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Volatile gas prices have lots of drivers looking to downsize. Unfortunately, if you have more than 2 children, you can't just run down to your local Honda dealer and buy a Civic. Selling the extra kids, while sometimes tempting, isn't exactly legal. So most buyers bite the bullet and go for a minivan or a 7-seat SUV.
Long before gas prices went crazy, Mazda introduced a better solution: The Mazda5, a mini-minivan that's sized like a mid-size car. Is this the fuel-friendly solution that big families have been looking for? Read on.
Larger photos: Front - rear - interior - all photos
- Room for 6 in a mid-size package
- Good fuel economy
- Sliding doors make it easy to get babies into car seats
- Doesn't drive like a bus
- Very reasonably priced
- Third row is a tight squeeze for adults
- Limited cargo space with all seats up
- Sluggish acceleration when loaded with six adults
- "Mini-minivan" first introduced in 2006
- Price range (incl. desination and options): $18,645 - $28,123
- Price as tested: $25,480
- EPA fuel economy estimates: 22 MPG city/28 highway/24 combined (manual), 21/27/23 (automatic)
I've been a fan of the Mazda5 since it was introduced in 2006, although it never really took off with buyers. But with the unpredictability of gas prices -- and the constant demand for economical, flexible family cars -- I think that's about to change.
Behind the Mazda5's van-like sliding doors (link goes to photo), you'll find seating for six in a 2-2-2 arrangement. Under the hood is a 2.3 liter four-cylinder engine that delivers adequate power and fuel economy in the mid-20s. And the 5 is hella cheap, too -- prices start at $18,645, and my tester, a top-of-the-line Grand Touring model with leather seats, navigation, and 5-speed automatic trans (up from last year's 4 speeds; you can also get a stick-shift, how cool is that?), stickered for $25,480.
Getting six people into the Mazda5 means second-row passengers will have to slide their adjustable seats forward, sacrificing some legroom in order to give third-row riders space for their tootsies. But with the third row empty -- or full of no-legroom-needed child seats -- the second row offers as much room as a full-size car. Even if you don't have more than two kids, those sliding doors make rasslin' the little ones into their car seats a heck of a lot easier than nearly any car or SUV I can think of.
The Mazda5's closest rival is the Kia Rondo. I think the Rondo's interior is nicer -- my wife and SUVs guide Jason Fogelson strongly disagree -- but its four-cylinder engine is sluggish, its optional V6 is too thirsty, and its conventional front-hinged doors take away half the Mazda5's convenience factor.
Complaints? I don't have many. The interior is a bit plasticky, and the new-for-08 rear air conditioner -- which blows through vents at the back of the center console -- is noisy. Nits, to be sure -- overall this is a brilliant car, and one whose time has most definitely come. -- Aaron Gold
