I own a 2010 CX-7 GX w/Luxury package, identical to the one you tried here. I put 7000 km on it since taking delivery, and I'm completely satisfied with it. It feels very safe on snow too, even without AWD.
Mostly driving in the city, I average 10.6L/100km on the OEM wheels and tires. My Blizzak WS-70 snow tires on 17" Mazda3 OEM alloys combined with Quebec winter conditions can push that average to 12.6L/100km.
My main request to Mazda Canada : please offer a more complete luxury package, with the Bose stereo, backup camera, foglights and HID headlights from the GT version. Americans can get all this with the base engine at a decent price. Why can't we?