Learn me: Mazda 5

wae wrote:

ProDarwin wrote: Do any of the available radios for these have an aux. input? Or is there a simple kit to add one?

Our '13 has an aux jack below the gearshift.

My wife's '10 Sport model (lowest option version) has an aux port below the shifter, near the cig lighter.

If the Mazda CX5 had existed at the time we bought, I would likely have bought that instead.

I find the Mazda5 quite comfortable for 4 adults. My dog would prefer a rear bench over the mid buckets. You can have a bench in the 3rd row but then you are moving cargo to the 2nd row.

This past weekend we had 6 people for likely the 3rd time ever in 5+ years of ownership.

Myself driving (6'1" @250# seat pulled a little more forward than preferred.)
Grammy in passenger seat (85 yrs old so not agile but was comfortable)
Wife and baby in 2nd row (pulled a little forward, tight)
3rd row was two 21 yr Olds who are thin hipped and agile.

It worked but was tight.
To make this happen we had to take out a 24 pac case of water that was in the cargo area since the remaining cargo area was too small to hold that.

^^^ True. With all 3 rows up, the cargo space in the back is very small. At least as small as a subcompact hatchback if not smaller.

Stefan (Not Bruce) wrote: In reply to Appleseed: Quite difficult since the Speed3 is direct injection and the 5 is not. You'd need a complete donor Speed3 and a decent fab shop to relocate the intercooler and fit the necessary DI parts and FSM's for both to sort the wiring for the ECU, etc. Its possible though, a Mazda shop did one for the One Lap, Car & Driver tried and failed though.

That failure is more due to packaging constraints. A friend of mine did an 07speed 3 into an 05sp23 some years back. Time consuming, but it was almost 200% bolt in. Hardest part was the fuel, as stated.

mndsm wrote:

Stefan (Not Bruce) wrote: In reply to Appleseed: Quite difficult since the Speed3 is direct injection and the 5 is not. You'd need a complete donor Speed3 and a decent fab shop to relocate the intercooler and fit the necessary DI parts and FSM's for both to sort the wiring for the ECU, etc. Its possible though, a Mazda shop did one for the One Lap, Car & Driver tried and failed though.

That failure is more due to packaging constraints. A friend of mine did an 07speed 3 into an 05sp23 some years back. Time consuming, but it was almost 200% bolt in. Hardest part was the fuel, as stated.

I believe the question was around the 3rd gen Premacy and 2nd Gen Speed3, which are slightly different from the previous gens. Good to know though as I was looking at later 5's, but I need to go drive some before I can make a decision and the thought of swapping in a Speed3 drivetrain was in the back of my mind down the road.

Still, its known that the Premacy is more or less a taller version of the 3, so with some work it should be doable, but would require a good amount of time, especially if you need to ensure the car passes a OBD2 port test.

Yeah, c&dd failure was related to the gauges and things. The didn't do what amounted to a full on body swap, as my friend did. Lots easier if you think of the 5/primacy as a shell and expect to use everything possible from an ms3 donor.

Unfortunately, I have no idea what the wear points are on our 2015 5. We're only at 20k, so it's only broken oil thus far, except for when a mouse got into the heater blower, but I'm not blaming Mazda for that one. It's got ample power, handles excellently for a minivan and is netting us ~24.2 lifetime MPG thus far. I will echo above that the cargo space is lacking, though! Hauling the bikes and kids for a ride involves using the town & country. It's my wife's runabout, so most of the time it's just us & three kids with assorted backpacks and lunches, it hasn't been an issue yet.

If it's like the 3 it replaced, we should get at least 200k with extremely minimal maintenance (shocks, springs, bushings & end links).

We have had a 2006 Sport (el manuel!) for about 4 years and we've put about 30k miles on it for a total of 160k. So it's at the point where we've started experiencing some maintenance needs. The usual suspension bushings, motor mounts, and end-links have been replaced. Plus, we had a weird issue with the brake pedal temporarily gaining extra travel so I replaced the master cylinder on general principle. Right now, it's developed a weird engine rattle that's temperature-dependent, so fingers crossed on that development (hoping it's something simple like a pulley bearing). That said, it still holds oil remarkably well and has dealt with my exploration of the rev range on a regular basis. Power delivery is the same as when I bought it and it still feels light on it's feet.

Other than those issues, it's been a good little glorified-wagon-with-awesome-sliding-doors and has kept me dry at night through more than a couple of Mittys. I personally find it much more fun to drive than any other vehicle with the same utility, although it could use a bit more power (first-gen had the 2.3l). I will say that it has an interesting combination of planted behavior in the corners with an almost frustrating lack of traction on acceleration. I blame the Mazda3 suspension with the extra rearward weight-bias of the van body, but that's just a wild guess. In it's defense, I buy mid-grade performance all-season's for it so I'm not exactly giving it proper rubber and it's fun to chirp the tires on a "minivan".

Enthusiast concerns aside, seems like a good choice for a teenage daughter. It is a weird in-between point of a car and a van with the pros and cons that come with that. It'll be capable, but not fast. Safer than most hatchbacks, but still easy to maneuver in tight spots. Versatile, but not cavernous.

I had a 10 sport and just traded it in on a cx-5 a couple months ago.

It handled decently but ate tires and needed a sixth gear. The five speed manual revved high on the highway (3500 at 75 mph). Also, I had people in the third row a handful of times in the time I owned.

So in my price range I'm coming across a lot of '09-12 models. Can someone highlight the major differences between the 09/10 and the 11/12? The 2.5 is nice, but I'm not sure that will make much difference to me. Any difference in the transmissions (auto or manual)? Any big feature differences?

Also... do any models have dual climate control up front?

'10 and older all offer only the 2.3L engine and 5 speed manual. Some years 4 speed auto and others 5 speed auto.

There is no '11 model. The '10s were carried late and the '12s were introduced early.

'12 got the body restyle with the notable side scallops. At this time the engine went to 2.5L and the manual trans to 6 speed.

My '10 Sport (base model) has automatic climate control as standard but it is only one setting, not dual zone. I am not sure if there was a dual zone option.

Mine is a '12. None had dual zone ever. The extra gear gives 500 rpm, a little but not enough. Fifth and sixth are both overdrive. Sixth is an add on so the Trans is the same 06-15 just added gears a couple times.

It's a car, it doesn't set the world on fire but it fits a very narrow set of parameters I had when I was replacing the E39 touring. It WILL for my whole family, it is a manual, I can fit a 16v VW engine and Trans, I can fit four semi tires in the rear. It looks OK, it gets 30mpg on the hwy (my parameter was 28mpg), there is an aftermarket (shares a lot of things with the 3), and there are plenty of them if I have to chase down parts. I had a $ figure as well and nothing really crossed into the range when I added all of the things together but this. Turned over 161k this morning.

failboat wrote:

ProDarwin wrote: Do any of the available radios for these have an aux. input? Or is there a simple kit to add one?

For Mazdas with no aux input, My brother bought this for his 2003 3 and I helped him install it. It was straightforward and worked great http://www.sylfex.com/products/AuxMod/

I did the same for my '06 MX5. great choice.

How concerned should I be about rust?

I've been talking with different dealers all day. Found a decent 5 for sale that has by far the lowest miles of any I've come across at (49k). But, its a 2009 and its been in Ohio and WV. For a Mazda, this sounds like a recipie for disaster. Is it? Or nothing to worry about?

Next closest car has been in NOVA which scares me a bit, but not nearly as much. Too bad the dealer still hasn't given me any photos of the car. Some of these dealers just don't seem to give a E36 M3.

Have you looked at CarMax? I've seen a few on there and they'll move them to your nearest location for a fee.

Stefan wrote: Have you looked at CarMax? I've seen a few on there and they'll move them to your nearest location for a fee.

Carmax cars tend to be >$10k range. I'm looking more around 6-8k.

I bought mine in VA but I had found out while checking it out it spent most of its life in South Carolina.

I did look at a super clean low mileage one at Carmax, but based on pricing I was seeing in my search over a few months I felt it was about $4k overpriced, and of course there is zero negotiation there.

Well, 99% chance we are getting an Odyssey instead of the 5 I wanted. I got tired of dealing with used car dealers.

My BIL is the manager at a large Honda dealer. He had an Odyssey on the lot and I asked him what I could take it home for. It ended up being almost $3k less than most of the Mazda5s I was considering. Not sure I'll enjoy the size or gas mileage, but I'll probably enjoy the leather, heated seats, nav, dvd player, etc

Hopefully I can keep it around a few years and sell it for what I paid :)

You'll probably enjoy the size if you ever have to carry a few people, or a van load of stuff, or both at the same time. My sister recently got a similarly equipped Odyssey, inside looks like a nice place to ride.

In reply to ProDarwin:

My BIL bought a new 17 Odyssey last year. His real-world fuel mileage is about half of my Mazda5 (16 versus 28) and he is already having problems with the i-VTEC and VCM issues. It's also a bear to park. Otherwise, it's a sweet ride, especially the interior which is a clear upgrade to the Mazda.

Yeah, if the mileage difference is that massive, we may look at getting rid of it. Then again, the deal we got on it will cover quite a bit of fuel. Odyssey vs 5 on Fuelly is about a 20% difference (20mpg vs 24mpg)

Knocking on wood regarding the other issues.

When we have taken my wife's '10 Mazda5 to see her sister in Fairfax, Va it requires that we have a 20cu/ft rooftop box on the Mazda in order to fit all the needed items for one toddler (pack&play, stroller, portable high chair, etc)

When we have taken the '05 Nissan Quest (full size minivan) the rooftop box is not needed.

MPG on both trips might actually be the same or even 1 point higher to the big van w/o the box.