Considering a Mazda5

[Oregon P5]

I hace a 2003 protege5 but i need something for 3 small kids (carseats) plus me and the wife,is this the car for me I want to stay with mazda my first was 323 then mx3 now the p5 nothing but love for mazdas. I need some thought on the mazda5..just looking for advice?

 

[mountjonas]

i'd consider something else unless you're comfortable having a small kid in the front seat. that and with all seats taken up, there's pretty much no space for anything else like bags or other stuff associated with children.

 

[Wytchdctr]

I have 4 kids and it works great. The only downside is lack of cargo space with the rear 4 seats taken, but wife found an easy fix for that. I watch the kids when she goes to the grocery store. They are a PITA to handle in there anyway...

 

[coolmazda5]

I only have one kid but suggest to wander around the thread below to check out the cargo and passenger space options:
http://www.mazdav.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123681816

Also this recent one:
http://www.mazdav.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3743713

Yes, it fits 5 passengers with no problem (including 3 on car seats ) except that, as mentioned above, with that configuration the cargo space is limited.... yet nothing that roof racks and a cargo box for long trips can't fix

By the way:

1 in the 3rd row can get bored, make it 2

See pic here (originally posted by starlightmica), it is one of my favs:

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110977

 

[bulwnkl]

I agree that the 5 is an excellent choice for a family of 5. In contrast to some, we've not had any trouble with only 1 of the rear seats folded down for cargo room. Went on a 2500-mile trip that way. Now, it was really full, but we didn't need a roof box or rear hitch box. Would've made things more luxurious, but wasn't needed.

I've mentioned once before that we've had 7 people in our 5 around town and still had enough room to haul Thanksgiving dinner's makings home.

 

[paging_drburgos]

its a fantastic little/big car. You might be okay with seating 5 and room for storage as long as you fold one of the back seats down.

 

[mazdadude]

While it may be on the small side for 5-6 people full time, it can be done. In addition there really is not another small/big car like it out there, and the fact that it has the Mazda DNA/driving feel, means that you can be practical, and still enjoy your driving experience. Having also had a 2002.5 Protege5 that I loved, (and I am always on the lookout for another one), the Mazda5 is a nice step up.

Think of it as a Protege5 with an extra row of front seats, and sliding doors.

The one thing I wonder about is how hard it would be to buckle a childseat into the third row, as that might be a little hard to reach. Maybe someone else can chime in on that, as I have never buckled a child seat into the third, just the second row.

 

[jandree22]

While a 5 can technically serve your needs, down the road when I'm in your position with 3 kids, I won't think twice about stepping up to a Sienna/Odyssey. There's a lot of roominess in the 5, relatively speaking, as far as wagons/cars go. But IMO while a 5 is minivan'ish, it's apples and oranges when comparing the capability of hauling people. Get something that will comfortably haul the family, and keep the P5 or go all out and save up for a 90's Miata for your Zoom-Zoom kicks.

I respect you for trying to stay in the Mazda family, but can't honestly recommend it for a day-to-day basis of hauling that many people. You're not setting yourself up for failure because it is capable, but it's simply not the ideal choice for that application. JMHO, good luck to you either way (thumb)

 

[jeebusm3]

I think it's the perfect choice for a family with 1-2 kids. But when you need to use 5 or 6 seats, the Mazda5 is great but as others have said it's not going to have much luggage space in that config.

It really depends on your lifestyle though. We take 600 mile trips pretty often, and usually bring the dog. We have 1 kid (2nd is on the way). It's perfect right now and will continue to be perfect when #2 arrives. If we had 3 kids (I'm getting snipped before that!!!), it would be a lot tougher.

 

[paging_drburgos]

you can always hold out for the Mazda 8.

(hurry up and import that beautiful beast already MAZDA NA)