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The women were unhappy. I had done a “typical man thing.” I had acted without consulting them, without giving them a choice, a chance to demur.

They were right. I was guilty, although I felt no guilt for much of the 600-mile journey here from our home in Northern Virginia.

There were several available vehicles in our driveway, including the squishy-soft but quite luxurious Hyundai Azera sedan and the Mazda CX-7 midsize crossover sport-utility vehicle.

The women wanted squishy-soft. But I was the driver. I love driving, especially long distances. I love zoom-zoom. I hate squishy-soft.

I chose the CX-7.

Initially, the anger of my wife and two daughters was cloaked in icy silence. That was a good thing. I don’t like noise and chatter when I’m behind the wheel. I want to concentrate on the road, the ambient traffic, the feel and performance of the vehicle at hand.

The CX-7, Mazda’s answer to the recent proliferation of crossover utility vehicles, felt good, almost as good as a super-tight, well-tuned sports car. My pleasure in the performance should have been a warning, a signal for me to soften my obstinate rebellion against the women, maybe to apologize or in some other way make nice.

But I was enjoying myself too much, especially on those roads where the legal speed limit is 70 miles per hour and where everyone, it seems, drives at least 10 miles per hour faster than the posted speed.

The 2.3-liter, direct-injection, turbocharged, four-cylinder, 244-horsepower engine in the CX-7 was kicking tailpipe and taking names. Zoom-zoom! Hot dog! Zoom-zoom all the way!

Have you ever been on a road trip with three angry women? They are ice-capped volcanoes waiting to erupt as one, shattering their initial silence with flaming invective, smothering your ego and psyche beneath the hot lava of their words.

“I hate these seats!”

This came from the youngest of my daughters, Kafi, who now works as a TV reporter in New York.

“This is the most uncomfortable car I’ve ever been in,” said Binta, her older sister and a lawyer, also in New York.

“It’s not a car,” I corrected. “It’s a crossover sport-utility vehicle, sort of a combination station wagon and SUV.”

Icy silence. And then this from Binta in the tone of a prosecutor going in for the kill: “I don’t care what you call it. I call it uncomfortable, very uncomfortable. Do you understand that?”

I waited for my wife, Mary Anne, to add her nasty bit. She did not disappoint.

“We’re supposed to be driving to a graduation. But these seats are so hard, this ride is so uncomfortable, I feel like we’re being transported to an execution.”

Ouch!

As I said, I should have been warned by my thorough enjoyment of the CX-7. Sports vehicles drive and feel hard, because their drivers want them to drive and feel that way.

In its fanatical dedication to all things zoom-zoom, Mazda Motor Corp. has turned the CX-7, available with front-wheel-drive or with the tested all-wheel-drive system, into an elongated sports car.

The problem is that sports cars are inherently selfish, tending to all of the needs of the driver while treating the wants of passengers as afterthoughts. I loved the CX-7’s attitude. The women didn’t.

The next time we come down here for a family event, I’ll drive . . . and put them on a plane.

Nuts & Bolts
2007 Mazda CX-7

Complaints: The CX-7’s success is also its failure. Mazda succeeded in turning this one into “a driver’s SUV.” But the CX-7’s sports-tuned suspension, in conjunction with its firm, tightly fitting seats, means that it is less than ideal as a passenger’s SUV. Also, this one requires premium fuel.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Excellent in all three categories from the driver’s perspective. But passengers found the ride dismally poor.

Head-turning quotient: The CX-7 is a welcome departure from the traditional boxy styling of sport-utility vehicles and related crossover models. I particularly like the sleek, sporty look of the front end.

Body style/layout: The Mazda CX-7 is a midsize, front-engine, front-wheel-drive crossover utility vehicle. It is also available with all-wheel-drive.

Engine/transmission: The 2.3-liter, 16-valve, turbocharged, in-line four-cylinder engine develops 244 horsepower at 5,000 revolutions per minute and 258 foot-pounds of torque at 2,500 rpm. The engine is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission that also can be shifted manually.

Capacities: The CX-7 has seating for five people. Maximum cargo capacity is 59 cubic feet. It can be equipped to tow up to 2,000 pounds. Fuel capacity is 18.3 gallons. Premium unleaded gasoline is required.

Mileage: I averaged 22 miles per gallon.

Safety: Front and rear ventilated disc brakes with anti-lock protection, traction and stability control, and side and head air bags.

Price: The base price of the 2007 Mazda CX-7 with all-wheel drive is $28,000. Dealer’s invoice price on that model is $26,188. Price as tested is $32,565, including $4,005 in options (power moon roof, six-disc in-dash CD player, navigation system with rearview camera, keyless entry) and a $560 destination charge. Dealer’s price as tested is $30,232.

Purse-strings note: Compare with Nissan Murano, Saturn Vue, Toyota RAV-4, Hyundai Santa Fe, Honda CR-V.