Share your thoughts on Mazda5

We borrowed a family members 09 Mazda 5 to try before we made a decision. We traded vehicles for a week, and ended up not buying one. Our reasons were many, but I'll list the major factors for our decision.
1. The third row seemed like more of an afterthought than really usable seating. Our then 9 year old (who is very tall for his age) barely had enough leg room there. At 12 he is 5'5" and will no longer ride in the third row when visiting that family member.
2. We have 3 kids and cargo space with the third row up is almost zero. Honestly, getting groceries for a family of 5 for a week in there was pushing it! It does great for 4 people and cargo, but don't expect to get much in there if you're actually using the third row.
3. Hubby and I are both quite tall ( I'm 6'1" and he's 6'3") and there wasn't enough leg room for the driver. At one point hubby was driving and moved his leg and his knee ended up turning the key to the off position while driving on the interstate.

All that being said, I personally thought it was fun to drive, I just wish it had been a little bigger. We ended up getting a Honda odyssey and love it. It really fits our needs perfectly. If the Mazda 5 fits your needs then go for it. Personally, I would see if there's anywhere that rents them and rent one for a week if possible. That should be enough time for you to see of you really want to buy one.

Jackie010307 said:

Personally, I would see if there's anywhere that rents them and rent one for a week if possible. That should be enough time for you to see of you really want to buy one.

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That is an absolutely great idea! I'm sad to hear about the seemingly unthought out 3rd row and lack of room for you and your family. I really need to see this car in person and find out if it's possible or not.

threeundertwo said:

I'm pretty sure all Mazda5s do NOT have any vents in the 3rd row.

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This sounds bad, but is it a deal-breaker would you say in a hot climate? Currently we have only the front vents in my civic, which have to work their way to the back seat. Would the air vents in the 2nd row similarly have to work their way back to the 3rd row in the 5?

I may have to try renting one just to see if it is really workable, as was suggested by jackie.

jasminegrl said:

i have a 2012 a remote start was an option but for where we live its not really necessary but we could always have it added on later. There are only 2 AC vents in the middle row, and in winter they DO NOT produce heat, its ac only. No vents in the 3rd row, i have trouble keeping my 2 RFers cool with the way the vents are set up, I end up freezing in the front in order to keep them from sweating.

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I like the remote starter idea, as I end up doing that anyways to cool off the car before loading my kiddos. Good to know I could add it on later!

I'm not sure the heat vents would be as big a problem as weak A/C cooling. Probably would have to just throw blankets over their seats in the winter. It only snowed here 1 day last year.

I have a mazda5 but it's an 07 so I haven't chimed in. We are a family of 6, 4 in seats, and while space is tight we make it work. I homeschool so I often have all my kids when I grocery shop, too. We're camping right now and with a cargo box we got everything to fit.

We only have temp vents in the front, but we have the darkest tint we could get. Because of that, and the tiny windows in the back with the large windshield, I find that in our desert climate the rear stays cooler than the front. However when we drove through the gulf coast states in July the car was hot with humidity!

I'm 5'4" and have driven cross country multiple times in the 3rd row. My 6'1" husband can stand it for about 20 minutes. The front seat is a tight for him too.

Our only/biggest gripe is the tires, though we've never had serious problems as it sounds others have. Traction isn't great. We don't get inclement weather enough to warrant the cost of seasonal tires so that's part of it. We do feel we go through tires more in this car and the tires aren't cheap. They do wear evenly, just quickly.

I don't think this is the perfect car for everyone, so I don't recommend it. But it's the perfect car for us, so I feel I need to chime in that it CAN work, even for a family with 4 kids. And yes, this is our biggest family car!

teekadog said:

I have a mazda5 but it's an 07 so I haven't chimed in. We are a family of 6, 4 in seats, and while space is tight we make it work. I homeschool so I often have all my kids when I grocery shop, too. We're camping right now and with a cargo box we got everything to fit.

We only have temp vents in the front, but we have the darkest tint we could get. Because of that, and the tiny windows in the back with the large windshield, I find that in our desert climate the rear stays cooler than the front. However when we drove through the gulf coast states in July the car was hot with humidity!

I'm 5'4" and have driven cross country multiple times in the 3rd row. My 6'1" husband can stand it for about 20 minutes. The front seat is a tight for him too.

Our only/biggest gripe is the tires, though we've never had serious problems as it sounds others have. Traction isn't great. We don't get inclement weather enough to warrant the cost of seasonal tires so that's part of it. We do feel we go through tires more in this car and the tires aren't cheap. They do wear evenly, just quickly.

I don't think this is the perfect car for everyone, so I don't recommend it. But it's the perfect car for us, so I feel I need to chime in that it CAN work, even for a family with 4 kids. And yes, this is our biggest family car!

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I have an '07 as well and I'm about to have baby number four. I feel like for us it's perfect and I love it. I don't mind the small cargo space, I just bought I smaller stroller and with three kids under four I can't buy a ton of groceries at a time anyway. DH is 5'9" and I'm 5'6" so even with rear facing car seats and an infant seat behind us we have more than enough leg room. The best part is gas mileage, I know what the estimates are but with my driving habits and mine being a manual trans I get at least 30 mpg city. I love this car and plan on buying another when the time comes.

Trying one out is best! While it isn't a good fit for taller folks, it does work great for big folks. My Mr. & I are on the heavy side. In the accord we rubbed elbows. He was skeptical of the 5 but pleasantly surprised when we just sat in one to test the waters, to see if it was worth pursuing. I can get to the 3rd to tighten harnesses, but its a bit like getting out a clown car for me to walk back out of it. lol. I ended up putting the FF RXTs in the 3rd row and the booster child in the 2nd. The other captains chair is folded down. A/C hasn't been an issue in the rear so far and I live in hot & humid lower Alabama. It cools down pretty quickly. But, I am looking at having tint added just to help.

In regards to air flow for the 3rd row- I'm going to order a 3.5' Noggle and see how that works. Just waiting on them getting in a neutral black/grey fabric first.

I've had this thread and the third row air flow in my head for weeks now and every time I grab dd out of the third row, I check to feel how warm it is back there. It's been in the 90's here with massive humidity and by the time we get where we are going, it is always cool back there. The fabric on her seat is even cool when she's not in it. I was a bit concerned about airflow but the front and middle vents do a great job cooling the entire interior and pretty quickly, imo.

It works better for me to have booster child in 3rd row & 2 Radians in captains chairs for many reasons, but she must have airflow on her face or she gets car sick. =\

bkcwzy said:

It works better for me to have booster child in 3rd row & 2 Radians in captains chairs for many reasons, but she must have airflow on her face or she gets car sick. =\

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And I have the opposite- rfing radian in the 3rd row with 2 boosters in the middle.

Dillipop said:

And I have the opposite- rfing radian in the 3rd row with 2 boosters in the middle.

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Oh, all mine are ffing.

My wife and I bought a brand new Mazda 5 Grand Touring in 2008 when she was pregnant with our first daughter. We now have two girls (4 and 2), and it's been great for two kids.

Recently it burned up the transmission @ 83K miles, which is making me a bit sick to my stomach. Out of warranty of course, and we still owe close to $6K on the vehicle. With a third one on the way, we are looking at potentially getting something bigger. I have been reading on this forum about the Mazda5 with 3 kids, and while it sounds doable, it's not optimal.

The times I've driven it, it's been a 'fun' sporty type van. Doesn't "look" like a minivan, which was a big part of her appeal.

If you plan on making long trips with pets, you'll want to invest in a rooftop carrier. With us, one child, two dogs, and baby gear, we were at max capacity. Throw a Christmas holiday in there, and you're stacked to the roof. If long trips & pets are on your list, I'd consider something larger.

NOTE: This junk was packed in a staggered way so that the items would not fall on our kid. Looks bad in the pictures, but it was solid. Light fluffy stuff up top.