Mazda5 Review

southpawboston · Dec 10, 2007

Defrost said:
From the outboard, too? I'll have to go look, but it seems like the ones in our Golf are buried by the seat bottom. :shrug-shoulders: All I know is she asked me to send pics of how I could access both ends of the seat belt, and then after we got the harness she admitted she was concerned about the clamps being too big to fit in the narrow space. I'll admit, it was a very tight squeeze on the outboard side and I'm glad we won't be removing it!

the golf seat bottom should be a piece of cake to remove. i can't remember about the newer style golfs, but on the old ones from the 80s and early 90s, it was just two screws in the front of the cushion. the rear of the cushion is just held in with metal tabs. unscrew those two screws, then slide the cushion forward and the rear tabs just slide out. presto! most cars have some variation on this setup. you often need to remove the back seat cushion to access the fuel filter. :thumbsup:

Defrost · Dec 12, 2007

Excuse me, I need to rant.

We were behind a Mazda MPV at a stop light yesterday. The rear row of that vehicle is remarkably similar to the 5 - very close to the back window, tiny cargo space, etc. With one very notable exception - the rear seat belts have ROUTERS. They are identical to the ones in my center row. I could tell even from where I was that the rear row seatbelts in the MPV did NOT have the forward-of-the-seat issue I have.

WHY WHY WHY did they change it?? It just makes absolutely no sense to me! It just drives me nuts!!

teekadog · Dec 13, 2007

So I'm playing with a Regent and Radian right now. I CAN get the Regent in the 3rd row, I CANNOT get the Radian in. Sound right with the consensus, or am I doing something wrong?

Defrost · Dec 13, 2007

Yep, that's all I can do with it - Husky yes, Radian no! Is your Regent using the recline bar?

teekadog · Dec 13, 2007

Yes, I'm using the recline bar. I was surprised how easy it was to install. Both dds like the Regent much more than the Radian. It leaves 4yo dd NO leg room in the 3rd row, since both middle seats need to be all the way back to fit the rfing Marathons. But she says she likes it that way, it reminds her of rfing.

I hope to try a Safeguard next month.

Defrost · Dec 13, 2007

Really? That thing drove me nuts with the recline bar! But then, once I let it recline the way the recline bar tries to make it, it went in pretty well. I'm just spoiled by the Husky and the LBP.

My kids don't seem to mind the lack of leg-room, either. Some days they get more than others, even though I don't have RF seats in the center row; just depends on how the kids adjust them. But either way the kids in the back haven't complained, and they're 13 and 11!

Victorious4 · Dec 13, 2007

Defrost said:
WHY WHY WHY did they change it?? It just makes absolutely no sense to me! It just drives me nuts!!

Grrrrr! :hitselfonhead:

But, I'm still quite happy for you about the custom EZOn update

Defrost · Jan 28, 2008

Here's some pics of the seats I've installed in my Mazda 5.

RF Radian, 3rd row:

Husky, LBP + recline bar:

Husky, LBP no recline bar:

Radian FF, 2nd row:

Radian RF, 2nd row:

jen_nah · Jan 28, 2008

Debbie,

That is AWESOME on the EZ On. Glad you found a great solution for the seatbelt problem.

dimsumdaddy · Jan 30, 2008

southpawboston said:
yes and no. in theory it *does* raise the rollover risk, however the weight limit of the rack is something like 150 lbs, so that is quite minimal and probably doesn't affect the car's overall emergency handling dynamics significantly (plus a mazda5 is going to be intrinsically a lot less rollover-prone than any SUV, regardless of stability control). the advantage, on the other hand, is that the roof racks maintain a more or less even front to rear weight balance. this affects the handling of the car. rear box hitch-mounted systems add a LOT of weight to the rear axle (more than having the same weight in the trunk, since there is a cantilever effect the farther behind the rear axle you put the weight). this shifts the weight distribution far to the rear, which is very bad for handling. so arguably, a rear hitch mount system makes the car less stable than a roof-top system.

and this i know firsthand. i once transported an electric wheelchair on a hitch-mount platform carrier on a subaru outback. the wheelchair was only 220 lbs, but the back of the car dragged so badly i felt dangerously unstable on the road. if that wheelchair had fit inside the car, that little weight wouldn't have made the car feel any different.

I really don't want to detract a great thread, but these comments are extremely misleading.

150 lbs is not insignificant, especially when it is at the highest point in the car. This is about 4 feet above the roll center of the car, which is about the equivalent of adding a 300 lbs object in the cabin about 2' above the roll center. The carrier WILL affect handling/dynamics drastically. And WILL increase roll potential, especially since the top/bottom weight distribution is now 150 lbs more dense at the top. It's not going to suddenly cause you to roll at every turn, but it's not insignificant. But true, the Mazda5 is inherently less rollover prone than a typical SUV, or even van.

I'm not saying not to use a carrier, but best practice would probably be to load up the cabin as much as possible first, THEN put stuff in the carrier. Oh... and of course, leave as much stuff at home as possible.

The trailer is different than a hitch carrier. The 200+ chair on the hitch weighs down on the car at a point farther out than the farthest point of the car... no wonder it weighed the rear down.

A trailer on the other hand is supported by it's own wheels. Braking and acceleration will obviously be affected.

Back on topic... great reviews of what's possible with the Mazda5.

Defrost · Jan 30, 2008

dimsumdaddy said:
Back on topic... great reviews of what's possible with the Mazda5.

Thanks for adding your perspective! I really do love this car, in spite of the headaches it's caused in the past.

Our plan for traveling right now is "leave two kids at home" or fly.

I think we could manage a short road trip if we only brought one medium-sized backpack of clothes for each of us, though, and stored them in the foot wells. Then the driver's backpack could go in the rear glove box, oops, I mean cargo area.

southpawboston · Jan 30, 2008

dimsumdaddy said:
A trailer on the other hand is supported by it's own wheels. Braking and acceleration will obviously be affected.

more than acceleration and braking are affected. without having trailer brakes, upon braking in a turn, the trailer is putting additional lateral force on the rear of the vehicle, destabilizing the rear of the vehicle and promoting unsafe oversteer.

i have driven with all three forms of external storage-- rooftop racks, box-hitch platforms, and trailers. all things considered, rooftop racks have been then least disruptive to the car's handling, in my experience. your mileage may vary.

TXDani · Jan 31, 2008

southpawboston said:
more than acceleration and braking are affected. without having trailer brakes, upon braking in a turn, the trailer is putting additional lateral force on the rear of the vehicle, destabilizing the rear of the vehicle and promoting unsafe oversteer.

i have driven with all three forms of external storage-- rooftop racks, box-hitch platforms, and trailers. all things considered, rooftop racks have been then least disruptive to the car's handling, in my experience. your mileage may vary.

I totally agree with this! I would way rather have my Thule loaded on the top of my SUV than tow a trailer. I don't mind towing our trailer but it affects the way my car drives a lot more than my cargo box ever could. We drove from Oregon to Las Vegas and back with our roof box full of heavy baby gear (pack n play, stroller, loaded duffel bag). You couldn't even tell it was on top of the car going through the twisty roads that go through the mountain ranges in Southern Oregon and Northern Cali. On the other hand I have also done this exact drive towing a trailer, and it wasn't even our big 15ft trailer it was a measly 6ft trailer and this affected the handling on my SUV greatly.

southpawboston · Jan 31, 2008

not to mention that the weight of a trailer alone will diminish your fuel efficiency way more than the wind drag of a rooftop carrier, and also it reduces your rearward visibility, introducing an altogether different safety liability. :twocents:

TXDani · Jan 31, 2008

southpawboston said:
not to mention that the weight of a trailer alone will diminish your fuel efficiency way more than the wind drag of a rooftop carrier, and also it reduces your rearward visibility, introducing an altogether different safety liability. :twocents:

And it degrades the looks of your vehicle while a rooftop box can inhance it.

southpawboston · Feb 1, 2008

thefosters.2 said:
And it degrades the looks of your vehicle while a rooftop box can inhance it.

right on :thumbsup:. there's something about a sporty car with a rooftop yakima or thule loaded up with biking gear that just makes the car that much sexier

. i'm a yakima fan, personally

.

teekadog · Feb 1, 2008

We have Thule, because that's what Mazda sells. I really wanted the silver cargo box, but got the black instead... Which is probably a good thing, because as soon as we put it on, DH promptly drove into the garage. Umm, but it was about 2" too tall. I'd hate to think of a nice silver box with all those scratches, so I guess black was a good thing.

Oh, and I no longer hold the honor of "dumbest mistake with a car."

southpawboston · Feb 1, 2008

XmasEve said:
We have Thule, because that's what Mazda sells. I really wanted the silver cargo box, but got the black instead... Which is probably a good thing, because as soon as we put it on, DH promptly drove into the garage. Umm, but it was about 2" too tall. I'd hate to think of a nice silver box with all those scratches, so I guess black was a good thing.

Oh, and I no longer hold the honor of "dumbest mistake with a car."

DW drove into our garage with her mountain bike on the rack

. fortunately because of the design of the rack, the mounts just released under the stress and the whole rack tipped backward. only one tiny ding got made in the roof, smaller than a dime. and the bike was fine! :thumbsup:

Defrost · Feb 16, 2008

And the next chapter in the saga... the Graco Nautilus!

Yes, it installs in the rear row. I bit tricky, but not that difficult. (It may well be my new favorite carseat, to be honest.) We had to tighten, then unbuckle, let the seat belt retract one more click, then do the super-fun-bouncey-thing to get it re-buckled, but it was a tight install after that. Tip - keep the headrest ON, all the way down (the tether goes OVER the headrest in this vehicle in this seating position, btw.)

Furthermore, I didn't have my kids with me to try it out, BUT it looks like the GN has a thick enough seatback to compensate for the ridiculously-forward-seat-belts in booster mode. *color me shocked*

One note - it's freaking TALL back there. Absolutely no rear view with the headrest in the top booster position - no window showing, top of carseat brushing the top of the hatch sill.

And a note on head excursion - the Mazda 5 actually has very good measurements. 30cm in the rear row with the center seat all the way back and reclined two clicks (smallest measurement). With the front seats all the way back and reclined two clicks and the center row all the way forward, it starts getting a bit sketchy for the center row at 27cm, but with plenty of room for the third row passengers, not a likely situation. :thumbsup:

teekadog · Feb 18, 2008

Is it a concern that it touches the top of the car?

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