A couple of years ago I reviewed the Mazda CX-7 and praised it to the high heavens, with one rather major caveat there was no diesel option.
Instead, it came with Mazda’s 2.3 litre, 256bhp turbo petrol engine, which made it stormingly fast but horrendously uneconomical.
Here, I said, is a car crying out for a diesel and, happily, Mazda have obliged, discontinuing the petrol and replacing it with a 2.2 litre diesel.
Its 171bhp gets it from 0-62mph in a more stately 11.3 seconds (the old fire-breather did it in eight seconds dead) but it pulls well from low down and feels quick enough.
More importantly, fuel economy rises from 27.7mpg (in the real world, more like 23-24) to 37.7mpg and emissions drop from 243 to 199g/km, saving you nearly £200 a year on VED.
That makes it a vastly more attractive prospect.
If I was a grumbler, I’d note it’s still outperformed by rivals such as the BMW X3 18d, which is a second quicker from 0-62mph and returns 45.6mpg. However, it’s a couple of grand more expensive than the Mazda and that’s before the CX-7’s trump card is taken into account.
With the BMW, you could easily spend £5000 or even £10,000 on optional extras, whereas for its £26,995 price tag, the Mazda comes fully loaded.
There’s full leather upholstery, heated electric front seats, xenon headlights, 19-inch alloy wheels, climate control, cruise control, Bose stereo system, sat nav, Bluetooth and more.
As was the case with the car in its original incarnation, the driving experience is excellent.
The CX-7’s ride is wonderfully absorbent, with the impact of pot holes and speed bumps feeling like news from a distant land.