Mazda5, Ford Freestyle, Kia Sedona

I'm once again doing some research on a possible new car. I know that there are people on this board with either a Mazda5, Ford Freestyle and Kia Sedona. What gas mileage do you realistically get with these cars? City versus Hwy, winter versus summer with A/C.

I'm hoping to get for test drives soon! I like the sportiness of the Mazda5, but the 3rd row being really close the the back of the car scares me a little. I know rear enders are less serious in general, but the horrible rear end accident that someone wrote about a week ago scares me. When we sat in the Mazda5 at the dealer, DH said he felt cramped in the driver's seat, he's 6'3", but we didn't get a chance to actually drive it since the kids were going crazy.

I have had a ford freestyle for 1.5 years and have put over 36000 miles on it. I cannot say enough great things about it! It has been extremely reliable and a total workhorse for carpool, kids activites, major summer road trips and even trips back from home depot ect..ect...

I normally fill up with about 16 gallons. I get about 430 miles out of those 16 gallons.......so that puts the mileage at about 26 mpg. I do about 50/50 highway and city...so it might not be that high if you are a strictly around town driver.

Even with the third row up, there is still a considerable amount of room in the "trunk". Plenty for a trip home from the grocery, back packs ect....

I could go on and on, I really love my freestyle!!! I would highly encourage you to take the time to test drive it. My 05 has three sets of latch and tether anchors in all seating positions.

Hope that helps.....

Are you only looking at these models? I just want to throw out the new Saturn Outlook/GMC Acardia. It's GM's new crossover that has gotten great crash ratings.

We had one for 4 days and LOVED it. It has 3 rows of seating with a lot of cargo area behind the 3rd row. Has great gas mileage. We did mostly city and got around 20mpg. Has side curtain airbags in all 3 rows. Price is comparable to the Ford Freestyle but honestly I think is better styled.

Well I test drove the Kia Sedona today. It was nice. The steering is a little squishier than my focus, but ok. I kind of like the short wheel base model, but it doesn't have a stow and go third row--you have to remove the 50/50 3rd row seats.

The salesman mentioned the new Kia Rondo, their new crossover and it looked nice, but didn't have tether anchors in the 3rd row and it was more cramped. It might be worth a test drive though, I don't know. I might like the Freestyle better if we were going to go with a crossover and not a minivan.

Now we just need to do a little more test driving and get DH out to test drive and also find the right deal. I wish the Sedona got better gas mileage...that is my only hesitation.

I love my Freestyle. I traded in my Explorer for the Freestyle after I had one as a rental car when my Explorer's engine went (thank goodness for extended warranties!). After having it for almost 2 weeks, I was in love. I feel that it's much roomier than my Explorer in terms of interior space. Like dvmvail said, there is plenty of room even with the 3rd row seats in use - much more than other cars I've seen. Plus, unlike most other 3rd rows, this one is actually usable! I'm 5'4", my mom is 5'9" and we sat back there on a trip to shore (2 hour drive) comfortably.

Drives like a car, makes me feel more like I'm in a truck since it's not too low to the ground. Love having AWD. Don't miss my 4WD at all, even in the snow. I love how easy it is to put the seats up and down. It's a very driver friendly car. Everything is convenient and within reach. I don't have any complaints about it. I have the bucket seats in the middle row with the center console. I actually keep bugging DH to remove the console for me since it just collects toys and junk. Plus, I specifically bought the car with the bucket seats so that the kids could walk back to the 3rd row like in a minivan.

But your question was really about gas mileage, right? I drive almost exclusively city (OK - suburb, really), but contant stop and go traffic. My gas mileage is not nearly as good as the other Freestyle owner gets. I get between 14-15 mpg and usually with a full tank, I get about 260-280 miles to empty. I think I paid $1.87 last week and was on empty (16 miles to empty to be exact) and it cost me $54. So gas mileage is not the greatest in my opinion, but it was still a big improvement over my Explorer.

Good luck and let us know what you decide. Car shopping is fun!
Amy

We have a Ford Freestyle AWD and love it. It uses a Volvo chasis, which is very rigid and safe. The vehicle feels very stable (we had a Honda Odyssey for 7 years, which we loved, very reliable, but that feels like a tin-can compared the freestyle). So far we are getting about 18 mpg AVG, mostly city driving. Not too bad for a AWD... but of course, we would like better mpg. Our other car is a civic hybrid.

I test drove the Mazda5 and really liked that too. The Freestyle has more room and was a bit higher, felt more "plush", and higher end. I like the looks of the Mazda. AGain, for the size of the mazda, the gas mileage wasn't all that great.

I don't know much about the Sedona, other than Kia not having the best reliability, although I hear it's improving under Hyundi.

Our old Honda minivan was easier for getting the carseat in / out... and the mini van will most likely be much bigger than the Freestyle. So, if you want room, go for the minivan. If the ride is more important, and size second go for the Ford.

Good luck w/ your purchase!

Well we test drove the Sedona and the Freestyle this weekend. We liked them both but are leaning towards the Freestyle. It does feel more stable to me and we don't need all the room of a minivan (although I do like the sliding doors). Still undecided though and we need to find a pre-owned one with the side airbags. The salesman at the Kia dealership gave me an crazy high price on an LX ($27K with no power doors) and I looked at him like he was crazy. In any case, the kids were bouncing off the walls at that point and we needed to leave. DH gets so annoyed at car dealerships. He calls it the "uncomfortable stage where they won't let you leave." I tried to make it clear that we weren't ready to make a decision today, but the guy had a hard time giving up. Having an ADHD child with sensory issues and a 2 year old copying everything he does helps us make our point though!

By now you probably have a car, but if not here's my take. I'd go with the Kia. The Sedona is the top rated minivan and comes with a great warranty. The Freestyle I don't know much about, but it's never a good idea to purchase a car the first year it's out. Makers usually correct mistakes in following models. No one I know, including myself, has had good luck with Mazdas. Myself, sister-in-law, and sister have all owned Mazda Proteges that were bad, bad cars. Lots of money went into them. A friend of mine researched and then bought a Mazda 5. After 400 miles, the transmission went. It was fixed under warranty, but continues to surge (the rpms suddenly rise) shortly after she starts it. Kinda scary. That's all I have to say, and maybe it's too late. If not, best of luck in purchasing a new vehicle. There are so many out there and it's always fun to shop.

solmama said:

No one I know, including myself, has had good luck with Mazdas. Myself, sister-in-law, and sister have all owned Mazda Proteges that were bad, bad cars. Lots of money went into them. A friend of mine researched and then bought a Mazda 5. After 400 miles, the transmission went. It was fixed under warranty, but continues to surge (the rpms suddenly rise) shortly after she starts it. Kinda scary.

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i think there are a handful of people here with mazda5's who all love them... i have a mazda3 (same platform as the mazda5) and i love it as well... 7300 miles so far and not a glitch. as for the sedona, i can't say i know anything about that model, but previous generation sedonas and other kia models have had LOTS of reliability problems. they've gotten better since hyundai bought kia, and the new kias are essentially rebadged hyundais. and even hyundais have only recently gotten better (i had a 2002 hyundai with way too many problems).

it's moot point anyway, since ajweeks just bought an odyssey.

ajweeks said:

The salesman at the Kia dealership gave me an crazy high price on an LX ($27K with no power doors) and I looked at him like he was crazy.

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Seriously?? We bought a new 2006 Sedona LX with power in February - it had been a dealer demo so had 1600 miles and we got a $3500 discount. Before that discount our price was nearly $5k LESS than the # you were quoted - that is insane!