Had mixed feelings! However it is still fun.
Customization is good. The first time I opened the game I took forever trying to decide what to use as a kart. The graphics are pretty have good 3d but they're nothing new. Stages are chosen wisely, majority of them are fun (only a few are boring imo). The character roster is good but could be better. At least you don't see no more uncreative babies filling the roster (theres still a filler around but 1 is less worse than 4).
More importantly Gameplay fun stays the same. The air gliding is a decent new addition. On 3d mode it gives the player awesome visuals. I also give my stamp of approval to the long stages like Wuhu Island, definitly a new and fun twist to the series and my favorite part of the game.
The negative sides of this game are the lack of missions mode from Mario Kart DS. The reason I list that as a con is because Mario Kart 7 is a handheld game and the more things you can do the better (especially true for those that travel). Missions were pretty interesting and I felt they could of been implemented perfectly in this game especially as DLC. The lack of single player is also a little disappointing too. While the roster selection is solid, it is pretty small and some of the newcommers are a big disappointmet especially Metal Mario; if you notice when blooper spills ink on your character especially mario you'll notice thats pretty much metal mario.
It is a fun 3ds racing game and a hell of a lot more fun than Mario Kart Wii (the biggest disappointment to the series imo). Though it feels similar to Mario Kart DS and Wii it offers us a slightly new experience; definitly worth the price. Despite its cons (the only critical one is the missions mode and roster imo) this game offers a solid experience. They did an better job with the character roster as well because it feels alot more Mario themed (thank you for removing babies), though I would of liked if they put a bit more characters (I'd especially like Pauline). The replay value is very high and it doesn't take alot to see why, I highly recommend the game.