OVER time making an SUV has become a bit like keeping up with the Jones's as far as car manufacturers are concerned.

Such has been the success of vehicles that were once described as ‘off-roaders' that you weren't really on the ball at all if you weren't making one.

The French might have been latecomers to the party and so too were Mazda with the CX-7.

The big problem with the CX-7 was that for a long time it was only available with a petrol engine.

And it was no ordinary petrol engine either but a whopping great 2.3-litre turbo-powered unit more accustomed to powering sporty saloons like the Mazda6 MPS.

It was a great car and with a dearth of genuinely sporty SUVs - apart from those at the very top end of the market - it would seem to have made sense.

But at the end of the day most SUV buyers want a diesel and Mazda simply didn't provide one.

Now it does and if there's any justice the CX-7 will appeal to a whole legion of new buyers.

While that original CX-7 was described as "an RX-8 on steroids" the diesel powered version is somewhat different.

It's certainly far more sensible and pedestrian but still retains enough of the sporty character of its petrol-powered equivalent to appeal.

Power is delivered smoothly and the 2.2-litre diesel engine has the requisite level of refinement one has come to expect these days.

It handles well, thanks in part to having a smart and flexible four-wheel-drive system, with a commendable degree of stability - to the point where you can still have some fun in it.

Unlike some SUVs you won't be wondering if there's a point at which it could feasibly roll over if you push it too hard through a corner.

It also benefits from a slick six-speed gearbox that feels more like the sort of thing you would find in an MX-5.

It isn't overtly bulky but is still large enough to equal the practicality offered by a big-ish family estate.

It also looks good too - sleek and purposeful and distinctly different to the box-like SUVs styling that is still favoured by some manufacturers.

Even the angle of the windscreen (66 degrees) suggests this is a car designed to be at home on the highway rather than off-road.

In fact the CX-7 has no real off-roading capabilities whatsoever, but that's not the point. Here is a car that offers the practicality and elevated driving position of an SUV without any of the traditional go anywhere ability. It makes perfect sense when you consider 'going anywhere' for most SUVs involves the suburban road network and not much else.