We just bought a new Mazda5 Touring edition to replace our gas guzzling daily driven F150 Supercrew 4x4, and so far we are anything but disappointed.
It's only been three full days since we brought it home, but having put 337 miles on our first tank of gas (still over 1/4 tank left), we were pleased to discover upon refilling that we were already hypermiling it! No fancy techniques were used aside from a couple of FAS's and generally good economical driving habits such as moderate acceleration, keeping the revs down, and not speeding on the highway. Still, it's one slippery car that feels like it would be just as at home going 90mph as it is at 55.
DRIVETRAIN: The one gripe some reviewers have had about the Mazda5 that we were prepared for is a lack of power. Too bad we disagree!
While the 153HP it is rated at is below the mark of even your typical minivan and the same as the significantly lighter 3 series upon which it is based, it's still only moving 3330 lbs of car, which is more than adequate to accelerate and merge with normal everyday traffic and likely capable of propelling it to well over 100 MPH. We won't be passing any STis or Corvettes with it, but we'll be hauling up to 6 people and not interested in risking life and limb to get places a few seconds faster thank you very much! Even shifting at between 3000-3500 rpm, short of the 6500 rpm redline, provides more than adequate merging power. And the 5-speed manual transmission is smooth shifting through all of it, although my wife has had issues getting it into reverse while stopped.
INTERIOR: What we especially like about this vehicle aside from the good balance of power and fuel economy is the layout and versatility of the interior. It seats up to 6 (European and Asian versions seat up to 7), and all but the front seats fold down completely flat to permit a large loading area. I would not charachterize it as overly spacious however, as even with the seat fully back, I could use another inch of legroom for my 34" inseam. Regardless, around town it is not an issue and I have not complaints after driving for an hour straight this afternoon. Head and shoulder room however is adequate, but dimensions for passengers shrink progressively toward the rear, although 2 adults could sit in the 2nd row with little if any discomfort. The rear most seats are strictly for people 5' and under if you have anybody of any stature in the 2nd row however. Regardless, with 2 kids in the 2nd row and one in the back, the 'stop touching me!' occurrances have so far been kept to a minimum. Even our bulldog was relatively happy with one of the 3rd row seats folded flat for her to lay on. We also really like having the sliding rear doors, although Mazda could improve them slightly with a power opening and closing option, as despite their relatively small size, they are still a bit heavy for kids to open or close with the car parked on any significant hill.
We are still getting used to where everything is in the car, but most controls seem reasonably placed and it is nice to have stereo and cruise control operations within thumbs reach on the steering wheel. Our only gripe so far here is that MP3 capability is not standard on the 6-disc changer and is a $450 upgrade! That's pretty ridiculous in my opinion, but at least there are other options that will integrate an ipod or USB drive control into the system and stereo display - albeit with limited folder and track information. But considering that one could store their entire music collection on an ipod, or USB thumb or disk drive, not futzing with MP3 CD-Rs actually seems like it may be a benefit given how picky some MP3 CD players are about the disks they will play. Regardless, the sound of the six speaker system should keep the average listener happy.
EXTERIOR: This is one of those things where the more closely I look, the more I discover how much thought Mazda put into making sure that this minivan/minwagon was as slippery on the highway as practical. In macro, the overall profile of the car suggests a very smooth aerodynamic shape from the front of the hoodline all of the way to the spoiler over the rear glass, with a nice smooth side body having minimal wheel arches extending into the airstream. Looking closer however, it's clear that Mazda put attention into some smaller less obvious details.
The front fascia alone is a study in directing airflow to where it is needed most. On either side within the lower grille opening are splitters for directing air into the fender wells, toward the throttle intake, and ultimately out into the fenders where it appears to be useful for improved brake cooling and likely reduced turbulence at the front wheels. Looking into the upper grille opening, airflow is split horizontally between the radiator and just under the cowl where some of the air is ducted in to vent the sealed battery box.
Inspection of the underside of the car revealed similar attention to detail, and although there are still some of the typically rough areas around things like the exhaust and suspension present, it appears to be well thought out. From the front spoiler moving back, there is a complete engine undertray with several roughly 2" wide NACA style ducts placed in it to draw air up into the engine area before venting to the rear at the front subframe. Looking to the sides, there are also spoilers that protrude down a couple of inches just ahead of the front wheels. Further back, the unibody itself provides most of the air contact surface on each side of the exhaust tunnel which is open except for several cross-braces until it passes the rear suspension. Still, there are spats(?) just ahead of the rear axle that appear to be intended to generate vorticies just ahead of the rear suspension for some reason.
In a nutshell, I doubt that there is much any of us could do to improve undercarriage aerodynamics, short of lowering, without having other possibly detrimental affects. Perhaps the only obvious aero improvement would be to add rear wheel well covers and place a belly pan between the otherwise open rear axle to bumper area.
ON THE ROAD: It's easy for one to forget they are driving a minivan, wagon, or whatever you want to call it. This vehicle just plain feels like a compact car. It handles far better than the 2000 Focus sedan that we gave up 3 years ago - even after we upgraded the springs and shocks. The 5 is just fun to drive on roads with curves.
It's certainly not the noisiest car I've ever owned either, but I give it a score of slightly better than the average compact, and in line with what you get with most vehicles in this price range. Much of the noise and vibration can probably be attributed to the 50 series V-rated rubber however. It's a rare car that is whisper quiet with barely 2" of v-rated sidwall on it's wheels. Wind noise is virtually absent (or at least we don't notice it over the road noise).
Best of all on the road however, as I opened this review with, is fuel economy. With 80% highway and a mixed bag of spring weather, we managed to beat the EPA estimate for our first tank by 20%, or 3 mpg. We hypermiled without really trying! I can only imagine what's possible if we get aggressive about it. Even so, I believe that puts this vehicle at the top of the minivan class for economy. That's not bad for giving up a seat or two and the extra power those other vans are available with. But I suppose if you need to seat 7 in the US at least, you're just plainscrewed on that one.
SUMMARY: We think it's a winner. For the sub $20,000 price we paid for it, we don't believe there is another more suitable vehicle for our needs. It transports the entire family plus a friend or a pet. It can haul significant loads (I'm thinking lumber up to 10' in length). It's relatively comfortable and easy to drive. And it gets great fuel economy.
PROS: Economy, seating and hauling capacity.
CONS: No MP3 as standard, and backup sensors would be nice.
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