Question Anyone do 3 (across?) in a Mazda 5?

lgenne · Feb 9, 2014

We've only got 2 so far, but we're planning a 3rd, and my husband's 13 year old car needs to be replaced. We have a minivan that will continue to be the way we do long trips, but we'll need to be able to take all 3 kids in either vehicle.

We're not getting a second minivan, but I am in love with sliding doors, especially with FF car seats. And I really don't want another giant vehicle. So I'm thinking Mazda 5.

I've heard the 3rd row isn't very useful, especially with car seats. So I'm guessing it'll be a 3 across scenario. Our oldest, depending on exact timing of this theoretical pregnancy, how fast he grows, and how quickly he learns to sit still, will be in one of 3 seats: FF Radian, harnessed Frontier 90 (or other high shoulder height/weight harnessed seat that comes out in the next year or 2--we don't have this seat yet if ever), or a HBB. The younger kid is still RF, and I'd like to keep it that way as long as possible. And we'd need a new infant seat, since the old one expires in less than a year.

We have 2 Radians already, so I'm assuming they'd both end up in that car if my oldest doesn't outgrow them before then.

How difficult is it to do 3 in a Mazda 5? Did you do 3 across, or stick one in the 3rd row? How is it in terms of space with a RF car seat behind the passenger seat? How hard is it to get kids in and out?

NVMBR02 · Feb 9, 2014

Hi there!

The Mazda 5 is a 6 seat vehicle and doesn't have 3 seats across in any of the rows so you wont be able to fit 3 across. I do not own one, though I did rent one for a week and I found it to be a fairly car seat friendly vehicle, especially if you don't need a lot of cargo space.

I know the third row seatbelts were redesigned at some point, I believe around 2009. I think some boosters still may not be a great fit in the third row, but it is still a very much usable row for seating.

lgenne · Feb 9, 2014

Oh, I should have looked closer! I had no idea there wasn't a center seat at all. The 3rd row would be awfully difficult to use with 2 car seats in the 2nd row. Back to the drawing board.

katymyers · Feb 9, 2014

I have four car seats in my Mazda5 (one in each seat). The vehicle has been fantastic for car seats, the only downside for me is cargo space which was really only an issue for travel so we got a rooftop cargo carrier.

Dillipop · Feb 9, 2014

I have 3 kids in our mazda5. It's our second car, as we have a full size sienna as our primary. I love having my rear facer in the third row. The radian works wonderfully back there and loading the kid through the hatch is super easy. When I had a ffing harness kid, the frontier 85 fit beautifully in either row. We put our booster riders in the second row for now.

amyd · Feb 9, 2014

I have 3 in my Mazda 5. RFing seat in the second row and booster rider and FFing harnessed in third row. As Katy says, the only downside is the cargo space.

teekadog · Feb 10, 2014

I've got 4 seats in a Mazda5 and the only issue I've had with putting seats in the 3rd row is the shoulder belts and that was fixed in 09? 10? (In case you were looking used). And the 5 is our largest car.

lgenne · Feb 10, 2014

So how do you handle getting kids in and out of the 3rd row? Always through the hatch?

Aurezalia · Feb 10, 2014

lgenne said:
So how do you handle getting kids in and out of the 3rd row? Always through the hatch?

Depends what your set-up is. I've got a rf'er, a ff'er second row, and a booster rider third row. She just climbs in past the second row seats (she'll even opt to climb under the RF'ing seat sometimes, so that doesn't stop kids from getting past it) and buckles herself into her seat. I usually just open up the hatch and double-check her buckling job.

it'd be just as easy to have a FF'er or older RF'er climb back there and you could help buckle through the hatch.
Like other have said, the only downside to having 3-4 kids in the 5 is the lack of cargo space... But that also makes it REALLY easy to go through the hatch for things.

teekadog · Feb 10, 2014

lgenne said:
So how do you handle getting kids in and out of the 3rd row? Always through the hatch?

I'm in the minority that I don't really like loading through the hatch in the 5. I only put rfers there when I have to. I have always had 1-2 rfers in the middle row- usually 2- and my ffers in the 3rd row. Kids crawl under or climb over the rfing 2rd row seats to get to the 3rd row and then I can reach them from the sliding door to buckle them or check their buckling. At age 9 my oldest was getting a bit big to climb over/under a classic Marathon easily, but when we switched to a rfing Radian the lower profile made it easy peasy to climb over. The cco was not easy to get by and the Nextfit was impossible, so I guess it does depend on what you have rfing there.

lgenne · Feb 10, 2014

Well, I'm totally open to buying new car seats. But we'd probably have a Radian and a TBD infant bucket seat. And probably eventually 2 Radians. RF Radians only with an angle adjuster, if that makes a difference.

lgenne · Feb 10, 2014

Oh, another question: how is it for bigger kids? We tend to keep vehicles for 10+ years. Would teens do ok in both the 2nd and 3rd rows?

teekadog · Feb 10, 2014

Depends on the size of the teens. I'm 5'4" and do fine. 6'2" dh isn't comfortable in the 3rd row. Defrost has a 5 and teens. She might know better.

lgenne · Feb 11, 2014

teekadog said:
Depends on the size of the teens. I'm 5'4" and do fine. 6'2" dh isn't comfortable in the 3rd row. Defrost has a 5 and teens. She might know better.

Hm. My oldest is LARGE for his age, but that doesn't really mean much for his teen years. And presumably he'd be able to sit in the 2nd row or even the passenger seat at ages I'm thinking about. The 3rd row could be for smaller/younger kids.

I'm kind of excited about this possibility. DH is much less convinced. I'm planning to go to the dealership and play with one in person this weekend, whether he wants to join me or not. Likely with kids in tow. Fun!

Aurezalia · Feb 11, 2014

My 5'6" sister rode in the third row the other week behind a RF RN and a KF30 in the second row seats. She was fine.

I imagine anyone much larger than that wouldn't be comfy, but it is doable.

tesslouise · Feb 11, 2014

I'm 5'2" and find sitting in the third row of our Mazda5 uncomfortable (I sit back there with my MIL when my ILs visit--DH drives and his dad sits in front as they're both much taller than my MIL and I). I wouldn't want to do it for a long trip or on a regular basis.

But I do love our Mazda5 and haven't regretted buying it.

lgenne · Feb 15, 2014

Well, I walked into a Mazda dealership with a Radian strapped to my back, a toddler on my hip, and a 4 year old holding my hand. Oh, and a bag with parts for a RF Radian install. I don't think they quite knew what to make of me.

On the whole, I liked it quite a bit. I didn't actually drive it, because that would have required getting 2 solid car seat installs in it, then reinstalling the CCO in the minivan, and we had 2 more stops to make before nap time.

My only complaints:

1) I have long legs. The driver's seat doesn't quite go back far enough for me. It's manageable, but not ideal. This is a problem with every mid-size or small car I've ever tried, so it's not really unexpected.

2) No lower anchors in the 3rd row. I was envisioning a LATCH capable HBB for my oldest back there in a couple of years. I don't really see the seat belt getting buckled over the empty booster every time.

I loved the ease of the RF Radian in the 3rd row. I wasn't a fan of the FF harnessed Radian in the 3rd row. I couldn't reach the buckle.

My 4 year old declared: "The Mazda 5 rocks!" Then insisted that we buy it immediately. (Never mind that I haven't driven it, my husband hasn't seen it, and they didn't have my first or second choice color.)

teekadog · Feb 15, 2014

My dh has long legs and even with the seat all the way back his knees rests on the gearshift console. It's not ideal but he's driven cross country a couple times like that.

I'm impressed you got a FFing radian in the 3rd row. In my 2007 it's incompatible :-(

I find putting kids back in harnessed seats when they forget to buckle in their boosters does an excellent job of remedying the "forget to buckle in booster" memory slip.

lgenne · Feb 15, 2014

teekadog said:
My dh has long legs and even with the seat all the way back his knees rests on the gearshift console. It's not ideal but he's driven cross country a couple times like that.

I'm impressed you got a FFing radian in the 3rd row. In my 2007 it's incompatible :-(

I find putting kids back in harnessed seats when they forget to buckle in their boosters does an excellent job of remedying the "forget to buckle in booster" memory slip.

The leg thing isn't that bad for me. Wow! I'm just used to my Odyssey at this point.

Someone upthread mentioned that they redesigned the 3rd row seat belts in 2009 or so. What were the old ones like? Forward of the bight or something?

Good call on the failure to buckle boosters. Although there's every possibility with this kid that that plan would require buying a whole new car seat. He has slowed down a lot, but at one point I was convinced he would outgrow his Radian before his 4th birthday.

Avery'sMama · Feb 21, 2014

We use a Mazda 5 with four kids in the car (one FF, one RF, two boostered) every day.

It's not big. I'm use to a full sized mini-van and driving this daily is driving me a bit nuts

I need room for a stroller, groceries, etc. that I don't have because I have to have all four seats up. Now, my neighbor has one with three kids (one RF, two boostered) and she keeps part of her third row folded and she's quite happy with it.

I will say that I have found it handles poorly in the snow. Now, take that with a grain of salt because the last two winters it wasn't bad for DH to drive, but this year I had it and I have not enjoyed driving it in the Arctic Tundra that use to be known as Michigan.

We bought it to be DH's primarily vehicle that would allow him to transport all the kids. We need two cars that can move the whole family. It's been perfect for that- commuting for him, getting kids from daycare, etc. However, I wouldn't want it as my only "kid hauling" vehicle. We just move with too much stuff too regularly.

Question Anyone do 3 (across?) in a Mazda 5?

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