Euro vs NA Mazda 5 MPV

[tchiarella]

Euro vs NA Mazda 5 MPV Roof Racks

Just curious if anyone knew of differences between the Euro and NA Mazda 5. Specifically I'm looking at roof rack options and have noticed that Thule makes a much wider variety and sells at a much lower price in the European market.

If you go to their UK/GB site and look at rack options for a 2014 Mazda 5, the kit is slightly different but the fit kit carries the same main numbers (3080) as the NA option.

The instructions also call out the same part numbers at a component level. Oh and the Euro versions come with locks standard.

When I say cheaper in the European market I'm talking like ~$200 cheaper for the base rack kit. Even is it cost $50 to ship to the US that is still a heck of a savings.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Secondtyme]

Watch out for the exchange rate, that can be a real b****.

 

[tchiarella]

That's what I'm saying... That includes today's exchange rates

 

[Secondtyme]

Buy it quick before the dollar tanks against the euro, again.

 

[tchiarella]

Yea I've asked for a shipping quote to the U.S. and I'm just waiting to here back

 

[begwi]

Having lived in France for the past 7 months, I would say nothing is cheaper here except wine. Be careful about your purchase. I still buy US products and have them shipped to me. I am about to install my 15 year old Yakima rack on my Euro diesel Mazda 5. I wasn't aware of any difference between the rack mounts, so I bought control towers that are supposed to fit a US Mazda 5. I'll let you know in a month if it worked.

 

[thaxman]

Hmmm I thought that the European version came with roof rails standard.

 

[tchiarella]

Hmmm I thought that the European version came with roof rails standard.

There is definitely the option on Thule's UK site to choose between fixed point (like the NA model) and factory rails.

Here are the recommendations from Thule's respective sites:

And the cost of the 3080 kit from a UK retailer who will ship to the US for 50 pound (~$80) is 120 pound ($190). You also avoid UK VAT (24 pound/$50) because its shipping outside the UK. That brings the total to $268, which is a lot less than what they sell for in the US.

For me, and my budget, its either the Inno XR base system or a used rack if I can find a reasonably priced one. This one just peaked my curiosity... OH and the UK Thule site has a few additional bar options that aren't available (yet) here in the US.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Hmmm I thought that the European version came with roof rails standard.

That was 1st gen. Looks like the 2nd gen Euro don't come with the rails standard.

For me, and my budget, its either the Inno XR base system or a used rack if I can find a reasonably priced one. This one just peaked my curiosity... OH and the UK Thule site has a few additional bar options that aren't available (yet) here in the US.

Have you look at Rola aero rack? Square bars carry slightly more weight but tend to be noisy. Aero bars are nicer aesthetically and function just as well unless you have plans to load up a lot of stuff but then you really should be considering a hitch + accessory. If you don't have a sunroof (low profile design) and considering its price, you should consider it.

 

[tchiarella]

Do you have a good vendor for the Rola aero? Quick check around online looks like $285... the Inno square is around $218.

They are in the same ball park, but for the difference I could also just by the Inno fairing and call it a day.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Amazon: $211 shipped. If I didn't have a sunroof, I'd sell/trade my OEM rack for this in a heart beat.

 

[tchiarella]

Amazon: $211 shipped. If I didn't have a sunroof, I'd sell/trade my OEM rack for this in a heart beat.

ah that was the first rack i looked at when i started searching! thanks for the reminder. i'm new to this forum, but have been active in other communities more tailored towards my car... the 5 is the wife's currently.

i'm looking slowly add things she wants (roof rack, tint) and things i want (wheels) for when i take it over.

 

[tchiarella]

well foolish me thought that the rola would go on sale on Prime day, but it didn't... oh but look autoanything is throwing in a free inno fairing with purchase of a base rack system and you can use their 20% off discount code... nice bundle for $224.

 

[begwi]

Sorry for the late reply: the Yakima control towers for the US Mazda 5 fit my European model fine. I imagine there is no difference. The Yakima rack fits well and I have the ability to mount my cargo box, bikes, and/or skis. Of note - my rack (alone) seems to be way louder on this Mazda than it was on any of my other cars (2011 Audi Q7, 2007 Honda Pilot, 1994 Ford Exploder). I take off the base rack when not in use because it is so loud....maybe it is a difference of insulation on this car?

 

[tchiarella]

I take off the base rack when not in use because it is so loud....maybe it is a difference of insulation on this car?

Yup, there is very little noise insulation in this car. The inno isn't bad at all with the fairing, but since they give you toppers for the base bracket I take the rack off when not in use anyway

 

[begwi]

Well, the Yakima Control Towers, Landing pads (11), 48 inch cross bars and a Skybox 16 fit pretty well on my 2013 European Mazda 5. The Skybox helped our family of 4 carry all our gear during a 16 day ski trip through the Alps. We hit plenty of wind driving on the autoroute at 130 km/h without a problem.

One thing to note: wow - that base rack is louder than in any other car it has been mounted on. Luckily, I can install the entire thing start to finish in about 15 minutes, so the base rack comes off anytime we don't need the box. Otherwise, the noise is horrible.

 

[FiftySix]

Looks good. Nice home, too.

 

[begwi]

Thank you FiftySix. My company offered a job in France for three years so we took it. The house is not without problems....but it looks nice from the outside. By the way, our criteria for selecting a car here was the smallest 7 passenger non-French car we could find - and the Mazda 5 was the winner. I have been happy with my choice. It is still "big" by French car standards, but it gets us just about anywhere.

 

[thaxman]

Thank you FiftySix. My company offered a job in France for three years so we took it. The house is not without problems....but it looks nice from the outside. By the way, our criteria for selecting a car here was the smallest 7 passenger non-French car we could find - and the Mazda 5 was the winner. I have been happy with my choice. It is still "big" by French car standards, but it gets us just about anywhere.

I like the requirement "not French." Seems they are like German car makers, but without the discipline. Since I haven't seen any, how do the VW Sharon, SEAT Alhambra and Ford C-Max & S-Max compare? Of course, we can skip the Opel MPV. I have never heard anything good about those.

 

[begwi]

Thaxman, we strictly limited ourselves to cars that could hold 6+ passengers. Size is a major factor here in France: roads are ridiculously narrow and parking is full contact. Smaller cars are better for that purpose. We understand a lot of families have a "city" car (small car with lots of dents) and a "highway" car for family trips out of town. We just don't want to buy that second car and have to worry about selling two when we leave.
In my opinion with limited knowledge of the European 7+ passenger cars:
The French Citroen Picasso c4 Grand is a very popular car. It was just too big and too expensive for driving the narrow streets and small parking lots in Europe.
The Ford S-Max I think is the best combination of value/quality/driving experience....but it is also too big (price is reasonable). The C-max wasn't a consideration for us because it only seats 5.
The Opel Zafira (both the ugly standard Zafira and the Zafira Tourer (nearly a different car)) were nice. The Zafira did not drive very well in my opinion, and it seemed "cheap" for the high price. The GPS was also horrible. The Zafira Tourer was awesome, and we almost ended up buying it, but it was just too big.
The Volkswagen Sharan is very popular here, I'm not sure why we didn't look more into that one. I thought they were only 5 pax, but I was wrong. I'm sorry, but I don't have anything to offer on that car.
I really don't have anything to offer on the Seat - sorry. Seats are popular here, but not that model.
One thing to note: The French unofficial motto for Renault is "a new noise every day." I drove two different Renault rentals for a while and they were both decent. I also rented a brand new Renault with an automatic transmission (which is extremely rare here) and it was possibly the worst car I had ever driven in my life (due to the transmission). I rented an Opel Mokka and an Opel Meriva - they were both nice, but the fit and finish on the Meriva was definitely lacking.

Several things that drove us to the Mazda 5: perceived Japanese quality, ease of working on Japanese cars (I've owned Hondas and Acuras before and done all the maintenance), size versus seats (it is the narrowest 6 pax vehicle we could find), sliding rear doors (for assistance getting out in tight parking spots - the largest spot here is smaller than the smallest standard spot in the US), driving experience, and value (we got a fantastic deal on a 1 year old 5 with 28,000 kms). We have been happy with our choice and our Mazda has seen most of Southern Germany, a lot of Northern Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and lots of Southern France. We get great gas mileage with our 1.6 liter diesel, and it is more powerful than I would have thought for a engine of that size.

Hope this answers your question.