So I'm sorta in the market to replace our trusty 1995 Nissan Quest. It's a great van, and has been in the family since new, but it sure isn't the thriftiest of family vans. This winter it's averaging about 17 mpg. As she approaches the 200,000 mile mark, it might be time to look at something else.

As I value mpg above most everything, the Mazda 5 seems like my best bet for a fuel-efficient family "van". I know it's more of a tall wagon with sliding doors, so I'm definitely not expecting the space or power of a traditional American V6 minivan. But that's fine. I think vans like the current Odyssey, Sienna or Caravan are much too big. I also enjoy being able to park my van in the garage and still have the option to open the tailgate. The Quest just barely allows me to do it, no chance it would be possible in an Odyssey.

So, my main question is, what is realistic fuel economy for a US-spec with 2.3 and automatic? I'd LOVE a manual, but since this van is for me and the wife, it needs to be automatic (she has no clue how to drive a manual). I have another car with manual for my own daily use

Our driving environment is mostly rural back roads in IL. So no hills to climb, just mostly straight, flat, open roads with few stops. I'm hoping it's possible to achieve upper 20's for mpg (25 or higher), maybe even 30 on extended highway trips?

Another small concern, as we just had our first child (so we don't exactly need a huge 7-passenger van anyways), does anyone currently install a large rearward-facing infant seat in their M5? In my wife's car (Pontiac Vibe / Toyota Matrix), we installed the seat in the middle position of the back seat, since the infant carrier gets a bit more room at the top by coming between the front seats. Obviously not possible in the M5. Just hoping the front passenger won't be forced to slide forward until their knees are in the dash just to get the childseat installed in back. I will certainly be bringing our car seat with us to the dealer whenever we go for a test drive.

I'm sure I have 20 other small questions, but those are the main ones. Mpg and child carseat compatibility.

Oh, one other small one... does anyone offer an aftermarket tail light to in any way lessen the ridiculous look in the back? I personally can't stand any tail light that goes all the way up to the roof, I think it's simply ugly. HOWEVER... it seems there is an easy solution. Just make a tail light where the portion up near the windows is blacked out! Of course I had to do a photochop to demonstrate. Sadly, I'm not seeing anyone offering such a look.



Design somewhat reminds me of a Toyota Matrix.


Thanks for any info!


James - Chicago

 

I own an 08 model, our average fuel economy i right around 25 mpg, mostly flat some small hills, and mainly highway driving. as for the infant seat, when our son was an infant, there was plenty of room between the front and second row seats with the car seat in place. the second row seats slide forward and back as well, which is quite nice with children. I personally haven't seen any tail lights like the ones you mention, but you never know.....

 

Thanks for the input. I was wondering if I would get a response before 100 people looked at this thread! I think you were #72 or so.

Good to hear that you get 25 mpg. I think that's the minimum number I'm shooting for. Our Quest has gotten as high as 22, but that was on purely highway trips. Surprisingly, my previous van, a 1988 Dodge Caravan with a 3.0 and 3-speed trans would get as high as 26 on the highway.

Our car seat is one of the biggest ones made (Graco 35), but after looking at a Mazda 5 this week, and somewhat "eyeballing" the space available in the 2nd row... it should be ok. Plus, our girl will only be in that car seat for another 9-10 months, I can't buy a car purely based on that factor.

I was hoping some international enthusiasts for this van (clearly it's not a huge seller in the US) would cause there to be some tail light options. I guess there isn't. Perhaps some of the options offered in Europe or Japan look slightly better. I guess I'll have to do some research.

Thanks for the info!

 

funny, I went from a Matrix to the Mazda5. Similar styling the the 5 has way more room. I like your tailight option but have never seen that. I'm not crazy about the rear lights but it doesn't really bother me.

as for fuel efficency, I am in Canada, so I am averaging about 400 km (250 miles) on a tank in the city and I did 500 km (315 miles) split 50/50 city/hwy on a tank. I imagine I can get about 600 km (400 miles) out of a tank on just highway but I have only had the car a couple of weeks. So far that is almost as good as my matrix.

 

Very good to hear from someone comparing mpg to a Matrix. Was yours a non-XRS with automatic? My wife's Vibe is the base model with automatic. Pretty much gets a consistent ~31 mpg at all times. I think I end up driving much too fast on the highway to get any better. But hey, if you can click along at 90 mph (145 km/h) and still get over 30 mpg, why not? Car is wonderfully smooth and controlled at high speed. We LOVE our Vibe. Ours currently has 182k miles (293k km) and runs like new. But with the baby now, we find ourselves needing/wanting:

- A bit more cargo space behind the back seat
- The convenience of sliding doors when loading the baby in the car

We end up taking our Quest on short trips when more cargo space is needed, but the gas mileage just makes me sad. I was thinking "if only there was a perfect combination of Vibe and Quest..." and suddenly I remembered the Mazda 5. I think it will be perfect for our family. We're going to keep the Vibe though, it's far too reliable and efficient to sell. The much thirstier Quest will find itself on craigslist this spring.

I can get over the tail lights, but I definitely don't like them. I'm sorta picky like that. If I can't find anything I like to replace them, I might just try some spray tint and tint the upper portion as shown in my picture. I think that would make an improvement.

Thanks for the info!

 

mine was an XRS with 6 speed so it had the bigger engine. I too loved mine, had an 03, 180000 km when I traded it in, and it too ran like new. Other than a new clutch, brakes and tires and oil changes I did nothing to it. I was reluctant, but like you, I needed more space but didn't want to go full van since I would be driving it everyday and we don't need that much room and wanted better gas mileage. Good to hear yours is still going strong.

 

Gotcha. Ours is also an 03. Bought 2 years ago with 140k miles (225k km), in the ~45k miles we've put on it, the only thing I've done is oil changes and a set of front brake pads. I would LOVE an XRS 6-speed Matrix as my next car. Perhaps I should sell my car (Infiniti G20 5-speed), sell the 03 Vibe, and use they money to get myself a Matrix XRS. I guess it all depends on how much my wife likes the Mazda5, if/when we get one. If she likes it a lot, she can drive it every day. I avoid driving my Infiniti in the winter because they are REALLY bad at rusting from salt exposure. I purposely bought one that came from down south, so it's definitely the cleanest one in Chicago. However, my wife's Vibe looks immaculate underneath, and has absolutely zero body rust. If I had a Matrix, I would be ok (although sad) with driving it year-round. Did your XRS ever show any rust, body or underneath?

Do you mind me asking how much you got on trade for your Matrix? Even with the miles, I'm hoping to get at least $4000 (USD) for our Vibe when we sell. I think people that look for these cars know how good they are, and it keeps the value high. I can very rarely find ANY Matrix or Vibe under $5k, private sale or dealer. Truly a great car. If only they made an extended version with sliding doors. I guess at least Mazda did!

 

no rust at all on the XRS, I live in Ottawa and its as bad as it gets in terms of winters and salt on the roads around here. Not sure about the underside, never really looked too hard under there. I got $3500 for mine, it needed a new hood which was going to cost about $500 (long story but it got damaged in a minor fender bender), so figure $4K without that issue. A friend with the same car/year/mileage got $5K on his trade a year and a half ago. I didn't bargain too hard on the trade since I got a great deal on my 5 (09, used, GT, leather, DVD, 13000 km for $19K). selling privately I probably could have gotten ~$4500-$5000 but I would have had to fix the hood first.