Hello all,

My wife and I are expecting twins in the next couple of months so we were deciding on which minivan to choose.

The Mazda 5 appears a lot smaller than the Quest, Sienna, and Odyssey but I believe it serves the purpose.

I was wondering if anyone else has this car with kids and what their thoughts or suggestions are about this vehicle.

Are power sliding doors, and rear view camera, which this car lacks really necessary?

Thanks
Mohsin

 

we have an 08 model and love it!! yes it is smaller than the others, but is capable of zipping through parking lots. as for power doors, I don't know if it's an option or not, we don't mind not having them as the doors are not very heavy anyway. Still easy to get the one year old in and out. I believe you can add a rear camera at the dealer, but may be cheaper to add from an after market shop. We don't need one ourselves, but if you need one by all means get one. storage space is limited if you have all seats being used, in other words you can haul six people or cargo but you can't do both. could use a bit more power but all in all its a good vehicle

 

We just traded in our '04 Odyssey for a new Mazda5. We have 3 kids and the 5 provides planety of passenger space for us. The 5 is considerably smaller and seats one less than our Odyssey did. The biggest difference is the amount of cargo space. If all of the seats are in use there really isn't any cargo space. If you just have the twins, you can fold down the 3rd row to free up some cargo space. I don't think power doors are available. Our Odyssey had them and to be honest, they are nice. But the 5's doors are very light and easy to open and close (our 6 year old has no problem with them).

 

Thanks for all the useful info!

 

We have a Mazda 5 and LOVE IT!!!!! We have 2 boys aged 2 & 5 and there is plenty of space with the 3rd row down while still having the option for 2 more seats if needed. My 5 yr old can easily open and close his own door, so they aren't very heavy as mentioned above. My 2 yr old can easily climb in and out of the car and his seat without trouble. (He does have trouble climbing into my parents minivan, since it's higher off the ground). I highly recommend it for a family car!

 

Hi, I am new to the Mazda forum here. I am the internet manager for Mazda of Stockton. mazdaofstockton.com

I see many families that are happy with the Mazda 5. It does the job, it's good on gas and is a pretty good performer for a mini van. I call it the mini mini van.

Mazda has redesigned the Mazda 5 for the 2012 Model year. So there will be no 2011 Model. If you visit the factory site www.mazdausa.com you can get a preview of the new Mazda 5.

As with us, I am sure there are great deals to be had on any remaining 2010 Mazda 5's from dealers in your area. So it will pay to look at them.

For example, I currently have a 2010 Mazda 5 with less than 700 miles on it for only $16,988.00 plus fees.

Buy the Mazda 5, you'll be satisfied.
Mike

 

It took a while to find, but here's the direct link:
http://www.mazdausamedia.com/content...e-january-2011

2012 Mazda5

 

I still think they should have left the nose alone myself, but that's just my opinion. How well does the 2.5 engine do? if any body knows.

 

My Mazda3 has the 2.5L. It is a 6 speed manual vs. the 5-speed auto on our 5, so it's not exactly an apples to apples comparison. But we have been getting decent mileage (about 23 mpg, almost exclusively city driving). The 3 with the 2.5L easily has better acceleration than our 5. But I would expect that since the 2.5L has 14 more hp and 20 more ft-lbs of torque (and the peak is at a lower engine speed). Plus the 3 is about 440 lbs lighter than the five which is a big difference.

 

I, and many others agree. The smilie face look Mazda seems to be going for is an either you love it or you hate it thing. I could live w/it if I had to, but am not fond of it myself.

The 2.5L is only rated @157hp/163tq The a 2006-09 2.3L is 154/148 so it's not much noticeable difference at all. A little more torque is all.