Topic: 2012 Mazda5 GS; Day 1

[crwpitman]

I think the new Mazda5 carries the smiley face better than the Mazda3.  But in dark colours it accentuates what I find most aggravating about the smiley face - how most of the "grille" is fake - just crosshatch embossed black plastic.  Looks cheap - I'd rather it be filled with body colour bumper than trying to act like something it's not.  Probably be more aerodynamic too.

I suppose most cars now-a-day are bottom breathers and any "grille" is purely decorative anyway.  But I'd rather it not look that way so obviously.

[wing]

There are a few cubbies, but no change holder (someone asked on page 1).

Also the vehicle is dark blue, not black.  A very nice blue actually.

[tortoise]

I'm curious to see how the rear view looks in person.  In pictures it's bloody awful, all disproportioned.

[wing]

Fugly haha

[crwpitman]

Day 2 mentions hard plastics in the dash...  I had a rental Mazda3 last year for a bit and it also had hard plastics throughout.  Maybe softer materials are available on higher end models?  That doesn't seem to make sense though from a manufacturing standpoint.  I haven't driven more expensive Mazda3's so I don't know if they're any different.  And maybe my conceptions of what defines hard plastic is a bit too harsh...

The Mazda3 drove nicely though.  My only other beef with the car - other than it's leering face and what I deemed to be hard plastics was it's infuriating digital fuel guage.  It just offers 4 (or 5?) dashes to represent how full it is, which is far from accurate.  I dunno - I like to know more info than "your tank is somewhere between 25% full and empty".  Maybe more expensive models come with trip computers that give you an ETA of kilometers left (or I just didn't see it on my car).

[Z973]

You have 12bars and not 4or 5 like you say!

[theonlydt]

I own a 2010 Mazda 5 -  because we needed another car and Mazda are doing pretty good deals to get rid of the last before the all new 2012 is available in February!

We purchased the car because we need a car that can seat 4 adults and has room in the back for dog + stuff, but we also needed to occasionally flip the seats for one or two young kids (but no stuff). Eventually my wife and I will have one or two kids, a dog and stuff - if the kids have friends along there probably won't be a dog, or as much stuff - so the limited cargo room makes sense. This won't work for everyone, but the seating arrangements are perfect for us.

My critisims of the current car are the 5 speed manual needing a 6th gear - fixed in the new one. The current 5 speed auto needs another ratio though as well, 1st, 2nd and 3rd are lowish to make it nippy in town, but 4th and 5th are a little high - a 6th could slot in and allow 4th and 5th to be closer ratio.

My other critism most revolves around road noise - I owned Hondas before, so I'm used to it, but apparently they've made the 2012 a lot quieter, which is exactly what it needs.

In terms of the 2012 I'm slightly disappointed - the 2.5 is barely more powerful (though more torque) and I really think they have missed a trick by not pulling in their new direct injection 2.0 which has almost identical figures to the 2.5 for power/torque, but is significantly better on fuel. They also need a 6 speed automatic to compete with the larger minivans on highway economy (a 2011 Honda Odessey is theoretically better than the Mazda 5).

A poster mentioned front leg room - I was surprised that I fit - it seems tight, but the seating position works. I'm tall and with stupidly long legs for my height - when I saw the driving position and I didn't think I'd fit, let alone be comfortable. It's worth trying out.

As a vehicle I love the Mazda 5 and the whole concept. It's light, fun to drive, economical and mostly fast enough. It's easy to park, it has enough space and it's not a hulking great minivan with a 3.5v6!

Every month I drive myself and two or three collegues for a few hours to a different part of the Province - they love it. They all have armrests - enough legroom, large windows, easy access (especially the middle row!) and it rides well. It's certainly not a "cool" vehicle, but a lot of my age group (somewhere from mid-20s to mid-30s) really like this car, which surprised me. Even my 21 year old brother-in-law wasn't as scathing as expected!

[mirage]

I think I'd be the perfect candidate for a vehicle like this.  I'm early 30s with 2 young kids.   This would be my family hauler with large rear hatch type opening to accomodate larger objects when needed.  I mostly would only need the middle row, but in a pinch it would be nice to take a couple of extra people to a restaurant or something.  I don't need AWD or the extra ground clearance of an SUV and its really important this vehicle fit in my garage for those winter mornings when you don't want to scrape.

Only problem is .. my other car is a 2010 Mazda 3 and from the pictures the dashboards of these 2 look nearly identical.  Thats not a bad thing as I find the dash in my 3 to be very nice befitting of a car much more expensive but I'd like a little interior variety as well.   Don't know what the other poster (who commented on hard plastics in the interior) was talking about (at least in the Mazda 3 at least) as there is padding everywhere you'd want it to be including a generous amount underneath both elbows.

Anyways, to solve my delimma I'd really like to see how the new Ford C-Max compares to this.   Looking forward to a comparison of it and it's strengths / weaknesses as compared to the Mazda 5.

[tpl]

Only problem is .. my other car is a 2010 Mazda 3 and from the pictures the dashboards of these 2 look nearly identical.  Thats not a bad thing as I find the dash in my 3 to be very nice befitting of a car much more expensive but I'd like a little interior variety as well.

Interesting. In commercial airliners having near to identical cockpit displays between aircraft from the same manufacturer is a big plus as it save on retraining costs when all the switches are in the same places.

[pg2676]

I test drove the precious generation with the 4spd Auto a few years ago and the only disappointment I had was that even at highway speeds in overdrive it revved at about 3000 RPM.  Has the 6 spd manual or 5 spd auto solved this problem?

[TopGun]

.....
The Mazda3 drove nicely though
......

I had one for a month as a rental...it drove nicely if you're into quite comfy cruising.  Compared to my Protege5 with about 200km at the time on it - the steering was terrible, it was too soft, it didn't corner nearly as well, the brakes were very touchy, and the seats were too cushy.  A perfect mainstream vehicle then!

[Jaeger]

But in typical Mazda fashion — and I have to say it like it is — the Mazda5 feels slow, brutally slow, even with the six-speed manual transmission, it has no get up and go.

Yikes.  If it feels "brutally slow" with just the driver, how's it going to feel when fully loaded with 4 adults and 2 midgets?

Jaeger

[safristi]

"Brutally S..L..O...W?"...well how does a guy who autocrosses a beefed up S2000 and loves speed..........relate to a family of 4 that wants a decent smaller people hauler..there has to be a disconnect there..........OR    the lil bugger isn't broken in yet (NO NOT WING)...........

[Mike]

"Brutally S..L..O...W?"...well how does a guy who autocrosses a beefed up S2000 and loves speed..........relate to a family of 4 that wants a decent smaller people hauler..there has to be a disconnect there..........OR    the lil bugger isn't broken in yet (NO NOT WING)...........

Your answer.....

[crwpitman]

.....
The Mazda3 drove nicely though
......

I had one for a month as a rental...it drove nicely if you're into quite comfy cruising.  Compared to my Protege5 with about 200km at the time on it - the steering was terrible, it was too soft, it didn't corner nearly as well, the brakes were very touchy, and the seats were too cushy.  A perfect mainstream vehicle then!

Actually the brakes were pretty touchy, but also have been on most newer cars I've driven.  I didn't know if that's just how brakes are now, with electric assist and what not (even though my car isn't that old).

I should also mention I drove this in winter and mostly am on the highway, but the steering didn't feel overboosted like some new cars with electric power steering (I just assumed the Mazda3 also had it).  I also wasn't able to really push the car around either as there was a little snow out.  The roads near me once you get off the highway offer a few good curves but unfortunately are sand only, so you can't boot it much for a few months of the year.

[crwpitman]

You have 12bars and not 4or 5 like you say!

Sorry - it was almost a year ago.  I thought it was less than that...  I'd still rather have a traditional gas gauge though.

[crwpitman]

Don't know what the other poster (who commented on hard plastics in the interior) was talking about (at least in the Mazda 3 at least) as there is padding everywhere you'd want it to be including a generous amount underneath both elbows.

I was referring to the interior in general though, not just where you're touching it most (arm rests, etc).  I remember the dash itself feeling very hard to the touch.  Maybe it was the cold weather though, I suppose.  But it didn't feel all that noteworthy to me from a materials standpoint.  Not that I'm expecting luxury in a compact car - the interior is miles better than say, a Dodge Caliber (pre-interior redo).

[libraman]

Wing, what is the rpm at 100 kmh and 120? I too thought that the engine was revving a bit too high for my liking in the previous 5 speed manual.  I think the previous 5 speed automatic was geared taller and so it was not so much an issue.

[wing]

Not sure at a 100, probably close to 2,500, at 115 ish it is at or over 3000 in 6th, disappointing.

[Dante]

@Wing

"But in typical Mazda fashion — and I have to say it like it is — the Mazda5 feels slow, brutally slow, even with the six-speed manual transmission, it has no get up and go."

Are you saying the Mazda vehicles are slow in general or just the new Mazda5?