LOOKING for a stylish SUV that's packed full of attitude, then Mazda's CX-7 could just be the machine.

The Japanese marque's crossover offers something that's just a little bit different from the norm, thanks to its sports car handling coupled with the usual imposing road presence you expect from vehicles of this ilk.

To achieve the car's superb road-holding and handling agility,  the fully-independent suspension set-up has been tuned specifically for European roads, giving it an advantage over most other cars in its class.

Under the bonnet sits Mazda's latest 170-brake, 2.2-litre diesel unit mated to a six-speed gearbox which pumps out 400Nm of grunt from a lowly 2,000revs.

This in turn can propel the big machine to 62mph from standing in 11.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 124mph.

These figures also mean the CX-7 makes a great towing vehicle, a fact recognised by Practical Caravan, What Car? magazine and the Camping and Caravanning Club, who named it Best in Class in the 1725-1899kg category at last year's towcar awards ceremony.

Unique in this important, yet highly-competitive sector, Mazda offer the CX-7 in just one high-end specification, which includes leather upholstery, climate control, 19-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats and a nine-speaker BOSE surround sound audio system,

Inside the cabin, there's masses of space for five adults, while there's a decent-sized boot which can accommodate 455 litres of luggage even with the 60-40-split rear seats in place.

With the back seats folded, this extends to a true load-lugging 774 litres, but sadly there's a lip to the bottom of the boot opening which makes loading and unloading mountain bikes and larger, heavier items a bit of a nuisance.

Built in Japan, the original CX-7 was a mega hit in the States, and with this new diesel-powered model, Mazda have set their sights on making bigger inroads into the UK and European markets.

With its near 38mpg fuel economy, the big Mazda can't be criticised from that aspect, but fleet managers and business users will struggle to justify the CX-7's relatively-high 199g/km of CO2 emissions.

From a safety point of view, the car's stability control system and variable four-wheel-drive system helps glue the car to the black stuff, while the CX-7 includes a new emergency stop signalling system which automatically activates the hazard warning lights should the driver brake abruptly.  

Other features include lane-changing and blind-spot warning, anti-lock braking system, traction control, dynamic stability control, electronic brake-force distribution and emergency brake assist.

And like most Mazdas, the CX-7 is equipped with a full array of front, side and curtain airbags along with front seatbelt pre-tensioners and load-limiters.