in place, there’s room for camping gear for four people.

The real standout for me was the bike test, and it handled my 58-cm bike frame (on the large-ish side) without having to remove a wheel. The cargo opening was also really wide; sometimes I have to tilt the bike to get my seatpost past the opening, but not here. As always, you should measure your bike and check when you test-drive, but I think even extremely tall folks with ‘cross bikes or mountain bikes will be OK.

As a nice bonus, the seats flopped over with just a press of a button from the back of the cargo area — one of the easiest setups I’ve seen recently.

There were two major faults, though, and they might be related. There was a big blind spot because of where the A-pillar was. It didn’t feel unsafe, and it might be the kind of thing you get used to the longer you drive, but I did notice it in my brief CX-7 drive.

The other problem was I couldn’t quite get the seat right. When my legs were comfortable, I felt like I had to reach my arms out straighter than I normally like them. After some fiddling I can usually get a seat how I like it, but for whatever reason that wasn’t the case here. I’m not sure I would enjoy driving the CX-7 after a full day of swimming or anything else that tires my arms out.

So what the CX-7 really illustrates is the importance of a nice, long test drive. This car is practical, but it wouldn’t do you any good if it were uncomfortable to drive.

Weekend Athlete Scores (out of 10)

Ease of loading gear — 8: There’s plenty of cargo room and the shade doesn’t interfere – nice.

Ease of seat operation —– 8: Push a button and over they flop, though you might have to move the front seat forward a bit.

Bike hauling — 9: I’m a sucker for anything that means I don’t have to take a wheel off.

Locker room cred — 8: It looks sporty and fast, and it doesn’t saddle itself down with silly exterior features.

All-around — 8.5: As I say, you need to test-drive this car to see if it works for you, but it’s one of the few SUV/crossovers I really enjoyed driving.