Simple, but deceptively sporty

Most Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) are promoted on their off-road ability - even though the vast majority of 4x4s are never taken off the beaten track by their owners.

Not the new CX-7 from Mazda. This is a car which was honed on a track rather than half way up a mountain - and Mazda is keen to stress its sporting abilities.

It's a five-seater SUV with plenty of comfort and convenience features - but it also boasts a 260hp engine under its bonnet, which enables it to hit 60mph in under eight seconds.

The range is simple: there's just one model with one trim level. Most creature comforts are taken care of as standard: you get heated leather seats, climate control air conditioning, cruise control and a Bose sound system included in the asking price of £23,960 on the road.

Just about the only extra you might need is metallic or mica paint.

The 2.3 litre turbo-charged power plant comes from the Mazda 6 MPS, as does the permanent four-wheel drive system. There's a six-speed manual gearbox.

The car is manufactured in Japan and already on sale in the USA. However, for the European and UK markets changes have been made to best suit the demands of local consumers.

Following extensive testing on the Nurburgring the suspension set-up has been re-tuned for European roads and delivers handling agility which Mazda says is unmatched in its class.

The CX-7's boot is large and flexible. With the rear seats up, the boot is more than 100cm long, large enough to carry three golf bags, with a load volume of 455 litres.

The split rear seats can be folded 60:40 using Mazda's unique Karakuri system with a one-touch rear seat back release located in the boot trim. With the back seats folded, load space is increased to 774 litres.

The boot floor has a reversible water-proof trunk board made of robust plastic so muddy boots can be transported without staining the carpet.

Customers can choose between five exterior colours (solid Brilliant Black, metallic Graphite Silver and three Mica colours - Aurora Blue, Copper Red, Galaxy Grey) and two interior colours - with Black or Stone leather upholstery.

There's also a range of options such as front and rear parking sensors, satellite navigation, a roof carrier and detachable tow-bar.

Mazda UK expects to sell between 1,000 and 1,500 CX-7s in the UK over a full year.

By Motoring Editor Peter Carroll