[Fozzie_DeBear]

Well if the main objection that you have is whether or not Mazda's are good cars you can rest assured that they are excellent, well-made cars. The only (minor) point of improvement for the CX-7 that I am aware of is its 'turbo-lag' (according to some). Turbos are little gadgets that boost an engines power, but they take a moment to get working ('spool up'), so when you step on the gas the car feels like it has 100 horsepower...100 horsepower...100 horsepower...244 horsepower (wheee).

Both are excellent cars, they both require premium gas, are really well made and are going to be a blast to drive, subaru's hold their value well when it comes to resale, but have uninspired styling (it grew on me). If I was looking at an automatic SUV I would have a tough time choosing between the two.