For three years now, buyers looking for a sporty carlike midsize SUV under $30,000 have had just one option: the Nissan Murano. Other car-based "crossover" SUVs have come along in that time--the Chevy Equinox and Pontiac Torrent, Chrysler Pacifica, Mitsubishi Endeavor, and Ford Freestyle among them--but none have hit the sportiness mark like the Murano.

CX-7, Mazda's new crossover SUV with the "soul of a sports car," starts at $24,310.

Come the 2007 model year, a slew of vehicles will join that niche. Acura RDX, Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX, and Mitsubishi Outlander all promise carlike road manners with various degrees of sportiness. One other candidate, the Mazda CX-7, is hitting showrooms in spring 2006, and having driven it, we can tell you that Murano has some real competition.

Vehicles like the Mazda CX-7 reflect a new trend in the auto industry. Automakers are filling out their SUV portfolios with newly defined slots: five- and seven-passenger car-based crossover SUVs are joining five- and seven-passenger truck-based SUVs. That leaves up to four midsize SUV slots for each manufacturer. For consumers, this market trend means a shift away from larger gas-guzzling SUVs to more-practical crossovers.

Zoom Zoom
To most of us, Mazda's "Zoom Zoom" and "Soul of a Sports Car" taglines are no more than advertising slogans. Ask a Mazda employee however, and he or she will tell you they mean much more. Mazda engineers and designers kept "Zoom Zoom" in mind when developing the CX-7. "There is no doubt this SUV reflects Zoom Zoom," said vehicle program manager Shunsuke Kawasaki. "CX-7 skillfully blends sports car verve with SUV practicality."

From the firewall forward, CX-7's architecture is much the same as the Mazda 6, Ford Fusion, and Ford Edge. From the firewall back, the architecture shares nothing with those vehicles.

Aiming at the North American market, Mazda started designing the CX-7 using the 1995 Mazda RX01 show car as styling inspiration. Internally, designers referred to their concept as the "Metropolitan Hawk." They eventually settled on a styling theme referred to as "Advanced Frontier," which would combine SUV and sports car traits and incorporate sporty, sturdy, and sleek exterior lines with a relaxed but sporty cockpit.

The final result is sleeker than most SUVs. The windshield's 66-degree rake, in fact, is sleeker than that of most cars. CX-7's 0.34 coefficient of drag is as good as some sports cars and is the best in its class. Inside, the well-bolstered seats, "double roof" instrument cluster, and MX-5 Miata-derived steering wheel all lend a sports car-like flavor.

The "Zoom Zoom" theme extends to the mechanicals. The turbocharged 2.3-liter 4-cylinder engine makes 244 horsepower and mates to Ford's new six-speed automatic transmission. While Mazda offers no manual transmission, a manual shift gate is standard for those who like to choose their own gears. And while the available all-wheel-drive system is front biased, putting all the power to the front under the lightest loads, it sends up to 50 percent of the power to the rear wheels depending on driving conditions.

Center for Excellence
In the year 2000, Ford Motor Company, which owns 33.4 percent of Mazda, tapped Mazda to add a little "Zoom Zoom" to its product portfolio. The two companies agreed that Mazda would be Ford Motor Company's "Center for Excellence" for the development of C/D-class car and SUV architecture, as well as for the MZR large-displacement four-cylinder engine. (C/D-class cars, like the midsize Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, are the heart of the market.)

Mazda's MZR 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine makes 244 horsepower in the CX-7. Click on image for a video of the engine in action.

The first results of this agreement were the Mazda 6 and its base 2.3-liter four-cylinder dual-overhead cam engine, both of which made their debut for the 2003 model year. The Mazda 6 C/D platform proved to be a hit and went on to be used for the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ.

The CX-7 is related to the Mazda 6's C/D architecture, but can't be considered a full- fledged C/D platform. While it is much the same from the firewall forward, the unibody design is unique from the firewall back.

Mazda engineers kept the "Soul of a Sports Car" theme in mind when tuning the suspension, but at the same time made use of existing parts and technologies. The McPherson strut front suspension is from the Japanese edition of the MPV minivan. CX-7's multilink independent rear suspension is similar to that of the Mazda 3 and Mazda 5. Ventilated antilock disc brakes are found at all four corners, 11.2-inch diameter up front, 11.8-inch at the rear. The variable assist power steering is engine-speed sensitive and requires but a quick 2.9 turns lock to lock. Traction control and Mazda's Dynamic Stability Control antiskid system are standard. And the power is put to the ground through 235/60R18 tires rated up to 130 mph.

While the Mazda 6 was the first application of the four-valves-per-cylinder 2.3-liter MZR engine, it soon found its way into Ford's Escape, Focus, Fusion, and Ranger, as well as the Mazda 3, B-Series truck, and Tribute. Other versions were offered in Europe and Japan (1.6 and 1.8 liters), and a 2.0-liter version came on line in the United States in the 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata.

The CX-7 uses the next evolution of the MZR engine. Introduced in the MazdaSpeed 6, the MZR 2.3 DISI (Direct Injection Spark Ignition) is turbocharged and features Mazda's first-ever use of a direct-injection system on a gasoline engine.

Left: The "double roof" instrument panel lends a sporty flavor that is enhanced by the steering wheel from the Mazda MX-5 Miata. Right: The CX-7 has 30 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats. The rear seats split 60/40 and fold down to expand cargo room to 58.6 cubic feet.

The main difference between direct injection and port injection is where the fuel is squirted into each cylinder. A port-injection system squirts the fuel into an intake manifold. From there, it flows--with the air sucked in through the throttle body--to the cylinder. In a direct-injection engine, the fuel is sprayed directly into the cylinder. Compared to port injection, direct-injection produces fewer emissions, provides more power, and delivers that power quicker.

It is especially useful on a turbocharged engine because it helps to eliminate turbo lag--a lapse in power delivery due to a wait for the turbo to scroll up. Direct injection's one drawback is that it requires the fuel to be squirted at a much higher rate than port injection (1,600 psi vs. 40-60 psi). The higher required pressure results in higher manufacturing costs and slightly more engine noise.

In the 3100-pound MazdaSpeed 6, the MZR 2.3 DISI makes 274 horsepower. The 3900-pound CX-7 requires more immediate power to get moving, so Mazda has tuned this version for 244 horses and moved the power band down to provide more torque at lower engine speeds.

What's Next?
Several more products from the Ford-Mazda agreement are on the way. The Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX, both five-passenger crossover SUVs, will use a modified version of the C/D architecture starting this fall, and Mazda's own CX-9, a seven-passenger crossover that Mazda says will be the largest vehicle it's ever made, will use a further modified version of the C/D platform when it debuts in early 2007.

All of these crossover SUVs promise carlike road manners and plenty of utility. Made possible by the cooperation of two automakers working together, they will provide Mazda and Ford Motor Company with vital entries into growing segments of the SUV market.

Now on showroom floors, the Mazda CX-7 is the first of this new group of car-based crossover SUVs. Well-equipped and attractively priced from $24,310, the CX-7 should give the Murano a run for its mone