2008 Mazda MAZDA5

Review

A Family Hauler that Thinks it’s Single

By: Nathan D. Adlen

Some of you are old enough to remember the heyday of the family station wagon. These cars were the pinnacle of utility for their time. You could fit the whole family, the dog and a half eaten picnic (thanks to the dog) on your way to the beach. On your way home, you could sprawl out in the wayback with the dog while the sunburn puts you to sleep and the pound of sandwich meat the dog ate puts him to sleep. Gas was cheap, there were no enforced seat belt laws and station wagons were in every other driveway. Your wagon was usually American made with a big V8, rear wheel drive and weighed more than two VW vans.

Times have changed.

So, now what do you do when you want to hold a few kids and some pets economically while still being able to enjoy the experience of driving? Well, if you don’t need a hippo on stilts SUV or a boxy minivan there are only a few options. One of those options is what I consider to be one of the smartest cars you can buy on the market – the Mazda 5. Unfortunately, Mazda is terrible at names and differentiating models properly, so you might get confused with the “5” designation. The MX5 is the formerly named “Miata” sports car and the Mazda 5 is a mix between a tall wagon and mini-minivan with seating for 6.

“Personality” is a term you will rarely find by most people movers. It is one of the reasons people still pine for SUVs. This Mazda has a playful personality and you’ll want to name the thing (cars need personality to be named – right?) In profile, you will see elements of the Toyota Matrix, Honda Fit and the KIA Rondo.

The most striking aspect is the roofline leading from the steeply sloped windshield. Large, angular headlights are well complemented by clear expensive looking taillights. Small port windows ahead of the driver and passenger’s doors are a unique touch too, but not very useful. My favorite goodies are the (standard on all models) 17 inch wheels with a sharp looking 5 star design wrapped tight in P205/50 R17 all season rubber.

The excellent packaging of this car can only be fully appreciated from the interior. That’s where you will find great room for a family of four and an occasional friend or two. This is no minivan though. Yes, it can hold six and has a third row with sliding doors, but the rear seats are good for children or very small people. The sliding doors are useful in tight parking spots and the third row folded flat makes for lots of usable space.

Space is the main weakness of this car - if you do occupy all of the seats. If you travel with six, you better have next to nothing else to haul. There is some space between the middle row chairs and a clever storage place underneath those same seats. Space behind the third row might hold a few umbrellas or some groceries, but that’s about it. On the other hand, if you fold flat both rows, you will have more usable space than most mid size SUVs offer.

The low floor and loading height make it one of the easiest vehicles for loading children into child seats. The sliding doors offer more open loading space than conventional doors and the configuration is excellent for a parent to hand their child something when they dropped it (at a red light - of course). The seats are small, but comfortable. Most six footers will be comfortable. The upright front/center council can be a bit intrusive for those who have long legs, but the height adjustment on the driver’s seat helps.

Some of the plastics inside are a tad cheap looking, but for the most part, they are modern and handsome. My main gripe with the interior is the location of the on/off air conditioning button which is right in front of 1^st gear in the gear selector. Occasionally, on either the manual or automatic model, you can easily hit this button. Other than that, the interior is pleasant and logical.

Many people think the Mazda 5 is more expensive than it is just based on the interior. Even with the base price (just north of $18,000.00) you get a near loaded vehicle. Options are few and the upper level Mazda 5s cover most of these (6 disc CD, fog lights, body kit and other minor odds and ends). The most expensive options are the popup navigation screen $2000, (which used to pop up, but now is an integrated component of the center dashboard) and the DVD entertainment system which is about $1,200. Still, if you get the top of the line Mazda 5 fully loaded with every toy you will be well under $25,000. If you can do without the big options and can live with a very nice stereo and a few goodies, you can grab one for about $19,000. That is a hell of a deal for this type of car.

The only car that can directly compete with the Mazda 5 is the KIA Rondo. It has about the same amount of space and many of the same features. The KIA does offer an optional V6 and a better warranty. It is another very smart choice and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a tall wagon/ mini-minivan; however, it is nowhere as driver orientated and sporty as the Mazda 5. Also, it does not offer sliding doors.

What makes the Mazda 5 superior is its performance? You can get a 5 speed manual hooked up to the same (if slightly detuned for efficiency) front drive 153-hp 2.3L DOHC 16-valve inline 4-cylinder that Mazda uses in their award winning Mazda 3. This combination along with the fat 17 inch tires and strut suspension with offset stiff springs make this thing down right fun to drive. The Mazda corners flat and has much less lean than the KIA (which seems to be geared for comfort). It can squirt out of each corner’s apex with a flick of the wheel and a snap of the gears.

The automatic (which is a 5 speed as of this year) takes away a bit of the fun, but still allows the car to show some of its spirit while maintaining excellent economy. Once you get used to the upright driver’s position and steep slope of the hood, you can easily point and scoot through traffic. On back roads, it hunkers down and squats through corners letting its multilink suspension do some of the work as the lateral forces front to rear at the end of each turn. This thing is fun to drive fast!

Just don’t expect that type of fun when you are full of people and gear. It will zoom down a flat highway just fine and still return an excellent 26 – 30 MPG on the highway, but it will struggle a bit on hills. Also, keep in mind that the Mazda 5 is very low to the ground and has little clearance. Speed bumps, dips and steep driveways have to be negotiated with some patience.

Speaking to an owner of a mid level Mazda 5, she informed me that it is real fun for her to get to locations well before her SUV driving friends did. Further, she smiled at the thought of how frugal her car is and how easy her 6 year old and toddler fit in. Her husband is constantly finding excuses to use it instead of his Jeep, especially on road trips. In a year’s worth of ownership, she has reported no problems other than a recall for the sliding doors catch and release mechanism. She lives in Colorado and has had little problem driving in winter. The only problems came when the snow rose above a foot. At that point, even her husband’s Jeep struggled in some places.

One final personal note about the 2008 Mazda 5: This is one of those cars that looks bigger or smaller based on the color it wears. The darker the color, the smaller it looks – to me. The only interior option is black, which looks good and keeps the overall price down (and it cleans up easily while hiding some of your children’s spills).

If you are a member of a small family who is looking for an efficient people mover that has some personality, fun and will make you smile when you zip past clumsy attitude vehicles, check out the Mazda 5. Gas prices are not going down any time soon and having a smart, multipurpose car like this just makes sense.

If you are not part of a small family, but are still looking for a vehicle that provides a sporty driving experience with lots of useable space, the Mazda 5 still makes sense. This car holds so much with the seats folded – you’re bound to make friends (at least when they need roomy transport for moving.)

Don't believe my take on how fantastic this car is? Nearly every single car and consumer publication has recomended the Mazda 5 - it jutst makes sense! Hell, it made so much sense I got one for my wife last year (she adores it.)

Now I have to buy one of those damn pet gates to keep the dogs away from the picnic basket.