For those of you who have a Mazda5

[greenemami]

I really really like this car, but I just went to see it in person today and am just not convinced it will be big enough for us-I want it to be, but that itty bitty trunk with the third row up is discouraging!

I would have two car seats, one RF, 1 FF in the second row and dsd (now 9.5 and very tall) in the third row when she is here.  Dp is 6' 2", so at least one of the front seats would need to be pushed back far enough to accomodate his long legs.  I am average height, so would probably fit easily. 

I sat in the third row and I could fit with the middle seats pushed up really far, but then the front seats have to be pushed up pretty far as well to fit the carseat/legroom.   I think this car would work great on a daily basis with me and the two kids, but would be cramped with dp and dsd in the car and especially for longer drives where we also want to pack some cargo. 

I love the gas mileage, the overall size in terms of not wanting to drive a huge van, and lot sof other things about this car, but it really doesn't seem that much bigger than my Matrix I drive now-there is a third row, but it is pretty much just in place of the trunk space.  Am I stuck just looking for a regular minivan? 

[starbuckmom]

We have a Mazda MPV and the Mazda5 replaced the MPV.  We went with a Toyota Sienna because of the space.  The Mazda5 is toted as a microvan.  With my 3 kids, we were cramped in the MPV.  The twins were rearfacing and it was difficult for my dh to drive as he is just 6ft tall. 

I did take a look at the Mazda5 just out of curiosity and w/o even sitting in it, I noticed that it was even smaller than my MPV.

If your dh isn't driving the van much and your dsd isn't visiting that often, then it would probably work for you.  You could fold the rear seat into the floor to give you more cargo room.  But with more than 2 kids and 2 people in the front, it gets cramped.

[BathrobeGoddess]

family of six here with a Mazda 5. Maybe we just have different ideas of what kind of space we need in a car (we had three across a 2001 Prius, 2 rf, and when camping just fine, gear and all). We took our five plus all six people to CA in the spring, a 1000 plus mile trip and I thought we were fine. I think it just depends on the family. For day to day we have plenty of room inside but I don't have a stroller or anything like that. I wear the toddler when I need to. We have three car seats, a booster, a RF and a FF.

[TheGirls]

I looked at it when we were replacing my Mazda Protege because we were expecting a second child.  Since we ended up with twins, I'm really happy we went with an actual minivan.  For one, I don't think I could have gotten a double stroller in the Mazda5 anywhere.  I babywear extensively, but with three under 3 (two of whom won't be walking very far for over a year) I really need a double stroller sometimes.

Also, DP's family lives far away and regularly flies out to visit.  Some of them are not able to drive or rent a car, so we have to pick them up at the airport and drive them around....

We are generally minimalist packers and I was anti-minivan so at first I thought it would  be a great vehicle for us, but with 3 RF children plus regular visitors, plus even the very basic level of stuff to deal with twin infants, I'm finding a minivan very valuable.  I'm shocked at how much more stuff I need to haul to deal with two infants and a toddler at the same time.  Plus an adult has to ride in the back with the twins full-time because they are preemies and we're not 100% confident in their breathing yet. 

I think we could have gotten away with one if we used a car-top carrier full-time, but that would put the fuel efficeincy at about the same as a mini-van, with less capacity.

[Drummer's Wife]

I really, really want a Mazda 5 (we used to have an MPV we loved, as well as a protege). Anyhow, we have 6 people in our family but the size doesn't really concern me b/c it would only be driven by me to go to school/run errands and need to fit one carseat for my youngest when I drop him off/pick up from school. We all fit comfortable in our other vehicle, a 7-passenger Pathfinder which is what we would take out on evenings and weekends.

Probably not very helpful, but I think it's fine for 3-4 people and even doable for 6 if need be. For a trip? It wouldn't work for us without something attached for luggage, but we tend to need a whole lot of stuff when we travel.

[MoonStarFalling]

I guess it depends how often you'll use it with 5 people. My friend has a 5 and I love it. But they still decided to get a minivan to accommodate their two kids. I agree it would be fine for 3-4 people. I ended up getting the MPV which was only a little bigger but it worked fine with two kids. With three kids and the third row up all the time the lack of trunk space is an issue. I'm not sure how comfortable we'd be taking a family trip. Rear facing the baby in our MPV means I have to push my driver's seat up, and I'm only 5'4". Definitely check your RFing seat in it first.

[34me]

I agree with Bathrobegoddess (maybe it's in the water - we live in the same area!)  that it really depends on your definition of space.  My kids are 17 (in 2 weeks), 14 and 12 and my dh is also 6'2" and I am 5'6" we are also the carriers of a very large ice hockey bag.  I've had mine for 2 years and I still love it.  We have traveled all over SD,ND, WY and CO with luggage and the hockey bag.  The biggest pain is the hockey stick. 

Are you in a position that you could rent one for a week?  That's how I discovered how much I like it.  I got it as a rental during, what else?  A hockey tourney. 

But, it replaced my 12 yo Subaru outback that my kids had grown up in 3 accross.  So, a total differrent definition of "he's touching me!" :)

[trekkingirl]

my mazda 5 is like magic. That's literally what I tell people IRL when they ask me about my car. On the inside it's a mini van. On the outside it looks like a honda civic. Except with really awesome sliding doors on both sides. My kids can open the car door themselves without me having to worrry about the car in the next stall getting dinged. The cargo room in the back is small with both seats up but if you only have one person in the back you can leave one seat down. Unlike my old mountaineer where either both seats were up or down, not one or the other. Oh, and my husband is 6'4" and drives it all the time with carseats in and people in the third row. The fit is do able. The Mazda 5 really is a one of a kind and a true gem. I'm so happy to be out of my gas guzzling SUV. Oh and they are affordable. I bought last years model for $13,000.

[madcap150]

We are only a family of 3 right now (will be a family of 4 later this year), but are really happy with our Mazda 5. I find that I often have just one back seat up and the other down so that I have *some* extra cargo room; I think the cargo space is actually usually too large with both rear seats down because stuff bangs around too much. The only time we have really needed both seats down was when we carried two dining chairs, a card table, and gifts to my brother's house for Christmas. Otherwise I find that one rear seat down, or even both seats up, is plenty of room for groceries, etc. and I also have some extra storage room on the floor of the second seating row because DS is rear-facing and the new baby will be as well.

You should definitely test your rear-facing carseat in the second row. Our seat sits pretty upright but we still have to push the passenger seat in front of it a little further forward than I'd ideally like. I do still fit fine, though. DH and I are both about 5'9".

It seems to me like the car could actually work well for you if you have one of the front seats pushed back for your DP and have the forward-facing car seat behind him, and then the other seat is farther forward for you, the rear-facing seat behind you, and DSD behind it. I also know you say DSD is pretty tall. . . when I was her age I was also pretty tall, and routinely rode in the back of a 2-door Toyota Tercel hatchback. I had no complaints and don't remember being uncomfortable, although it seems uncomfortable to me now!

We have figured that this car will stand us in good stead for our 2 kids and will continue to work fine if we have a 3rd. And I got 40!?! miles to the gallon on a long highway drive recently!

[Polliwog]

Thanks for this thread.  I just heard Clark Howard talk about the Mazda5 and was curious about it.  I'm going to need a new vehicle after tax time.  Really need it.  I'm currently driving a '92 Blazer which runs well but is on the edge of extinction. 

[MJB]

We have a Mazda5 with 3 kids-- my 8yo is in a booster in the third row, and FFing and RFing carseats in the middle row. My husband is 5'11" and has room to drive with the RFing carseat behind the driver. We keep a stroller in the trunk and there is a lot of floor space for groceries and other stuff between the middle seats and in front of the RFing seat. We fold down half of the back if we need more cargo space (like hauling our Xmas loot home from grandma's!) We've been camping in it and had no problem fitting backpacks, sleeping bags and a tent. Our previous cars were Volvo station wagons and we really didn't need that size trunk. If we need to move something big, any or all 4 of the back seats can fold down to make a huge cargo space. I just switched my seats so that the Radian is FFing and the Complete Air is RFing and there is actually space between the carseat and front seat. We've found that making the seat lower actually adds a lot of leg room so we just move it up and down when we switch drivers instead of forward and back. 

[Drummer's Wife]

Another thing is that the 2011 has an optional 7 seat (really small, but still an extra seat belt).

[greenemami]

okay you guys have convinced me to go back for a test drive!  I just can't face the thought of driving a big gas guzzler ALL the time just because it would be convenient to have more space a few times a year, KWIM?!  Thanks so much for all your great input, I knew I could get some good thoughts here :) I'll come back and update after we test drive it for anyone else who is thinking about this car.

[3littlelambs]

I am so glad you started this thread! I was just about to ask the very same question. My DH and I are so conflicted. We really want the Mazda5 to work for us. We love the look, the gas mileage and that it is a smaller van. We are both the kind of people that are happy with getting by with only what we really "need" verses "want" as far as space is concerned, even though of course a traditional minivan would offer more space. I will have 2 FF convertibles seats and 1 RF infant carrier. Then there is the double stroller. I am worried about space too. Please let me know what you think. We found one we really like that we are going to take a look at this weekend, but that total lack of trunk/storage space really concerns me! 

[starbuckmom]

Originally Posted by sassafrassmom 

I am so glad you started this thread! I was just about to ask the very same question. My DH and I are so conflicted. We really want the Mazda5 to work for us. We love the look, the gas mileage and that it is a smaller van. We are both the kind of people that are happy with getting by with only what we really "need" verses "want" as far as space is concerned, even though of course a traditional minivan would offer more space. I will have 2 FF convertibles seats and 1 RF infant carrier. Then there is the double stroller. I am worried about space too. Please let me know what you think. We found one we really like that we are going to take a look at this weekend, but that total lack of trunk/storage space really concerns me! 

We have a double stroller too and I forgot to mention in my post that we have a 75lb Golden retriever that needs room in the van too.  We travel often to my inlaws (4hours from us) so we really pack up the van!  The back seat in the Sienna is a 60/40 split bench.  My 5yr old is in the 40 part and the 60 part is folded into the floor to give me more cargo room for the dog, stroller (both side by side and double sit n stand, but not at the same time!) and travel gear when we travel.  I like that when we have extra passengers, and we do regularly, we can put up the extra seat in the back and have more seats.

[BathrobeGoddess]

Originally Posted by Drummer's Wife 

Another thing is that the 2011 has an optional 7 seat (really small, but still an extra seat belt).

Nope...that was the rumor but alas...I pretty active on a couple Mazda forums and the USA isn't getting the new, redesigned 5 until 2012 (it is out in Japan right now and Europe gets it this month) AND it is said by Mazda not to have the optional 7th seat for the USA market. Here is the official web page
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/MAZDA5.action#/feature_viewer/seating/


Ford will have a almost clone of the 5 that will have an optional 7th seat and an option for it to be a 5 seater as well, not 3rd row.
http://www.ridelust.com/2011-ford-c-max-to-hit-north-america-as-compact-minivan/

[Polliwog]

I haven't even seen this thing yet and I'm starting to be obsessed about it.  I really want to see it.  I think it sounds perfect for my family and if I can get one sorta used, it will be in my price range. 

[LaurenAnanas]

Quote:

Ford will have a almost clone of the 5 that will have an optional 7th seat and an option for it to be a 5 seater as well, not 3rd row.
http://www.ridelust.com/2011-ford-c-max-to-hit-north-america-as-compact-minivan/
 

We're waiting for the c-max. My husband has become obsessed with it to the point where he's willing to chauffer a RF toddler and a RF infant in the backseat of the 2-door Mini Cooper for a few months rather than get a Mazada 5 now.

The way the 7th seat becomes optional is pretty slick- It folds up and stows beneath the adjacent seat. And I believe there's supposed to be more cargo room than the Mazda when the 3rd row is folded. 

If the test drive doesn't go well, I don't know what he'll do!

[3littlelambs]

We got our 2008 Mazda5 yesterday and love it!  Actually seemed bigger to me than I expected, and when we tried our carseats in it, they all fit fine. Plenty of legroom for everyone. When I drove it home yesterday I kept thinking I was in a sports car. I got a manual, and the pick-up is even better than my 5 speed civic. I really did not feel like I was in a van at all, more of an SUV feel. 

[Polliwog]

Are you still loving it?  I'm on the lookout for a used one.

Originally Posted by sassafrassmom 

We got our 2008 Mazda5 yesterday and love it!  Actually seemed bigger to me than I expected, and when we tried our carseats in it, they all fit fine. Plenty of legroom for everyone. When I drove it home yesterday I kept thinking I was in a sports car. I got a manual, and the pick-up is even better than my 5 speed civic. I really did not feel like I was in a van at all, more of an SUV feel.