Mazda CX-7 reviews

2008 Mazda CX-7 Interior Features

The interior makes no less of a statement than the exterior, and with much the same result. Some parts seem to work, others not so well. Importing styling elements and even components from other Mazdas no doubt makes sense in terms of cost savings and even consistency of so-called DNA but doesn't always yield the desired harmony in look, feel, and function.

The dash is a prime example. Some parts look right, while others come across almost as an exercise in Design 101, and not much of it looks of a piece with the rest. For starters there's what Mazda calls the double-roof instrument panel. Translated, this constitutes, first, a ridge stretching across the top of the dash that's supposed to make the front seat passenger feel included in the interior's dynamic. Below this floating lip is the second part, a more traditional dash construct comprising three elements: the instrument cluster, the center stack and the section holding the passenger airbag and housing the glove box. This lower part, the designers say, is intended to play to the driver, concentrating on the interfaces necessary for managing the car. All the pieces for this are there, so the job is doable, but the way everything is put together doesn't make it all that easy or appear that seamlessly integrated.

Beyond the quirky design, the instrument cluster is deeply hooded, stylishly compartmentalized and softly lit to the point where it's not a quick and easy scan. The steering wheel, borrowed directly from the sporty MX-5 Miata with its much more confined cockpit, feels undersized in the more expansive interior of the CX-7.

Large buttons and knobs populate the stack of air conditioning and sound system controls in the center, but their arrangement and assigned functions are far from intuitive. The optional navigation system only adds complexity, as it incorporates many of those functions into one of the menus accessed only through the touch-screen LCD and, for example, allows switching preset radio stations by exchanging the map display for the audio display. And although the Sport shift slot is properly placed on the driver's side of the primary shift gate, gear selection feels backwards (to some of us), as you push up to shift down and pull down to shift up.

This isn't to say the dash/driver interface is dysfunctional, but only that it's not as good as Mazda has done. Where other car makers are trending toward simplicity and sleekness, the CX-7 has gone chunky and choppy. Overall, the cabin doesn't seem as friendly and as functional as its primary competition, the Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4.

In interior accommodations, the CX-7 splits the difference between the Honda and Toyota in front-seat legroom, rear-seat headroom, and in hip room, front and rear. The Mazda finishes last in front-seat headroom and rear-seat legroom, the latter a true dead last by a substantial two inches.

As for how those seats fit, the bottom cushions offer slightly more thigh support than, say, economy class airline seats, which is to say more would definitely be better. Substantial front-seat side bolsters are fitting for a vehicle with sporty aspirations. And the nicely padded, front seat center armrest sits about the same height as the front door armrests, promising comfortable postures for long drives.

The rear seats favor two passengers over three, an impression reinforced by the decently contoured seatback and the absence of a head restraint for the center seating position. The CX-7's competitiveness in rear seat headroom is no doubt facilitated by the shallowness of the rear seat bottom cushion and by the closeness of that cushion to the floor, the latter evidenced by the proximity of the rear seat passenger's knees to chin. Visibility is best out the front, as the kicked-up beltline and tapered cabin constrict vision toward the rear. Even with the driver's seat at its highest adjustment, however, the h