The Importance of Reliable Cars for Long-Term Adventures

While filming a series of Fifth Gear, we cover over 25,000 miles in just a few months, and having a couple of hard-working, reliable cars to get us through is absolutely essential. Our new Master CX-7 is the first of the cars we've got for this series.

The Master CX-7: A Comprehensive Review

Our Master CX-7 costs £26,000 as a 2.2 litre turbo diesel engine and it's four-wheel drive. We were pleasantly surprised by how well-equipped it is, with features such as a reversing camera, sat-nav, cruise control, heated seats, and leather upholstery – all of which make it seem like pretty good value next to a normal estate like the Master 6 or Mondeo.

Agility and Fun in an Off-Roader

We were also surprised by how agile the CX-7 is. You can sense a little bit more lean through the corners because of the high ride height, which makes it stand out from other estates on the road. And yes, you can have a little bit of fun driving a big off-roader – there weren't many complaints about the way it drives so far. The only two real complaints were that the steering is a little too light and that some people said the car's gear changes are a little stiff and notchy. However, I don't agree with the latter point; in fact, I think it's one of the sneakiest tightest gear changes you can get in an off-roader.

Engine Options: Petrol vs Diesel

It's worth noting that until late last year, the CX-7 could only be had with a 2.3 litre turbocharged petrol engine out of a Master three-MPs. However, they've now face-lifted it and the only engine option available is this 2.2 litre turbo diesel. The diesel engine is slightly noisier than before and obviously not as quick as the petrol engine, but overall we've averaged an impressive 30.3 miles per gallon – considering how hard we use it, that's actually pretty good.

Practicality and Features

Other points to note include a decently sized boot that's also at an easy height for lugging in heavy camera kits. It's also fitted with an ADEPT Blue system, which uses liquid chemical made up of urea and deionized water to reduce nitrogen oxides that diesel engines emit a lot of. There's also a little 15 litre tank hiding around here somewhere; these tanks are refilling every 20,000 miles and will be taken care of at service.

Our First Impressions

Overall, we've had very good first impressions with the Master CX-7 – it's nice to drive, with plenty of space for equipment. The ADEPT Blue system is also a big plus in terms of reducing pollution. We'll upload a new video explaining what we've learned and how we're getting on as we continue to use the car throughout our series.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhile filming a series of fifth gear we cover over 25,000 miles in just a few months so having a couple of hard-working reliable cars to get us through is absolutely essential the first of the cars we've got for this series is the master c x7 it costs 26,000 pounds as a 2.2 litre turbo diesel engine and it's four-wheel drive our new master has already seen its first fifth gear days out being a filming car on Tiff's Aston Martin Rapide shoot and coming to the rescue with battery power with Vicki drove and Mugen civic type-r the first thing we noticed when we had it delivered a couple of weeks ago it was how well equipped it is to get a reversing camera sat-nav cruise control heated seats leather all the standard which makes it seem pretty good value next to a normal estate like the master 6 or Mondeo the second thing we noticed is how agile it is you can sense a little bit more lean through the corners because of the high ride type / standard the state car but I think we've all been surprised by the fact that you can have a little bit of fun driving a big off-roader there were only been two real complaints about the way it drives so far the first one is that the steering's a little bit too light and I think I agree with that the second one is that a couple of people said they've changed is a little bit stiff and a little bit notchy I don't agree I actually think it's one of the sneakiest tightest gear changes you can get in an off-roader there's one of my favourite bits the car until late last year you could only have a cx-7 with the 2.3 liter turbocharged petrol engine out of a master three MPs but now they face lifted it the only engine you can have is this 2.2 liter turbo diesel it's a little bit noisier than it was before and obviously not as quick as a petrol but overall we've averaged 30 3.1 miles per gallon which considering how hard we use it is actually pretty good other points to note include a decently sized boot that is also at an easy height for lugging in heavy camera kits it's also fitted with an ADD blue system at blue is a liquid chemical that's made up of urea and deionized water which basically means it's way and that gets added to the exhaust gasses to reduce nitrogen oxides that Diesel's especially emit a lot off apparently there's a little 15 litre tank hiding around here somewhere then these are refilling every 20,000 miles they'll get taken care of at service i've rule then very good first impressions nice to drive plant the equipment loads of space and a little pot of piddle to keep the pollution down once you spend a little bit more time with it we'll upload a new video explaining what we've learnt and how we're getting on youwhile filming a series of fifth gear we cover over 25,000 miles in just a few months so having a couple of hard-working reliable cars to get us through is absolutely essential the first of the cars we've got for this series is the master c x7 it costs 26,000 pounds as a 2.2 litre turbo diesel engine and it's four-wheel drive our new master has already seen its first fifth gear days out being a filming car on Tiff's Aston Martin Rapide shoot and coming to the rescue with battery power with Vicki drove and Mugen civic type-r the first thing we noticed when we had it delivered a couple of weeks ago it was how well equipped it is to get a reversing camera sat-nav cruise control heated seats leather all the standard which makes it seem pretty good value next to a normal estate like the master 6 or Mondeo the second thing we noticed is how agile it is you can sense a little bit more lean through the corners because of the high ride type / standard the state car but I think we've all been surprised by the fact that you can have a little bit of fun driving a big off-roader there were only been two real complaints about the way it drives so far the first one is that the steering's a little bit too light and I think I agree with that the second one is that a couple of people said they've changed is a little bit stiff and a little bit notchy I don't agree I actually think it's one of the sneakiest tightest gear changes you can get in an off-roader there's one of my favourite bits the car until late last year you could only have a cx-7 with the 2.3 liter turbocharged petrol engine out of a master three MPs but now they face lifted it the only engine you can have is this 2.2 liter turbo diesel it's a little bit noisier than it was before and obviously not as quick as a petrol but overall we've averaged 30 3.1 miles per gallon which considering how hard we use it is actually pretty good other points to note include a decently sized boot that is also at an easy height for lugging in heavy camera kits it's also fitted with an ADD blue system at blue is a liquid chemical that's made up of urea and deionized water which basically means it's way and that gets added to the exhaust gasses to reduce nitrogen oxides that Diesel's especially emit a lot off apparently there's a little 15 litre tank hiding around here somewhere then these are refilling every 20,000 miles they'll get taken care of at service i've rule then very good first impressions nice to drive plant the equipment loads of space and a little pot of piddle to keep the pollution down once you spend a little bit more time with it we'll upload a new video explaining what we've learnt and how we're getting on you\n"