Cargo space?

[Fabio]

Hi all,

I am looking to buy a Mazda5 in the next month or two. I am having my third child soon and it looks like the 5 is the only one where I can fit 3 car seats without buying a much more expensive and fuel hungry minivan.
I am only worried by the small cargo space left after using 3 seats for the kids.
Anyone willing to share his experience?
Also, is it worth to wait for the 08 model? To me the only interesting feature is the rear seats AC since I will have a kid n the very back (and summer in CO is hot). However now they are offering 1k off for 07 model...
Thanks
Fabio

 

[coolmazda5]

There have been several threads similar (similar) to this topic (dunno why, LOL ). I recalled some to get you going (links below). I cannot comment on hauling 3 kids as I only have one little monster (the one who keeps me replying early on a Sunday) and it is a great car. With cargo, IMO, the MZ5 is ideally for 2 adults and 2 kids as per the add-ons those "things" bring along (stroller, groceries, nursing bags, toys) but I let the rest of the fellows comment on it...

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123647718

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123671267

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3247972&postcount=47

 

[snax]

Here's our take with 3 of our own - only one of which really requires a car seat at this point with ages 2.5, 8, & 10:

For everyday running around town, having the 6th seat open is an absolute must if there is any shopping planned with the full family of 5. What little room is left with the 6th seat up is virtually useless for anything more than about $30 worth of groceries. With the 6th seat down, we have adequate room for 99% of the rest of our life - with the exception that it's a tight fit for our wakeboards. We'll be getting a roof rack for that however.

As far as putting 3 car seats in the car goes, plan on having two in the rearmost seats. Clogging up the middle row with them will make access to the rear seats tight at best. Impossible if the rear child needs assistance getting in and out. Our older children can squeeze by the one car seat if necessary, but with both front seats back most of the way, it's not their first choice.

I say load one up with the family and see how well it works.

 

[raspykart]

if cost, gas mileage, and driving enjoyment are high on the list I recommend it. I agree 2 car seat max, booster seat in the back seat may be fine... not certain there as we have only 1 kid for now, but we've had 5 adults and 1 baby in the car comfortably. For the occasional road trip just get a roof rack and carrier... I hear the roof rack comes off with great ease. We've been getting 25-30mpg city and 30-40mpg hwy... can't beat that for a hauler... best of all tho, is railing it around a corner and scaring the ricers around you.

 

[doctorz]

We only have two kids, one in a booster and one in a convertible seat, but we use the third seat fairly frequently for grandparents and carpooling. We also had until recently a dog (passed on a couple of months ago) that rode in a crate in the cargo area. How old your kids are makes a big difference. Our younger daughter no longer uses diapers, doesn't sleep in a crib, and rarely uses a stroller, which cuts down our load considerably...we even took a weekend trip in the Protege recently and everything fit in an 11 cubic foot trunk. What a revelation to be free of all of that stuff!

But I digress. Packing the 5 takes some planning, as opposed to a larger minivan where you can just throw stuff in. There IS enough room behind the third row for some grocery bags and soft luggage, so that space isn't completely wasted. We can fit an umbrella stroller behind the third row without any problem. Having half of the third seat down adds a reasonable amount of room, mostly for soft luggage. The third row doesn't fold completely flat, something that may or may not bug you. Large strollers may be hard to fit (of course, we just buy smaller strollers).

Regarding the car seats and access to the third row...the third row has no LATCH anchors. In our experience, boosters work well there, but convertible seats don't fit nearly as well as in the second row where they can be cinched down tight. We have a Sport, so the kids just squeeze between the second row seats as there's no center tray, at least until '08.

Personally, with three kids--particularly if they're all in car seats--I would seriously consider going back up to the minivan if this vehicle was going to be the main family hauler. But I think it can be done, it just takes some planning and a willingness to use a roof box if needed.

 

[monsta]

The third row doesn't fold completely flat...

Your's don't?? Mine do.

Fabio, if it were me I'd wait for the 08 if for nothing else than for the 5-speed auto. The 4-speed auto leaves a bit to be desired in the performance category.

I cannot comment with a whole lot of authority on space as I only have 1 left in a booster seat (4 kids total) and have never had to put 3 car seats in and then pack up. I would imagine that it is doable but is more doable in a larger van.

Hard to beat being able to "walk" back to the third row on a long road trip which is what you can do in a larger van. I recently rented a Grand Caravan with Stow-n-Go seating for a 2 week vacation. Awesome. I loved being able to throw stuff out of sight under the floor. Fuel issues in a larger van shouldn't be too terribly bad. (The post which claimed 30-40 highway and 25-30 city as fact is laughable. (hah) ) I averaged about 21 mixed with the 3.3L V6. I average 25 in my 5.

I do understand, however, your issues with the additional cost. The 5 is a terrific value! IMO

Kids take up lots of room with their stuff. The 5 is a fantastic everyday car for a family of 4. It makes a logical second car for those with a larger vehicle in the stable and a terrific third car in my case when I need to take all 6 of us somewhere but don't need the room of my Excursion or the pickup bed of the my Avalanche.

Not trying to talk you out of a 5. You should really go and load one up and take it for a test drive and see. I think you may find with your three kids and all the associated stuff that follows them, being able to load up the car without having a degree in engineering and packaging just may be worth the few pennies per mile the larger van will cost.

 

[doctorz]

Your's don't?? Mine do.

We may be talking about the same thing. I find that third row seatback when folded down is still at a slight angle instead of completely level and flat. Minor detail, but every 5 I've seen is this way, and the Rondo's third row does fold down completely flat, so I'm pretty sure it's not my sheer incompetence....

 

[Rocket]

The car is a 4 seater with cargo room, or a six seater with no cargo room.

 

[HotRodSaint]

We may be talking about the same thing. I find that third row seatback when folded down is still at a slight angle instead of completely level and flat. Minor detail, but every 5 I've seen is this way, and the Rondo's third row does fold down completely flat, so I'm pretty sure it's not my sheer incompetence....

My third row folds completely flat.

 

[paging_drburgos]

hmm im thinking you might want to look at something with more room. A stroller will max the car out as far as usable space goes.

Oh and my 3rd row folds completely flat to. Think you may want your seats looked at Docz

 

[AIMWO4]

I have a 6-year old (3rd row) a 18 month old and 5 month old. It's really not too bad if you don't lug a huge stroller around.

I saw a couple of 5's at McDonald Mazda being cleared out for $15999 today.

Hi all,

I am looking to buy a Mazda5 in the next month or two. I am having my third child soon and it looks like the 5 is the only one where I can fit 3 car seats without buying a much more expensive and fuel hungry minivan.
I am only worried by the small cargo space left after using 3 seats for the kids.
Anyone willing to share his experience?
Also, is it worth to wait for the 08 model? To me the only interesting feature is the rear seats AC since I will have a kid n the very back (and summer in CO is hot). However now they are offering 1k off for 07 model...
Thanks
Fabio

 

[raspykart]

Your's don't?? Mine do.

Fabio, if it were me I'd wait for the 08 if for nothing else than for the 5-speed auto. The 4-speed auto leaves a bit to be desired in the performance category.

I cannot comment with a whole lot of authority on space as I only have 1 left in a booster seat (4 kids total) and have never had to put 3 car seats in and then pack up. I would imagine that it is doable but is more doable in a larger van.

Hard to beat being able to "walk" back to the third row on a long road trip which is what you can do in a larger van. I recently rented a Grand Caravan with Stow-n-Go seating for a 2 week vacation. Awesome. I loved being able to throw stuff out of sight under the floor. Fuel issues in a larger van shouldn't be too terribly bad. (The post which claimed 30-40 highway and 25-30 city as fact is laughable. (hah) ) I averaged about 21 mixed with the 3.3L V6. I average 25 in my 5.

I do understand, however, your issues with the additional cost. The 5 is a terrific value! IMO

Kids take up lots of room with their stuff. The 5 is a fantastic everyday car for a family of 4. It makes a logical second car for those with a larger vehicle in the stable and a terrific third car in my case when I need to take all 6 of us somewhere but don't need the room of my Excursion or the pickup bed of the my Avalanche.

Not trying to talk you out of a 5. You should really go and load one up and take it for a test drive and see. I think you may find with your three kids and all the associated stuff that follows them, being able to load up the car without having a degree in engineering and packaging just may be worth the few pennies per mile the larger van will cost.

I sir invite you to come out my way n ride around town for a couple tanks, and maybe we'll take a stroll down the interstate too. I have gotten those gas mileage numbers, even posted a good size write up our road trip and the consistency of the mileage wrt speed. If you go 55-60mph you can get 40mpg, and there are places where 55mph is the main hwy/road going to it. I have also consistently gotten at least 25mpg driving around town, if I drive 50/50 street/interstate in the city I've gotten 30mpg the few times its worked that way on a tank. Don't be calling BS on me homefry, I don't lie.

 

[raspykart]

We only have two kids, one in a booster and one in a convertible seat, but we use the third seat fairly frequently for grandparents and carpooling. We also had until recently a dog (passed on a couple of months ago) that rode in a crate in the cargo area. How old your kids are makes a big difference. Our younger daughter no longer uses diapers, doesn't sleep in a crib, and rarely uses a stroller, which cuts down our load considerably...we even took a weekend trip in the Protege recently and everything fit in an 11 cubic foot trunk. What a revelation to be free of all of that stuff!

But I digress. Packing the 5 takes some planning, as opposed to a larger minivan where you can just throw stuff in. There IS enough room behind the third row for some grocery bags and soft luggage, so that space isn't completely wasted. We can fit an umbrella stroller behind the third row without any problem. Having half of the third seat down adds a reasonable amount of room, mostly for soft luggage. The third row doesn't fold completely flat, something that may or may not bug you. Large strollers may be hard to fit (of course, we just buy smaller strollers).

Regarding the car seats and access to the third row...the third row has no LATCH anchors. In our experience, boosters work well there, but convertible seats don't fit nearly as well as in the second row where they can be cinched down tight. We have a Sport, so the kids just squeeze between the second row seats as there's no center tray, at least until '08.

Personally, with three kids--particularly if they're all in car seats--I would seriously consider going back up to the minivan if this vehicle was going to be the main family hauler. But I think it can be done, it just takes some planning and a willingness to use a roof box if needed.

Pretty sure mine folds darn near flat, I would consider it flat... guess I better get out a level. Also that center console does fold over into the bottom of the 2nd row passenger side seat, so its not required to have it in use.

 

[Fabio]

Thank you all for your comments. Some of you raised a few points which I would like to address.
1) The Mazda5 is going to be car for the entire family. My other car is a civic but 3 car seats don't fit in (they don't fit in a Accord or a Camry for that matters)
2) One of my son is in a booster seat (5 years old) anther one is 2.5 (car seat) and the 3rd will arrive in October (hopefully)
3) I am already considering a roof box (is a roof luggage basket more convenient?) for the times when we all go on a trip

snax, AIMWO4: you are probably the closest to my situation. Does your kids in the third seat complain about the AC? For me that would be the only reason for the 08 model since I prefer the MT anyway.
ThanKs

 

[monsta]

Don't be calling BS on me homefry, I don't lie.

What the hell is a "homefry"? (huh)

I'm not saying you're lying. I just think you may be doing the math wrong. (Are you quoting US gallons??)

You're claiming your mean mileage to be 27.5 City and 35 Highway.

We've been getting 25-30mpg city and 30-40mpg hwy

That happens to be around 20% better in the city and 23% better on the highway than what the overly optimistic EPA figures are*.(uhm)

*(22/27 M/T - 21/26 A/T) I used the better manual tranny numbers.

I just find your numbers very hard to believe.

The EPA is so optimistic in their figures that this model year they had to come up with a more real world test. Most every car on the market LOST mpg ratings. (Guess it should be noted that in my LIMITED research, the Madza 5's numbers remained the same between 06 & 07 model years)

I don't have interstates here and the highest speed here is 55mph. If anyone should get good mileage it should be me. I rarely drive with kids and only carry about 70lbs worth of stuff in the car. I only use Royal Purple 5W-20 and the car is in a perfect state of tune. I'm pushing 40 so I don't have the "racer" attitude in my anymore. And I don't use the A/C too often 'cept in town.

Sorry if I offended you before. We'll just agree to disagree, okay.

 

[AIMWO4]

He has no complaints. If fact, he's very happy to have the space to himself. He usually gets out between the back of the driver's seat and the baby seat holder in the seat behind me. That seat will also slide forward enough for him to get out as well. I am 5' 10" and do all the driving. Don't forget to increase your rear tire pressure if you carry much of a load. The negative camber can cause "cupping" on the inside edge of rear tires. I rotate mine every 3-5K miles myself. The OEM tires don't last long. I've replaced mine with a harder compound as I'm experienced in the this area after owning three Saabs.

I am putting the cargo box on the back with a hitch. Haven't had time to install it yet. But it is much easier access. Here it is on my Saab wagon:

Thank you all for your comments. Some of you raised a few points which I would like to address.
1) The Mazda5 is going to be car for the entire family. My other car is a civic but 3 car seats don't fit in (they don't fit in a Accord or a Camry for that matters)
2) One of my son is in a booster seat (5 years old) anther one is 2.5 (car seat) and the 3rd will arrive in October (hopefully)
3) I am already considering a roof box (is a roof luggage basket more convenient?) for the times when we all go on a trip

snax, AIMWO4: you are probably the closest to my situation. Does your kids in the third seat complain about the AC? For me that would be the only reason for the 08 model since I prefer the MT anyway.
ThanKs

 

[Fabio]

AIMWO4, was the price of $15999 for a new model or a pre-owned. Do you remember?
I just called them and they said they have no such price on new models.... which I don't believe. Most likely they are trying to make me pay as much as they can

 

[AIMWO4]

I'd have to look again. Maybe it was a 2006 clearance.

Looks like pre-owned...

http://www.autouplinkusa.com/FindVehicle1.cfm?DealerId=7091&object=list&MAKE=Mazda&MODEL=Mazda5&maxrows=12&MinYear=&MaxYear=2008&Type=U&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&STYLE=&ExtColor=&MaxMiles=&StockNo=

AIMWO4, was the price of $15999 for a new model or a pre-owned. Do you remember?
I just called them and they said they have no such price on new models.... which I don't believe. Most likely they are trying to make me pay as much as they can

 

[raspykart]

What the hell is a "homefry"? (huh)

I'm not saying you're lying. I just think you may be doing the math wrong. (Are you quoting US gallons??)

You're claiming your mean mileage to be 27.5 City and 35 Highway. That happens to be around 20% better in the city and 23% better on the highway than what the overly optimistic EPA figures are*.(uhm)

*(22/27 M/T - 21/26 A/T) I used the better manual tranny numbers.

I just find your numbers very hard to believe.

The EPA is so optimistic in their figures that this model year they had to come up with a more real world test. Most every car on the market LOST mpg ratings. (Guess it should be noted that in my LIMITED research, the Madza 5's numbers remained the same between 06 & 07 model years)

I don't have interstates here and the highest speed here is 55mph. If anyone should get good mileage it should be me. I rarely drive with kids and only carry about 70lbs worth of stuff in the car. I only use Royal Purple 5W-20 and the car is in a perfect state of tune. I'm pushing 40 so I don't have the "racer" attitude in my anymore. And I don't use the A/C too often 'cept in town.

Sorry if I offended you before. We'll just agree to disagree, okay.

Those are absolutely real and unpadded numbers. Before I bought my 5 I did much research and came to the conclusion that the EPA was off by about 3mpg across the board. I have gotten 25mpg city (I live in the US, so it is US gallons) since day 1 and occasionally if we drive across town multiple times on our lone interstate I've seen 28-30mpg. I stand firm that we get 25city and 30-35hwy with an occasional 40mpg stint if its 55mph or downhill. I'm am getting ready to embark on another 3000+ mile road trip, what would satisfy you as proof of our mileage? Here's the repeatable data I had on our last long road trip:

77mph = ~28mpg
70mph = ~32mpg
67mph = ~35mpg
55mph = ~40mpg

city which is typically 80% street and 20% interstate = 25mpg
city 50/50 = ~28-30mpg depending on traffic

we typically fill our tank about the time the light comes on which is 300-330 miles and 12-12.5 gallons

I noticed in your sig that you changed your tire size, did you account for that? When I changed tires on my Tundra I went 0.9" bigger and instantly go worse mileage till I calculated the 3.5% tire diff back into it.

 

[monsta]

what would satisfy you as proof of our mileage?

You don't need to "satify" me. I believe you but also think that your numbers are NOT the norm.

I noticed in your sig that you changed your tire size, did you account for that? When I changed tires on my Tundra I went 0.9" bigger and instantly go worse mileage till I calculated the 3.5% tire diff back into it.

You must have me confused with someone else. I didn't change tire sizes and my signature says nothing about tires.