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Kia Sedona vs Mazda 5
- Thread starter rosey2007
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LISmama810
Admin - CPS Technician
I wouldn't call the Mazda 5 a van. It's more like a minivan-crossover.
We were looking for a van, so after seeing the Sedona, Odyssey, and Sienna, we went to look at the Mazda 5 because I'd heard good things about it. The Mazda sales guy was practically begging us not to buy the Mazda 5. ("If you want something you can walk through, you probably want an Odyssey or Siena..." "If you want something with high safety ratings, you probably want an Odyssey or Sienna..." "If you want something with a lot of backseat legroom, you probably want an Odyssey or Sienna...") Honda and Toyota should have been paying the guy.
That's not to say the Mazda 5 isn't a good car, it's just very different, IMO, than a standard minivan.
(For the record, we wound up getting an Odyssey, but I wish we'd gone with the Sedona. The Sedona isn't as luxurious, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper...)
We were looking for a van, so after seeing the Sedona, Odyssey, and Sienna, we went to look at the Mazda 5 because I'd heard good things about it. The Mazda sales guy was practically begging us not to buy the Mazda 5. ("If you want something you can walk through, you probably want an Odyssey or Siena..." "If you want something with high safety ratings, you probably want an Odyssey or Sienna..." "If you want something with a lot of backseat legroom, you probably want an Odyssey or Sienna...") Honda and Toyota should have been paying the guy.
That's not to say the Mazda 5 isn't a good car, it's just very different, IMO, than a standard minivan.
(For the record, we wound up getting an Odyssey, but I wish we'd gone with the Sedona. The Sedona isn't as luxurious, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper...)
They have reliability issues. No side airbags (or at least not all of them do). The brakes aren't heavy duty enough for the size of the vehicle. It's not bad if you only drive on flat areas, but hilly areas really eat them up. My 04 has 40k miles and is getting ready for it's third set of brakes. I've warped 2 sets of rotors. ftr-this is the only vehicle I've ever had that ate brakes...it's not the way I drive.
horsesitaly
Senior Community Member
My Mazda5 has been very reliable, I had a minor problem right after I got it that they fixed under warranty, can't even remember what it was. I have had no problems with seatbelt installs in the 3rd row, and certain boosters work better than others. I'm not sure what we will do when all kids are out of boosters, but dd is still harnessed in her Fronteir, so that is a long ways off and it may become dh's primary car and not haul all 5 of us around at some point! Gas mileage is great. I'm very happy with our purchase, but I was driving a full sized Windstar before and was ready to "downsize" a little, especially since we knew we were moving to Europe and wanted something that we'd be able park easily and navigate really narrow roads in w/out a second thought.
firemomof3
New member
I had an 03 Sedona and yes, we had to replace the brakes at 45K miles but we went through American Brake Service and when I turned the van in with 100K miles the brakes were still fine. Besides regular maintence the van ran great. I know have an 06' Sedona and love it
bethng
Active member
I had an 03 Sedona and yes, we had to replace the brakes at 45K miles but we went through American Brake Service and when I turned the van in with 100K miles the brakes were still fine. Besides regular maintence the van ran great. I know have an 06' Sedona and love it
I had a 02 sedona and never had to fix the breaks. Had it till about 85K miles. Now my 06 started having issues at 40K miles. It needs new brakes but dh is going to do it so hopefully that will save some money. They wanted over $500 at the dealership to do it.
southpawboston
New member
this is a chronic problem with hyun-kia. my elantra ate through pads and the rotors warped. had to replace them all around at 42k miles-- $800. and the brakes were totally undersized for the car (which is why the rotors warped-- excessive heating from being too small). i don't know a single elantra owner sho didn't suffer warped rotors (and i knew dozens, as i was a moderator at a hyundai forum
).My sis has a 06 Tiburon. My uncle has an 06 Elantra. I'm not aware of any brake issues with either. I know my sis has a TON of miles on her car. It was fine until she nearly totalled it. Now, it kinda sucks. Does very weird things, but I'm thinking it's just the body shop that didn't do a great job of putting it back together.
southpawboston
New member
the tib brakes are slightly better than the elantra's (larger diameter, so they dissipate heat better). they don't warp as much as the elantra's. some peeps on the elantra forum used to upgrade their elantra brakes to tib brakes, but i never saw the point. it's not like the elantra was a performance car to begin with
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Defrost
Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
I have a Mazda 5, and my best friend (Gypsy, who posted above) has a Kia Sedona.
It's really like comparing apples and oranges. The Mazda 5 isn't a minivan. It's got a LOT less room in it than the Sedona (or any other minivan.) The 5 also gets better gas mileage and drives exactly like a car. Better to think of the 5 as a station wagon.
So, the real question is, do you want a station wagon or a minivan? Is gas mileage your priority, or is cargo space your priority? Do you have four kids and a double stroller, or do you have two kids, no stroller, and sometimes you need a couple extra seats to haul their friends or your relatives who are in town?
It's really like comparing apples and oranges. The Mazda 5 isn't a minivan. It's got a LOT less room in it than the Sedona (or any other minivan.) The 5 also gets better gas mileage and drives exactly like a car. Better to think of the 5 as a station wagon.
So, the real question is, do you want a station wagon or a minivan? Is gas mileage your priority, or is cargo space your priority? Do you have four kids and a double stroller, or do you have two kids, no stroller, and sometimes you need a couple extra seats to haul their friends or your relatives who are in town?
Heather98012
New member
:yeahthat:
My family's Hyundai's as follows:
Mom: 04 Santa Fe
Dad: 04 XG350
Grandma: 04 Elantra
Sister: 04 Santa Fe (although she did trade that in)
Me: 05 Tucson
None of these vehicles have had brake problems.
southpawboston
New member
:yeahthat:
My family's Hyundai's as follows:
Mom: 04 Santa Fe
Dad: 04 XG350
Grandma: 04 Elantra
Sister: 04 Santa Fe (although she did trade that in)
Me: 05 Tucson
None of these vehicles have had brake problems.
all due respect to your grandma, i doubt that many grandmas/grandpas would consider brakes defective the way i would, and the elantra, which your grandma drives, has the worst brakes of the bunch you mentioned. the MOMENT i feel something unusual in the brakes (e.g., barely perceptible pulsing or lack of smoothness), i consider it a problem. the vast majority of people out there simply don't have the same intolerance for slop and lack of precision the way i do. i'm UBER-sensitive about the way my cars drive and feel. that's why i could never be a hyundai owner again. for the vast majority of "car as appliance" drivers, hyundais and kias may be just fine.
Heather98012
New member
LOL....no, I hear ya. It's not like Granny is gonna be street racing anytime soon.
Actually, thanks for mentioning it though. I'll definately keep an eye out for problems. I'm kinda annoyed that I have 36K miles & need new tires. Truth be told, I dunno if that's normal or not, but it seems kinda odd to me. Thoughts?
36K seems a little low for a regular Hyundai, but not outrageous. High performance tires tend to only last 20K (or 10K if you have an Acura NSX), but regular passenger tires often go 40K to 60K. You gotta check your specific tire though. For some strange reason, my Lexus doesn't have performance tires per se, but they're still only rated to last like 20 or 30K.
rosey2007
Active member
I cannot believe that I have owned two Hyundai Elantras and never new about the breaks. Is this the previous version (01 to 06) or the new version? When I did trade in my 01 Elantra someone told me that I needed new rotors, so I guess I made that right decison about trading it in.
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