Mazda, long a maker of sedans and minivans that are wannabe sports cars (and, of course, sports cars that are sports cars), now offers a crossover SUV that wants to be more than just another clumsy family hauler.

And it succeeds.
The CX-7 is enjoyable to drive - as are most Mazdas. Its little four-cylinder turbocharged engine delivers an amazing amount of power nicely distributed around the tachometer. Front bucket seats do a nice job of keeping driver and shotgun passenger in place and of delaying fatigue. The tester's interior materials looked rich and its layout was driver-oriented - simple, logical and with no fussy controls to distract.

My tester stickered at just more than $30,000 equipped with everything but the kitchen sink (and a navigation system and rear seat DVD player). The navi is available in a $4,000 package. Rear seat entertainment is not available. The CX-7 has the federal government's highest rating for the vehicle's protection of occupants in frontal and side impact crashes - five stars.

But the CX-7 has its downside; as is so often the case, the price of the good handling that makes the driver's job so much easier and so much fun in the CX-7 is a ride that's very firm, rendering the 7 a better vehicle for local shopping trips or shuttling the kids around town than for long drives. Adding to its less-than-ideal suitability for extended trips is substantial tire and road noise entering the cabin.

In a sense, one of this vehicle's strengths - its Mazda nameplate - also is a downside. Mazda is a relatively smaller player here, outsold nine to one by Toyota, for example. You won't see yourself coming and going in any Mazda and that's good. But you won't find as many Mazda dealerships, either, within driving distance of your home, for sales and for servicing.

Further, what they lack in numbers, Mazda dealers don't seem as a group to make up for with superior customer service; J.D. Power and Associates, the market researchers, rank Mazda dealers way below the industry average - and Mazda vehicles, too, for that matter, although Power has no survey data yet specifically for the CX-7.

On sale since the spring, the CX-7 is not be confused with two smaller wagons sold by Mazda, the 5 compact five-door and the 6 station wagon; the Tribute (a clone of the Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner), or the larger, seven-passenger CX-9. The 9, which was to have gone on sale at the end of last month, shares basics with the CX-7. (The Mazda Navajo, derived from the two-door Ford Explorer, is long gone.)

The CX-9 costs about $5,000 more than the CX-7, has a V-6 and is almost 16 inches longer.

Still, it's worth noting if you'll be hauling lots of people and or stuff that the CX-7 is longer and more powerful than its two archrivals, the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V.

The CX-7 is offered in front- or all-wheel-drive configuration. Prices start at $24,310 with freight for a front-drive version with air conditioning, four-wheel disc brakes with antilock, stability and traction control; front, side and curtain type air bags; variable assist power steering; 18-inch-diameter wheels with all-season tires; cruise control; power windows, mirrors and locks; and automatic transmission. No stick shift is offered.

There are three progressively more expensive equipment levels - Sport, Touring and Grand Touring - with base prices as high as $28,560.

Opting for the Touring edition adds leather trim for the seats, steering wheel and shift knob; power adjustment of the driver's seat; heated front seats; and a retractable cargo cover.

The Grand Touring models, which I sampled, have leather upholstery with black seat stripes, high intensity discharge headlamps, fog lamps, body-color mirrors, chrome door handles and automatic interior climate control.

Front-drive versions are estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to average 19 miles per gallon in the city and 24 on the highway. Knock off one city mile per gallon for the all-wheel-drive versions. An 18-gallon tank holds the fuel.

Mazda stylists have tried hard to get away from the box-on-wheels look with techniques like the gentle upsweep of the window line midway through the rear doors. The steeply raked windshield is another racy touch but one that inevitably impairs visibility during turns, when the sharply angled front roof support posts get in the way.

The 2.3-liter engine is derived from the one in the Mazdaspeed 6 sedan and reaches its peak of 244 hp. at 5,000 rpm. Unfortunately, it needs premium, 91-octane, fuel because of its high compression.

The nervous six-speed automatic is prone to what seem like unnecessary downshifts in highway driving, particularly on upgrades, a well-intentioned effort to help the driver maintain speed uphill. The unit can be slap shifted manually via the console-mounted gearshift lever.

The multilink rear suspension is apt to do a slight sidestep if a bump is encountered during hard cornering.

One other specific complaint: The electroluminescent dashboard gauges' red backlighting is too dim for when rain requires the use of headlamps during daylight.
The CX-7 can tow up to 2,000 pounds when properly equipped, Mazda says.

The second-row seatback in the five-passenger CX-7 folds down in the conventional 60-40 split to increase cargo space. With the seatbacks down, items as long as 70 inches will fit inside with the tailgate closed.
The lockable center console can swallow a compact laptop computer. Front door pockets can hold beverage bottles. There are two cup holders in the center console, as well.

As noted, the CX-7 is too new to have established a track record for reliability. And the Insurance Institute Institute for Highway Safety, whose safety criteria are tougher than the federal government's, has yet to weigh in on the CX-7.

But, despite the lack of enthusiasm for Mazda by the respondents to J.D. Power's various surveys, Consumer Reports generally finds Mazda's vehicles average to much better than average. That's encouraging and so is Mazda's six-year/60,000-mile warranty on the powertrain.

A final note if you're shopping for a small SUV: An even newer entry worth checking out is the Ford Edge, derived from the same basic "architecture" as the CX-7, CX-9, and several Ford, Mercury, Lincoln and Mazda cars). A review of it ran in this space Dec. 8. And by the time you read this, the insurance institute will have announced that it had named the Edge a "top safety pick" for its overall crash protection.

2007 Mazda CX-7 Grand Touring AWD

Vehicle tested:

Engine: 2.3-liter, four-cylinder, turbocharged, 244 hp.

Torque: 258 pound-feet at 2,500 rpm

Fuel: Premium (91 octane)

Transmission: Six-speed automatic, all-wheel drive

Safety: Dual front, seat-mounted side and curtain-type air bags; four-wheel disc brakes with antilock and stability control; fog lamps; tire pressure monitor

Place of assembly: Hiroshima, Japan

Weight: 3,929 pounds

Cargo Room: rear seatbacks up/down, cubic feet: 29.9/ 58.6

EPA fuel economy rating: 18 mpg city, 24 highway

Price as driven: $30,180, including destination charge