Considering a Mazda5 again....

Me and Mrs. Poop had our first baby a year ago. I love our Fit. It's awesome, but with the baby seat in the back legroom up front is not great, and there's talk of a little brother or sister. I had committed to the idea of keeping the integra on the road at least until 500k miles, but it's in need of a bunch of maintenance; maintenance that still wouldn't make it have A/C on 105 degree days, so I think the plan is: Sell integra, I'll drive the Fit till the wheels fall off. Get something bigger for mama.

$8k-$9k buys a 70,000 mile '07 Mazda5 touring with leather. Any other suggestions in this price range? I was considering an Element, as I berkeleying love them, but the weird door thing kinda defeats the purpose of buying a Mom/baby friendly vehicle.

I'm thinking this; preferably with a stick and after negotiation to wholesale price would be ideal:

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/3108158067.html

IIRC you can't get leather with the stick. I'd skip it anyway, the cloth is super easy to clean. I think the plan sounds great BTW.

Mine is a caravan for the 4 kids we will have, but I can already say that sliding doors rock. 5 is great if you stop at two - a waste if you go for three.

We had one as a rental. The rear seats were amputee only seats, but not bad to have for kids in child seats that don't need leg room. In order to pack anything in the cargo area, you need to leave the kids at home. With that said, it's quite possibly the most practical vehicle available brand new right now. With the used market being soft on Mazda5s with the manual, I'd seriously consider that option.

tuna55 wrote: Mine is a caravan for the 4 kids we will have, but I can already say that sliding doors rock. 5 is great if you stop at two - a waste if you go for three.

Which is an interesting thought. Is it really going to be noticeably bigger than the fit? Plan C is to throw fuel economy out the window and go the Canyonero route. Probably Sequoia.

poopshovel wrote:

tuna55 wrote: Mine is a caravan for the 4 kids we will have, but I can already say that sliding doors rock. 5 is great if you stop at two - a waste if you go for three.

Which is an interesting thought. Is it really going to be noticeably bigger than the fit? Plan C is to throw fuel economy out the window and go the Canyonero route. Probably Sequoia.

I think the cargo are is much bigger. Go to a dealer and look - it's the only way to tell. Since you already have the Fit, you can compare side by side.

I'd go Caravan over any SUV, by the way, unless you're towing. Packing the kids in is so much easier with the van than any SUV, plus stow and go is amazing.

The 5 is perfect for two kids, even baby sized. The third row is great for school-age ones that don't need a booster. We've shoved two adults back there for short trips with the car seats. If you're under 5'7" it's not bad, actually.

If you have two kids (even in baby seats) remember that the third row pops flat and now you have a metric ton of space for stuff. We were able to bring everything needed for 4 days of camping, including the tent, chairs, and grill behind the kid seats.

But yeah, if you're planning on 3+ kids and more than 2 will be in baby/booster seats, it's gotta be the Caravan. Waaaaay better than an SUV.

Do what my brother used to do at car trading time. He would take all the stuff they normally took on a trip down to the dealer and loaded it in new cars. If it wouldn't fit he'd move on until he found a car that worked.

Love my 08 5 Touring!! Go for it!

second row in the 5 is adult-sized. third row is kids only, pretty much. sliding doors kick the dick off of hinged doors IMO. we're going to replace our '03 ody with an '08-ish 5 in a couple years.

Not to threadjack, but is the 3rd row fully removable on a Mazda5? I mean, as in "unbolt the sucker and put it in the shed til trade-in time" removable.

fold flat and even with the area in the very back, no need to pull them

I'd buy one again, I got the 5 because I sometimes have a wife and three kids that I have to take with me. I also bought the 5 because I often buy and sell parts that won't fit into most cars. I also bought the 5 because I could get a 6spd; it is the best of both worlds. I really like mine and I have done 24000 miles with it since November averaging 29 mpgs. Can't complain.

Edit: we have a grand caravan that my wife drives. I still find uses for this thing.

I'd get a 5, but SWMBO doesn't understand practicality and thinks it looks too much like a minivan (she hates minivans).

They look good with Rx-8 wheels too.

sliding doors kick the dick off of hinged doors IMO.

SOO true.

Ours has been an awesome vehicle. My wife was rear ended in ours by a Corolla at speed and the only damage was the bumper cover and the styrofoam bumper support. I've sat in the far back row on a road trip and found it comfortable because I folded the center row seat in front of me down to use as an ottoman, it was awesome and I'm 6'5". I think the biggest person we've had back there with 6 on board was my 6' tall brother in law for a short trip. He said it was fine but it's not a 6 passenger adult vehicle.

The cloth interior material is surprisingly resilient. I thought I damaged it a few times loading junk but the marks just wiped off. I would prefer leather however, you can get a kit to replace the seat skins for about $1000.

The far back row can be taken out by removing the bolts and you'll have an extra tall load floor back there. I had to remove ours once and I remember there is carpeting under that seat.

If ours was a stick I would love to take it out for a track day. As it is I may try some autocross with it at some point.

Japanese Mazda5 (Premacy) track video

My mom has a CX-9 and my big problems with it are the size and the lack of sliding doors. The sliders are really an awesome feature. Enough to make me look for an Expo to swap a 4G63T into.

Oh and Tri-Point has turbocharged a Mazda5 with their Mazda3 kit.

bluesideup wrote: The far back row can be taken out by removing the bolts and you'll have an extra tall load floor back there. I had to remove ours once and I remember there is carpeting under that seat.

That's what I wanted to know. Thanks, Blue!

We got one for a road trip rental (free upgrade, paid for a subcompact). More space then we need, but drives well enough. Wife has already fallen in love. Average of 31 MPG on a mainly secondary roads trip from Charlottesville to just north of Detroit. And that's with the auto.

You and I must think alike for daily drivers Poop. As you may remember, I bought an Element. It was an awesome car - spacious, utilitarian, tons of space in the back - until we had the baby. The very first trip to the tight parking lot at the pediatrician convinced me those clamshell doors would be too much of a hassle long term.

So I sold the Element, bought a same-year Mazda5 with 20,000 less miles for about $1000 less than I sold the Element for.

Did I mention my wife's daily is a Honda Fit?

Anyway, the Mazda5 is in every way a superior vehicle to the Element, and in most ways superior to the Fit. I reliably get 29 mpg mixed driving, and it is much more convenient, spacious, and more comfortable than the Fit.

If you're getting an automatic I have heard the 08+ models are the ones to get, as they gained a gear. Also note that aux inputs started on the 2008 model year if that's a big deal to you.

I wish they made a mazdaspeed 5 =/ I've always liked them

By the way, for the comparison, my 2011 Caravan will get 32 or so on the highway with the A/C on at 70-75. Around town is generally 23 or so. Use that for your "are we going to have another kid again" vs "stick shift" versus "gas mileage" discussions.

tuna55 wrote: By the way, for the comparison, my 2011 Caravan will get 32 or so on the highway with the A/C on at 70-75. Around town is generally 23 or so. Use that for your "are we going to have another kid again" vs "stick shift" versus "gas mileage" discussions.

wow, those are strong numbers. Our '03 Ody is about 19 - 20 mixed and I think we once got 25 on a pure highway road trip. in defense of the ody, my wife has a lead foot and we go 80 on the highway.

Those seem outlandishly good numbers based on the reports on fuelly.com, fuel economy.gov, and truecar. I only see one instance of anyone reporting 30mpg and that was 100% highway at 62mph with no A/C so I would not expect to do that regularly

Not saying tuna55 doesn't get that mileage just saying I think it looks to be not a very common occurence

This is 'as reported' by the onboard display, perhaps it's optimistic, but my wife has verified it other times and she has found it relatively accurate. This mileage is also achieved with both her and me driving, not in ECO mode either, as that doesn't make things much better, and actually worse sometimes.

AngryCorvair wrote:

tuna55 wrote: By the way, for the comparison, my 2011 Caravan will get 32 or so on the highway with the A/C on at 70-75. Around town is generally 23 or so. Use that for your "are we going to have another kid again" vs "stick shift" versus "gas mileage" discussions.

wow, those are strong numbers. Our '03 Ody is about 19 - 20 mixed and I think we once got 25 on a pure highway road trip. in defense of the ody, my wife has a lead foot and we go 80 on the highway.

2011 vs 2003 - the Pentastar is much stronger than the old V6s.