What made you choose the 5?

After my wife and I found out she was pregnant, we knew we needed to take the Taurus in for a family car more suited for our needs. Three kids in car seats in the back of a Taurus on a road trip does not sound fun at all (bad enough with 2). I had looked online at the dreaded mini-van options I had for myself. I had found a 2005 Ford Freestar SES with the employee discount plus rebate that made me set up an appointment to go look at it. Life got busy and I didn't go look at it. Then hurricane Katrina happened and gas prices went up. I determined that a 4 cylinder family car would be best for us if at all possible, instead of our V6 Taurus that has strangely been guzzling 12 MPG in the city, but 28-32 on the HWY (odd). Went to the Ford dealership anyways and began looking at Escapes, but found them to be no more room than a Taurus. There would be no point in getting it.
So we went to Nissan and tried to look at either the Pathfinder or Xterra...the smaller SUV one. But as luck would have it, they don't make a 4-cyl. version with auto transmission (which is what my wife needed). I had also stopped by Pontiac/GMC with no options there.
Well the kids were getting cranky and my wife was feeling tired so we thought we should head home and try elsewhere another day. But then I saw the Mazda dealership on the way home and I said, "Why not? Let's take a quick look to see what the have.". I pull into the lot and park next to a black 5 that is on display in front. My wife says "What the heck is that thing? It so small!" I then put it away, zipped up my pants and got out of the....errr..."I think it's that new 5 I saw online" I said. I had seen it online before and thought about it as an option, but for some reason, decided not to (I thought it would be too small). I get out of the car, and decide to take a quick glance at it just out of curiosity...and then I saw it......a third row of seats.
I stop dead in my tracks...and begin to look at everything else. It's a 4 cylinder, automatic....w/ sport shift....sliding side doors....back hatch door.... I turn around, open the door and tell my wife she NEEDS to come look at this. "What? That thing? Are you crazy? Look how small that is!" "It has 6 seats in it" I say to her. "WHAT?! No way." She gets out and looks in and is just shocked. By then the salesman comes out and starts talking to us. Next thing you know, the kids car seat are loaded up in the 5 and we are all taking a test drive. All of us instantly fell in love with it as soon as we sat in those comfy, hug you where you need it, seats. This is what we were looking for. Not the mini-van look, not the gas guzzling SUV, the responsive sporty feel, the feeling of the interior. We had to really work our way into the budget side of it, but we got it to a point that we could afford it.

I don't know about everyone else, but I feel really proud to be one of a handful of people who are the first to own the Mazda 5. It finally got my wife over her previous Acura that she so deeply loved, and then her ex wrapped around a tree.

I got mine because it was different, cool, fuel efficient, roomy, and inexpensive.
But what REALLY sold me on it was the switchblade style key! lol

We chose the Mazda5 because it made the most sense and it is still unique in the marketplace. I haven't seen another one on the road yet. It transports the kids, dogs, kids friends, and whatever else, gets great mileage, and is a blast to drive on the back roads around here. It's a great little MAV (multi-activity vehicle). I just can't call it a minivan around my wife.

I haven't bought mine yet, but I like it because it serves my needs with the kids and my dog, and it's a mini-van that doesn't look anything like a mini-van (should I be shot for saying that?) Otherwise it's a blast to drive, looks great, gets good mileage, doesn't require premium fuel, it's still unique, and it's a Mazda and therefore more reliable than most other cars out there!

I can't say enough good things about my 5

It is the perfect family car for adults who still like to drive. I also own a 3S and have a hard time choosing one over the other. The 3 and the 5 are FANTASTIC cars. Each has it's own set of positive character traits that make it a joy to own. What amazes me most abou these cars ia how inclredibly refined they are. The 5 is amazingly smooth and quiet for a 5 speed, 4 cylinder and the 3 sounds and feels like a much more expensive sports sedan. Both cars drive like heaven. Smooth, secure, and absolutely happy to rev, rev, REV!

The 5 is even more comfortable than the Honda Pilot we traded for it.
Mazda's first class handling of the recall is just icing on an already fabulous set of automobiles.

It was love at first sight! Saw a banner ad one day on edmunds.com - before I even knew it was a Mazda. I was looking for a mini-van and detesting the thought of having to buy one - it was a job that was filled with loathing for me. The thought of driving a mini-van drone for years to come.....a sense of dread would zap my strength.

Then, one day while looking up Sienna's....there it was....I had seen the light! A 5-spd mini-mini-van that holds six!!! Not just any 5-spd, but a Mazda 5 speed (I've driven some 5 speeds that I've HATED the gearbox....but I generally love what Mazda does with a manual gearbox) I was completely smitten. In reality it's every bit of what I had hoped for. It's actually FUN to drive! AND it fits the kids and their friends! It also handles trips out antiquing or to home depot with ease. Plus, I love the way it looks - it has such a little sporty stance - I never thought that I would love a minivan soo much. Washed and waxed it yesterday (even waxed the wheels) - the neighbors must think that I'm nuts - I'm convinced that I'm nuts - since the miata sat dirty in the garage while I put a shine on the 5. (Heresy!!)

So far the only thing that I would change is the black interior - It's so hard to keep clean!!!

Love my 5

We bought the M5 after going into the Mercury/Mazda dealer with the intention of buying a Mercury Monterey minivan. We test drove the thing and were thoroughly unimpressed even with all the bells and whistles. We owned 2 Villagers, which were okay vehicles, but were minivans after all. We don't need as much space anymore, and we were tired of the low mpg especially since the jump in gas prices. The M5 was sitting in the showroom, and on the way out the door to go visit the Chrysler dealer to look at Grand Caravans, I stopped my wife and just for kicks looked inside the 5. Then I got in. Then we took one for a spin. That did it. What a difference in test drives! The 5 was like a Ferrari compared to the truck-like Monterey. We left the dealership with an order placed for a 5-speed Touring. We picked it up one week ago, and have made a round trip to Boston (from NJ shore), done local driving, and just love this car. It has the zoom. It has plenty of space for us. It corners on rails. It gets great gas mileage. The sound system is pretty good. In short, it is everything and more that I needed and it's a blast to drive. As I drive this vehicle, I have to keep looking in the rear view mirror to remind myself that I'm driving a six-seater. The way the car driives defies this fact. I'm thrilled we decided to buy this car! (2thumbs)
Oh, and as a bonus, our 13 year-old daughter thinks the 5 is way cool!! (lol2)

It's got more room that the Scion xB. Looks really cool and different. Practical car, without the minivan feel. (thumb)

Same reasons as most everyone has already posted with the addition of my activities... mountain biking and windsurfing. I like the interior seating/folding flexibility and the lower roofline than any suv or dorky minivan for putting my junk stuff and crap on the roof without needing a ladder. This is the most versatile vehicle to hit the market in a long time in my opinion (that has good gas mileage, good looks, fun driving, low price, cool standard features, etc etc). Of course there are other versatile vehicles, but they all suck in my opinion.

Now that I've had it for a couple of weeks, I know for sure that this is almost the perfect car for me... I love it. I've had 5 or 6 people in it several times already (kids/car seats in the 3rd row). Everyone that has seen it and looked in it thinks it's a very cool car too.

We bought it because we are expecting our third child, and our other options for a vehicle with enough seats were not exciting (Ford Freestyle, Toyota Highlander, or what?) and cost much more. I refused to even consider a "real" minivan. If VW had come through and produced the New Microbus, that would have been a contender, but otherwise there's nothing else out there that fit the bill for us.

I am totally loving the 5 so far. The kids love it, too - even the kid across the street, who told me it looked like a tiny bullet train. How cool is that? (thumb)

We got it because we're expecting baby#2 and wife flat out refuse to drive a mini-van. Of all the cars/mini-vans we test drove, the Mazda5 was the only one that she really liked and wanted.

Rich A. said:

Same reasons as most everyone has already posted with the addition of my activities... mountain biking and windsurfing. I like the interior seating/folding flexibility and the lower roofline than any suv or dorky minivan for putting my junk stuff and crap on the roof without needing a ladder. This is the most versatile vehicle to hit the market in a long time in my opinion (that has good gas mileage, good looks, fun driving, low price, cool standard features, etc etc). Of course there are other versatile vehicles, but they all suck in my opinion.

Now that I've had it for a couple of weeks, I know for sure that this is almost the perfect car for me... I love it. I've had 5 or 6 people in it several times already (kids/car seats in the 3rd row). Everyone that has seen it and looked in it thinks it's a very cool car too.

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Fellow mountain bikers. Any word on a roof rack? I have had to leave my bike home on several big family trips.

Tushawn said:

Fellow mountain bikers. Any word on a roof rack? I have had to leave my bike home on several big family trips.

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Tushawn,

My rack just came in today and I plan to install it tomorrow. It's the Mazda rack (probably made by Yakima or someone) that you can see in the brochure and online. Until now I've been putting the bike in the car, but that's with just me in it. I'll post some pics of the rack and closeups of the tower attachments when I can. I already have 2 Rocky Mounts Lariot trays to attach also.

Same here Room room room...... 3rd row seating did it for us 3 kids easy entry and looks wow optioned out amazing ride love it so far got a great deal on it aswell $350 under invoice!!!! and bought last wed love it heres a few photos of the 5 and my other rides hope you like

george pavell said:

Same here Room room room...... 3rd row seating did it for us 3 kids easy entry and looks wow optioned out amazing ride love it so far got a great deal on it aswell $350 under invoice!!!! and bought last wed love it heres a few photos of the 5 and my other rides hope you like

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wow, $350 under invoice? sport? touring? what options did you get?

Damn, and I thoight I was special getting mine at invoice.

Ah, don't sweat it. I paid over invoice for mine.

But the dealer we bought from did offer my $3k more for my trade than the dealer who offered me a price below invoice for the MZ5.

Rich A. said:

Tushawn,

My rack just came in today and I plan to install it tomorrow. It's the Mazda rack (probably made by Yakima or someone) that you can see in the brochure and online. Until now I've been putting the bike in the car, but that's with just me in it. I'll post some pics of the rack and closeups of the tower attachments when I can. I already have 2 Rocky Mounts Lariot trays to attach also.

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O.k., I installed the rack yesterday and it was very easy. It looks like a Thule design to me since it has square bars (not the round Yakima bars). Get the Rocky Mounts Lariat bike tray which will fit round or square bars. The installation required no tools at all which is nice (except for the trays which require a provided Alan type wrench and a 1/2" or so wrench (not provided). The only hard part was getting the 4 little caps off the car. I ended up using a plastic ice scraper to bump them off (with care of course). I'll try and post some pics this weekend.

Note: if you need a wider rack, this rack could be modified easily to accept longer Thule bars. It would involve drilling out the rivets in the factory bars to remove them, drilling matching holes in the new bars (to attach them with new rivets or bolts, and a bit of cutting in the locking plastic "tower covers" to allow the longer bars to pass through. I think this would be very easy to do.

hummm... does the rack or tray affect the opening of the sunroof?

Wuster said:

hummm... does the rack or tray affect the opening of the sunroof?

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I will try it later after werk... it looks like the rack itself will not interfere, but there's a chance that the trays might... this could limit the amount that you can open the roof. I'll post again later when I get a chance.