There’s no tougher practicality test for a long-term test car than taking the Young family on holiday, and recently it was the Mazda CX-7’s turn to take up the challenge.
As anyone with a family knows, going on a holiday by car can be a stressful experience even before you set off. This is thanks to the ritual that is packing everything you need for the week into a space that, in my case, is almost never big enough. I’m convinced the amount of clobber we take just expands to fill the space available.
In its sector, the CX-7’s official boot size (455 litres) isn’t that big – a Volvo XC60 comes in at 495 litres and the Land Rover Freelander has a whopping 755 litres of space – but the boot’s square shape means you can still fit in a great deal. In our case it swallowed enough for two adults and two kids (including a decidedly bulky three-wheel pram) all below the parcel shelf.
The CX-7 then took us in great comfort and refinement 1200 miles to the north-east coast of Scotland and back. What’s more, it averaged 35.5mpg, which is up on the total average of 34.5mpg.
That’s nothing short of impressive and a test passed with flying colours.
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