My early production 2007 Mazda CX7 is the reason that I have a Venza today. Check CR's Reliability Ratings for the 2007 model year - mostly black circles the last time that I looked. During its initial offering it was a CR's Recommended Buy but fell off after a couple of years; however, reliability did improve dramatically in later model years. It was a nice, sporty CUV actually, with fantastic brakes but I couldn't live with wondering what major component was going to fail next.

This was a fine example of bringing a new model to the marketplace a year too early. Based on what I saw with mine & others on the auto forums, it cost this manufacturer a bundle in warranty work...

TAM