...my fiance's beat up 95 Subaru Legacy!
Still keeping the box, just need to upgrade her car.

Our 5 year old son(today's his birthday! ) is jut getting way to tall to be riding in the backseat of her crapper. We'll probablly still keep it, since it'll be the only AWD vehicle we have and it snows some here in WV.

But the Mazda 5 was awesome, has a lot of room and drives waaay better than the xB.
With the back 2 seats folded down, looks like an xB with 3 times as much trunk space.
We tested out all the seats, even sat in the very back w/ my son in his car seat and it wasn't that uncomfortable!

We are getting married in August, and hope to have it by the end of the year , depending on if we can find a house to live in or not.

Mazda 5's are awesome!

what can i say, i love *mini-Mini-Vans*!

 

The only thing I would suggest is that you remember that Mazda is owned by Ford. Depending on your past experiences, that may or may not make a difference.
And happy birthday to your son!

 

it all comes back to..

ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM

man, their commercials get stuck in my head..

 

I LOVE the 5! I wish I needed a bigger vehicle, because I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

 

I drove three vehicles before I bought my xB. The Mazda5, Mazda3 and the xB. All three were manuals.

The Mazda5 just seemed way to mini-van like in its seating position and front glass/greenhouse. Felt like I was driving a slightly smaller Caravan, and thats not a compliment. I love the exterior, but the interior just didn't do it for me.

The Mazda3 5 door I drove though on the other hand was a blast to drive, the interior seemed just right, sporty, controls well placed, felt like a drivers car. The drawback though was the price.

Just remember although Mazda is a subsidary of Ford, they are still their own company and the Mazda products are very well made.

 

The 5 is a nice car, it is a good comprise of space, performance and fuel economy. They are to minivanish for my taste. They are still much nicer than a full blown minivan.

 

I have to agree, Mazda's their own company, and they made good quality vehicles (I'm a former '96 Protege owner)...

 

Mazda is a very solid car. I had a 01 626. The car was great but got crappy mpg and I needed more room

 

I'm a Mazda fan; we've had two MPV's in a row and have been thoroughly satisfied with them both. The '91 MPV is still in service, with about 180,000 miles on it, with our son in North Carolina. (He was 5 when we bought it, and then we gave it to him 13 years later when he moved away.)

The Mazda/Ford connection varies with the car. The last version of the MPV, for example, was built in Japan but had a Ford Duratec engine in it. The Mazda SUVs (Navajo etc.) are rebadged Fords.

The Mazda 3 is 100% Mazda AFAIK, and the Mazda 5 is based on the Mazda 3. The 3 has been very reliable, according to Consumer Reports. You won't get the kind of fuel economy that you will from a 3 (or an xB) but it will be a lot better than a minivan.

If you like the look and feel, and the car meets your needs, it seems to me to be a reasonable choice.

What surprises me is that I haven't really been seeing this car on the road, even though it's been on sale in the US for a year now. Is the 5 turning into a marketing failure?

RichC

 

It looks like a lot of people love the Mazda line. That's the primary reason I didn't slam them. They are their own division of Ford, and everyone should make up their own minds. If you've had a good experience with them, then by all means get one. As for me, I don't like the connection...but that's me.

 

i was looking at the mazda 5,dodge caliber and chevy hhr before i bought the box.i would have gotten the mazda 5 but the dealers were trying to sell me the mazda 3 instead,also you dont see much advertising on the mazda 5.it is a nice looking car!!

 

Mazda is not a division of Ford the way Lincoln and Mercury are. Ford owns 33% of Mazda. The two companies operate synergistically. For example, the Mazda 3 and Mazda 5 are pure Japanese Mazdas. But the Mazda3 platform is also used by Ford and Volvo (another Ford partner) in some of their own cars, as is the Mazda6 platform. The Ford Escape is a Mazda designl the Mazda Navajo was a rebadged Explorer.

You do have to be careful if you want a Mazda that's "all Mazda," but the ones that are, like the 3, are great performers with excellent build quality.

That said, IMO there's no denying that Mazda has slipped from the top tier of Japanese automakers (which now consists only of Toyota and Honda, although some might include Subaru especially if they made a greater variety of vehicles). Some of this slippage is probably the Ford influence (an Exporer with a Mazda nameplate is still a piece of crap, and the 6's questionable build quality may be attributable to Ford's desire to make it their new mid-size world-car platform). But interestingly, when problems plagued late-model MPV's it wasn't the Ford built Duratec engine that caused them, but the Japanese Jatco 5-speed auto tranny (which also caused problems for Honda).

I would no longer buy a car just because it's a Mazda. But some Mazdas are still upholding the tradition, and the Maza2/5 appear to be among them.

RichC

 

I saw a review on Motortrend TV on the 5 not too long ago. It did ok but, was a bit pricey.

 

The Mazda5 is really nice. I was thinking of trading the xB for the Mazda5 except I'm single and no kids so it too practical for me. Loads of standard features though. I also like the rear sliding doors (come one Scion). Mazda had a recall on the tranny or shift lever and sales of the 5 was stopped until it was fixed. I couldn't even get inside one.

95% of the major components on the 5 are made in Japan and assenvked together at the Hiroshima plant.

 

well, we're about to get married .... she has a 5 year old .... (thanks for the bday wishes Moose Head) and she's wanting to pop out another one.

I purchased the xB 5 months before we met , which ended up being a good thing, as we've taken it on man FAMILY vacations already. But w/ plans for another baby , it looks like a MINI-VAN was coming our way. I dislike most SUV's so I put my foot down on that decision.

We both didn't like the idea of paying 23K and UP for a mini-van, so when we found the 5 online, we fell in love.

Only saw 2 in person, one was on the other side of the interestate and the other was at a Hotel Parking Lot in Santa Claus, IN. We peaked through the windows, then left in hopes we didn't get busted.

Another good thing is .... i can add my speakers back to my car! since it wouldn't be the sole travelin' car that it once was. We'd use the 5 on long trips. Everything about the car was perfect (minus the forehead room that I'm used to in my xB .... but no other car would give you that much distance!)

anyways, in the months to come, I hope to purchase one and post pics.

As for the FORD thing, I hate Ford , but don't think the 5 has anything to worry about. hopefully no bad habbits picked up from it's retarded cousin at the family picnic!

 

not all of mazda is owned by ford. like 50% or something like that.

 

50% is still worse that 0%!

 

It's not 50%. It's 33%.

RichC

 

My wife thought about a Mazda 5 a few months back. She really liked it. I thought it was pretty sweet, especially the sliding rear doors. If you have children, then you know the benefits of having rear sliders. They're really great in tight parking spaces and garages. No door dings for you or the car next to you.

My only "real" complaint was the power. It's decent enough off the line, but runs out of steam pretty quickly at speed. Load it down with 6 people and thier gear and it's bound to get a bit scary. Also the taillights....good God....those lights.....I'm feeling sick again.

The other issue was the fire recall. Our local dealer couldn't even tell me whether the one we were looking at had had the recall performed. They were like, "yeah, it's probably been fixed." Probably? Umm...wrong anwser. I have to haul my family around in this thing. This was back in Feb., so I'm sure this recall has been addressed.

In the end, my wife decided she liked her Sienna better. Still though, the 5 is an interesting vehicle for sure. So far it's been a slow seller for Mazda, though the dealer will tell you different . So you may be able to get a sweet deal if you're savy enough.

 

I belive the 2.3 liter engine in the 3, 5, and 6 is a version of Ford's Duratec 2.3 liter found in the Focus. I'm not 100% sure about that, though.