Mazda’s 2.3L DISI turbo four-cylinder, when paired to this six-speed automatic, displays aggravating turbo lag. Direct injection supposedly cuts this inherent detriment to turbocharged engines, but doesn’t reduce the phenomenon enough in the CX-7’s powertrain. In city driving you’ll get halfway across an intersection before the turbo kicks in and then it’s more aggressive than I’d like. Manually shifting the automatic is made harder by a counterintuitive shift pattern requiring the driver to shift up for a downshift and shift down for an upshift. Once spooled up, this blown motor is entertaining, resulting in our unimpressive gas mileage average of 16.7 mpg.