Crossing Over [Originally Written 1/8/12]

Taking a trip home to Maui for New Years, I'll usually rent a car from my favorite, Enterprise. Fortunately, they had a good selection and I took the opportunity to drive a new Mazda CX-7. Never drove one before, but on first impression...awesome.

Usually a crossover SUV feels like a regular SUV that lost its balls...like a station wagon to a sedan. The CX-7 on the other hand drove like a car. It was responsive and aggressive for an SUV. It was so easy to drive. I took this thing up to the summit of Haleakala, full of people, and it wasn't a challenge at all.

The engine was a small surprise too. 2.3L turbo i-4...I didn't think an engine like that would have that much kick. Maybe it was the AWD. Though the gas mileage doesn't look like a 2.3L i-4 either...16 MPG is what I clocked. Though that may have been from my trip up the mountain... ^_^;