Dislikes about your MAZDA 5

I still cannot get over how cheap the headliner is... push up on it with one finger and you know exactly what you are getting. Also, try sitting in car during a rain storm and you can hear the droplets echo throughout. Overall theme of cheap material quality (plastics, thin glass, poor insulation, poor overall material). A car of compromises, which I can accept but not the wife. Luckily I drive it 99% of the time :D
 
The two cupholders in between the seats are a bit shallow. Medium size drinks tend to fall over slightly when turning.

Hmm good to know. I didn't use the cupholders, but will make note of this. Don't want drinks spilling.

I still cannot get over how cheap the headliner is... push up on it with one finger and you know exactly what you are getting. Also, try sitting in car during a rain storm and you can hear the droplets echo throughout. Overall theme of cheap material quality (plastics, thin glass, poor insulation, poor overall material). A car of compromises, which I can accept but not the wife. Luckily I drive it 99% of the time :D
Your screen name is familiar. Trying to figure out which other forum I know you form. Agree it is a car of compromises.
 
The two cupholders in between the seats are a bit shallow. Medium size drinks tend to fall over slightly when turning.

huh. haven't had this problem. I've held 44oz wawa soda cups in there with no issue. the ones between the seats in the middle row are fine also (with my kids, if there was a chance of spilling, they would have found it!)
 
Driver-controlled interior lights: no issue for me. My 2012 GT has two overhead switches that actuate the two overhead lights in the front compartment. In a bind, I can (barely) reach the switch to turn on the rear overhead light, but why would I when the rear seat occupants could do so more easily.

Some of my gripes after 2500 miles:

- Power - It's awfully weak for a modern 2.5L. How about at least a "mild" turbo, like Volkswagen's 200-hp 2.0L?

- Fuel Economy - Again, for a modern engine in 2012 the real world mileage is poor. I got about 24 mpg on a 650-mile trip and get 15-16 mpg around town.

- Sun visors - Not only are they terribly cheap, but they have no 'extenders' to block out the sun through the side windows.

- Dash Storage - Although the 5 has plenty of small storage enclosures built into the dash, they're all made of hard plastic. MP3 players, sunglasses, change, etc. will rattle your brain, plus will slide onto the floor at the first sharp turn. Gimme a grippy, rubberized surface!

- Door Sills - the inside of the upper doors is lined with some type of fabric. It looks great new, but I happen to lean my elbow on the sill when I drive and the fabric is already starting to show wear.

- Power Outlet - The power outlet shuts down when the engine is off. Some people like this - - I don't.

- HomeLink - I'm very disappointed Mazda chose not to include HomeLink in the top-of-the-line GT. Now I must keep a clunky garage opener in my car.

- Audio 'Beep' - Even though I have selected "No Beep" in the audio system, it continues to register a 'beep' whenever I increase or decrease the volume using the steering wheel control. Idiots!

- Floor Mats - The quality of the floor mats (as well as the cargo area carpet) is REALLY cheap. The grippy rubber soles of my casual shoes were taking chunks out of the driver mat, so I had to stop wearing my favorite shoes! Even my previous CX-9 GT had this quality problem. My right heel wore a hole through the mat in less than two years.

Other than these mostly niggling issues, I LOVE my 5!

5GT_17.jpg
 
Driver-controlled interior lights: no issue for me. My 2012 GT has two overhead switches that actuate the two overhead lights in the front compartment. In a bind, I can (barely) reach the switch to turn on the rear overhead light, but why would I when the rear seat occupants could do so more easily.

- HomeLink - I'm very disappointed Mazda chose not to include HomeLink in the top-of-the-line GT. Now I must keep a clunky garage opener in my car.

- Audio 'Beep' - Even though I have selected "No Beep" in the audio system, it continues to register a 'beep' whenever I increase or decrease the volume using the steering wheel control. Idiots!

- Floor Mats - The quality of the floor mats (as well as the cargo area carpet) is REALLY cheap. The grippy rubber soles of my casual shoes were taking chunks out of the driver mat, so I had to stop wearing my favorite shoes! Even my previous CX-9 GT had this quality problem. My right heel wore a hole through the mat in less than two years.

Other than these mostly niggling issues, I LOVE my 5!

That is because you have adult passengers in teh back, so light is not an issue.

Interesting on home linke. My new miata gt has it, they should put it in the 5 too.

Any recommendation on upgraded floor mat?
 
That is because you have adult passengers in teh back, so light is not an issue. If kids can't reach it...all the better!

Interesting on home linke. My new miata gt has it, they should put it in the 5 too.

Any recommendation on upgraded floor mat? Not yet, I'm still wearing my old shoes! (protest)
 
If kids can't reach it...all the better!

[/COLOR][/B](protest)

Not if you have parents in the front. Something happens to the baby or babies are crying and you need to feed. Would be nice witha drivers light switch.
 
you forgot the worst feature of the "new" Mazda5's, the Grinning Idiot fron facia!!! that unfortunately will prevent me from buying another 5 (until they get rid of that front) Oddly all of my cubbies (except the drivers one by the hood latch came lined with a grippy rubber surface!

Oh and the interior dash on the new 5 is horrible! It now looks even more mini-van-ish! I think they stole the new dash straight from the sienna/odessey styling!!( mind you id does somehow make the interior look bigger)

If the audio beep is still beeping, somehow you haven't turned it off, its the first thing I did with my 5

my biggest complaint on the first gen 5 is the lack of bluetooth an the reception of the stock radio (it's very week)
 
I would love to have the power doors also. Thought I would get the chance to add them when Ford was going to build the C-Max here. I would also like an external keypad like on my Fords. I also like the option of a fold out second row middle seat. Lastly a diesel option would have been perfect, but here in the states it probably would not have had a manual transmission. We had a VW Passat wagon rental in the UK 2 years ago. The manual trans with a diesel had plenty of power, fun to drive and 35+ mpg full of family and luggage.
 
Oh and the interior dash on the new 5 is horrible! It now looks even more mini-van-ish! I think they stole the new dash straight from the sienna/odessey styling!!( mind you id does somehow make the interior look bigger)

Actually they stole the dash from the Mazda 3. :P I don't know where you got that the dash looks minivan-ish, I like the new dash.
 
you forgot the worst feature of the "new" Mazda5's, the Grinning Idiot fron facia!!! that unfortunately will prevent me from buying another 5 (until they get rid of that front) Oddly all of my cubbies (except the drivers one by the hood latch came lined with a grippy rubber surface!

Oh and the interior dash on the new 5 is horrible! It now looks even more mini-van-ish! I think they stole the new dash straight from the sienna/odessey styling!!( mind you id does somehow make the interior look bigger)

If the audio beep is still beeping, somehow you haven't turned it off, its the first thing I did with my 5

my biggest complaint on the first gen 5 is the lack of bluetooth an the reception of the stock radio (it's very week)

My 2012 Mazda5 GT (US version) has four storage compartments in the dash (plus the area in front of the center digital info display):

- behind the turn signal stalk
- near the driver's left knee
- below the shifter
- above the glove box

All are made of hard plastic and will not hold any hard objects without rattling and discarding the objects upon quick stops, starts, or turns.

I have switched my audio system to "no beep" several times. It succeeds in muting the beep for all operations except changing the volume with the steering wheel switch.
 
If thats the dash in the mazda 3, you have my sympathies! Its a brutal expanse of plastic looks like it was stolen steaight from a honda odessey!
 
I have switched my audio system to "no beep" several times. It succeeds in muting the beep for all operations except changing the volume with the steering wheel switch.

They may have changed that too. No beeps at all in mine after turning it off..
 
Just finished my second long distance run and this one was long enough - NC to ATL - running around, coming back..the only real dislike for the whole trip was the A/C. It worked well, but as I mentioned earlier, probably needs to be better calibrated to know the temps.. had to adjust temps more than needed (I would think) for an auto system. Other than that, the car ran like a champ..will post fuel econ figures in the other thread later..
 
TWo mor things I hate

1) Full interior is tan, but seatbelts are black. You could tell Mazda cheapened out and didn't provide tan seat belts

2) Rear luggage compartment cover only comes in black. Not tan.


WTF
 
TWo mor things I hate

1) Full interior is tan, but seatbelts are black. You could tell Mazda cheapened out and didn't provide tan seat belts

2) Rear luggage compartment cover only comes in black. Not tan.


WTF

Be thankful the belts are black. Tan belts get dirty QUICK.
 
Driver-controlled interior lights: no issue for me. My 2012 GT has two overhead switches that actuate the two overhead lights in the front compartment. In a bind, I can (barely) reach the switch to turn on the rear overhead light, but why would I when the rear seat occupants could do so more easily.

Some of my gripes after 2500 miles:

- Power - It's awfully weak for a modern 2.5L. How about at least a "mild" turbo, like Volkswagen's 200-hp 2.0L?

- Fuel Economy - Again, for a modern engine in 2012 the real world mileage is poor. I got about 24 mpg on a 650-mile trip and get 15-16 mpg around town.

- Sun visors - Not only are they terribly cheap, but they have no 'extenders' to block out the sun through the side windows.

- Dash Storage - Although the 5 has plenty of small storage enclosures built into the dash, they're all made of hard plastic. MP3 players, sunglasses, change, etc. will rattle your brain, plus will slide onto the floor at the first sharp turn. Gimme a grippy, rubberized surface!

- Door Sills - the inside of the upper doors is lined with some type of fabric. It looks great new, but I happen to lean my elbow on the sill when I drive and the fabric is already starting to show wear.

- Power Outlet - The power outlet shuts down when the engine is off. Some people like this - - I don't.

- HomeLink - I'm very disappointed Mazda chose not to include HomeLink in the top-of-the-line GT. Now I must keep a clunky garage opener in my car.

- Audio 'Beep' - Even though I have selected "No Beep" in the audio system, it continues to register a 'beep' whenever I increase or decrease the volume using the steering wheel control. Idiots!

- Floor Mats - The quality of the floor mats (as well as the cargo area carpet) is REALLY cheap. The grippy rubber soles of my casual shoes were taking chunks out of the driver mat, so I had to stop wearing my favorite shoes! Even my previous CX-9 GT had this quality problem. My right heel wore a hole through the mat in less than two years.

Other than these mostly niggling issues, I LOVE my 5!

5GT_17.jpg

I had the same problem with the mats. Hole wore through in less than 2 years and I wear skate shoes, so they're soft. I went to Mazda about it and they replaced them under warrantee for free.
 

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