Mazda 5 - work for me? Reliability?

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teekadog

Active member
Must. Not. Buy. Maclaren. Triumph. Twin.

Must. Not.

gee, thanks, southpaw

P.S. When are you finally going to buy a 5? My dh is itching to buy a speed3 now...
 

Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
oh, we had a graco double.... no way would it fit behind the third row. i don't even need to try to know that! that thing was a bus!

See, and that's what I picture when I hear "double stroller," but it appears there are strollers available that aren't as bus-like, so I'll have to try to adjust my mental image. :)
 

Heather98012

New member
Ok, so we are considering having baby #2, & my Hyundai Tucson will be too small since I want more room for others to ride in. My dh has a Toyota Sequoia which has 3 rows, but there aren't captain's chairs in the second row, & if you have 2 car seats in it, then the 3rd row is useless (essentially).

I've been looking at the Acadia/Outlook/Enclave, the new Highlander, or the R class. I love the Mazda5, but am concerned about seating for adults. What about for us that are um....plus sized?! I'm worried it will be too small for a plus sized person. Any thoughts?!

I've never wanted to do a minivan...just can't stand the thought of it. But, the sliding doors are tempting & the 5 doesn't look minivan-ish in person!!
 

Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
What about for us that are um....plus sized?! I'm worried it will be too small for a plus sized person. Any thoughts?!

I think it would be all right. You'd really have to test-drive it and see for yourself. My mom is plus-sized and said it was "a comfy car" when riding my Mazda5, both in the front passenger seat and the 2nd row. I'm sure it really depends on the individual, though.
 

Heather98012

New member
I think it would be all right. You'd really have to test-drive it and see for yourself. My mom is plus-sized and said it was "a comfy car" when riding my Mazda5, both in the front passenger seat and the 2nd row. I'm sure it really depends on the individual, though.

Good to know. I mean, most anything works really (esp. if you're in the front...ha!), but it seems small from the outside for some reason. <shrug> Must be an optical illusion!
 

Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
Good to know. I mean, most anything works really (esp. if you're in the front...ha!), but it seems small from the outside for some reason. <shrug> Must be an optical illusion!

Yeah, it does look small from the outside! It makes VERY good use of the space available, though. I think it's pretty similar to the amount of room you'd have in a minivan - not as much as in a full-size pickup or large sedan, but not as little as a compact car, either.
 

dad_to_sophie

New member
To those who think ESC is not important, please think again. ESC is more than just minimizing roll over accidents in SUVs. It helps the driver of any vehicles regain control if they unexpectedly hit a slippery patch of ice or water. It is an "intelligent" system that will apply brakes to individual wheels and also reduce engine throttling to keep the vehicle in its intended path.

Here is a link to the press release from IIHS on the subject of ESC:

http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr061306.html

An excerpt from the press release:

The new research confirms that ESC reduces the risk of all single-vehicle crashes by more than 40 percent — fatal ones by 56 percent. The researchers estimate that if all vehicles were equipped with ESC, as many as 10,000 fatal crashes could be avoided each year.

"The findings indicate that ESC should be standard on all vehicles," says Susan Ferguson, Institute senior vice president for research. "Very few safety technologies show this kind of large effect in reducing crash deaths."


It is true that SUV tends to benefit more with ESC because of rollover risk mitigation but the benefits to any vehicle cannot be downplayed. In fact, NHTSA has put in a mandate that all vehicles sold in US by 2012 has to come standard with ESC.
Here is the link to the NHTSA ruling:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/Rulemaking/Rules/Associated Files/ESC_FR_03_2007.pdf

Mazda 5 is an excellent vehicle that fit my needs. Unfortunately, I decided against it because of the lack of ESC. Instead, I chosed the 08 Saturn VUE. My previous car (05 Grand Prix GXP), and my wife's (05 Pontiac Vibe) all have ESC. I can tell you, from first hand experience, ESC has saved us from some close calls. We live in Michigan and we have to deal with snow and ice. Sometimes, no matter how slow and careful you drive, you will unexpectedly hit an icy patch and lose control. ESC can help in these situations. Sometimes, it might not be life and death accidents but still in the middle of winter, any minor accidents with your baby in the car can be troublesome. Calling the cop, waiting for the tow truck, getting a rental car,....etc

Be careful though, having ESC doesn't mean you can drive recklessly. You still cannot defy the law of physics. It will not save you if you drive too fast for the road conditions.
 

southpawboston

New member
To those who think ESC is not important, please think again. ESC is more than just minimizing roll over accidents in SUVs. It helps the driver of any vehicles regain control if they unexpectedly hit a slippery patch of ice or water. It is an "intelligent" system that will apply brakes to individual wheels and also reduce engine throttling to keep the vehicle in its intended path.

Here is a link to the press release from IIHS on the subject of ESC:

http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr061306.html

An excerpt from the press release:

The new research confirms that ESC reduces the risk of all single-vehicle crashes by more than 40 percent — fatal ones by 56 percent. The researchers estimate that if all vehicles were equipped with ESC, as many as 10,000 fatal crashes could be avoided each year.

"The findings indicate that ESC should be standard on all vehicles," says Susan Ferguson, Institute senior vice president for research. "Very few safety technologies show this kind of large effect in reducing crash deaths."


It is true that SUV tends to benefit more with ESC because of rollover risk mitigation but the benefits to any vehicle cannot be downplayed. In fact, NHTSA has put in a mandate that all vehicles sold in US by 2012 has to come standard with ESC.
Here is the link to the NHTSA ruling:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/Rulemaking/Rules/Associated Files/ESC_FR_03_2007.pdf

Mazda 5 is an excellent vehicle that fit my needs. Unfortunately, I decided against it because of the lack of ESC. Instead, I chosed the 08 Saturn VUE. My previous car (05 Grand Prix GXP), and my wife's (05 Pontiac Vibe) all have ESC. I can tell you, from first hand experience, ESC has saved us from some close calls. We live in Michigan and we have to deal with snow and ice. Sometimes, no matter how slow and careful you drive, you will unexpectedly hit an icy patch and lose control. ESC can help in these situations. Sometimes, it might not be life and death accidents but still in the middle of winter, any minor accidents with your baby in the car can be troublesome. Calling the cop, waiting for the tow truck, getting a rental car,....etc

Be careful though, having ESC doesn't mean you can drive recklessly. You still cannot defy the law of physics. It will not save you if you drive too fast for the road conditions.

i don't doubt the very real benefits of ESC, but it is also important to note that those impressive statistics about accident prevention by ESC don't apply equally to all cars. the benefit to large unwieldy vehicles may be orders of magnitude greater than to small cars, but the statistics are all lumped together for all vehicle types.

for example, i would not consider an SUV without ESC, but i would consider a small car without it. i also think it's very important that drivers know how to control a car in a loss-of-control situation. as you said yourself, just because you have ESC, you may not recover from a skid. if you are properly trained to deal with skids, you may do a better job than the ESC. the safest combination of features is a car with ESC and a driver who can control the car. that's why when my daughters are of driving age, i'm sending them to a professional driving school (NOT the pathetic driver ed classes that you take to reduce your insurance premiums-- i'm talking about track time).

your last comment is also very important. there is a psychological phenomenon called "Risk compensation" which demonstrates that we unconsciously take greater risks when we know there is a certain safety net. this has been proven in a huge body of literature, especially as it pertains to bicyclists and automobiles. risk compensation has been shown to hold true when drivers switch from a car without ABS brakes to one with ABS brakes. it has also been shown that drivers unconsciously driver closer to cyclists who are wearing helmets than to cyclists who aren't. i wouldn't be surprised if the same phenomenon happens when drivers switch from an older car to a newer one with airbags and ESC. it's all about perceived risks and how our brains process them without us being aware.
 

dad_to_sophie

New member
i don't doubt the very real benefits of ESC, but it is also important to note that those impressive statistics about accident prevention by ESC don't apply equally to all cars. the benefit to large unwieldy vehicles may be orders of magnitude greater than to small cars, but the statistics are all lumped together for all vehicle types.

Here is an excerpt form th IIHS press release:

"While both cars and SUVs benefit from ESC, the reduction in the risk of single-vehicle crashes was significantly greater for SUVs — 49 percent versus 33 percent for cars. The reduction in fatal single-vehicle crashes wasn't significantly different for SUVs (59 percent) than for cars (53 percent)."

Its clear to me, ESC plays a major role in reducing fatal single-vehicle crashes not just for SUV but for cars too.

as you said yourself, just because you have ESC, you may not recover from a skid.

But if you drive according to the road conditions and hit a patch of ice, more than likely, ESC will save you from an accident.

if you are properly trained to deal with skids, you may do a better job than the ESC.

The key word in your sentence is "may". No matter how properly trained you are, you still CANNOT selectively brake the individual wheel to bring your car out of a skid(oversteer) or plow(understeer). All you can do if you are oversteering (mostly in a RWD vehicle) is reduce throttle and counter steer in the direction of the skid. And if you are understeering, depending whether its a RWD or FWD vehicle, you do things differently.
ESC can do this, it will know if the vehicle is oversteering or understeering and apply brake to the selected wheel to bring the vehicle back to its intended path. More advanced ESC system can even apply a resistance to the steering wheel if you continue to steer in the wrong direction.

And remember, you can walk away from the training with confidence but you might not remember what you learned because you don't use it daily. Plus, when you are faced with a vehicle getting out of control situation, you only have a split second to react and panic sets in, you forget what you learned.

For most folks who doesn't have the money, or time to attend a performance driving school, ESC is the answer.

the safest combination of features is a car with ESC and a driver who can control the car.

Agree 100% that is the safest combo.

Again, let me re-iterate, law of physics still apply. One should drive sensibly according to road conditions. Treat ESC only as a backup safety net.
 

teekadog

Active member
I did not mean to trivialize ESC in any of my previous posts. I think ESC is a very important safety feature, and it would be nice if every car had it. But they don't yet, and in the meantime, my budget allowed for a Mazda5 rather than an ESC-equipped minivan. We would not have bought a larger car without ESC.
 

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