Mazda6 vs CX-5 with kid on the way

[Dimcorner]

For those of you with the 6, has anyone with kids considered the cx5?

I personally like the 6, but the wife is thinking CX5 because of the trunk/space in the back. Is it going to be THAT much easier with the CX5?
How much stuff do you need to carry with infants that won't fit in a Mazda6?

 

[mazdadude]

I don't have the 6 but I do have a CX-5 and a Mazda5, the Mazda5 with sliding door would be even easier with regards to loading child, carrying associated stroller, crib, diaper bag, etc...cargo.

 

[Dimcorner]

I'm trying to gauge whether the extra trunk space (height) and seat height are that much more important when having an infant. The 6 has some nice features that are not available in the CX5 but if the extra height of the CX5 will mean WAY less headaches then I might have to give up on going for the 6.

 

[cerv]

I am assuming that is your first child. First, congratulations!.
I have a 3 year old and an 9 month old boys. Here is what I found: with my wife's old 2000 honda civic: with an rear infant carrier and snap on base getting in an out you have to literally do that while looking at the roof to save your back (I am 5'10"). Also I have to tilt it a bit to clear the carrier' handle from the top of the door opening. If you don't have a snap on base might just slide it out. (With a snap on base is more secure and you don't have to deal with the seat belt every time)
With my Mazda 3 hatchback, I don't have to do tilt the carrier that because of the extra height. With my wife's new CX5, is a bit challenge for her to unload or load the carrier because of the extra ride height (granted she is just shy of 5'). For me no problem, at least I don't have to stare the roof while doing that. Granted I have to make sure that I have enough side room to open the door. So a Mazda 5 with sliding door are good feature. As a added benefit, the CX5 has more rear leg room that my 3 year old can't kick (for now) back of the driver's seat.

So here is what I suggest: eat more spinach so your arms can be like Popeye j/k you will find out soon.... kidding aside... get your baby carrier and ask the dealer to try it out in each car to see what works best. They will gladly help you to narrow your decision (off course they want to sell you a car). To be more realistic, get a bag of rice, beans, etc... to simulate the weight of the baby. I recommend 20- 25 lbs for worst case scenario. yep. I can't wait for to switch the infant carrier to a regular front facing child seat for my 9 month old son.

As for trunk space, granted the CX5 has more than the 6 (34 vs 14 cu ft). However, on the CX5 it measured from the floor to the roof line. If you measure up to the cargo cover or where the top of the back seat cushion, I think is about the same or a bit more like 23 cu ft.
Anyway, I hope this helps

 

[2ndName]

I was in the same exact position as you when I purchased the 6 last week. We have a 3 months old and was deciding between the CX5 and the 6. We test drove both before deciding and was pretty much 50/50. In the end, we decided on the 6, simply because I prefer driving a sedan versus an SUV. We're also planning on getting an SUV to replace her car in a year or two so that's another factor that I'm unsure you will be factoring or not.

Not saying that the CX5 drives poorly compared to the 6 but it was a matter of preference. Our carseat, rear facing fits real nice inside the 6. My wife sits next to the baby whenever we travel and she has a lot of room. We have a Britax B-Agile stroller that we tuck in the trunk and that leaves A LOT of trunk space left. If I was to just slide it in, I have the entire half of the trunk for everything else and also space on top of the stroller. Do note that the CX5 will of course provide you with more room so if that's important to you, go with the CX5.

 

[jtrimm]

Whether or not you need the CX-5 depends more about how much cargo room you need for weekend activities and road trips/vacations. A Mazda 6 is mid-sized sedan with a roomy interior and big trunk and should be more than adequate for 2 infants/toddlers and their gear.

Personally, we tow a 23 foot camping trailer and alternate childcare duties with a few families with kids the same age as our 2 kids and often carpool our two kids with 2-3 others, so our 7-passenger 2012 Dodge Durango is the perfect vehicle to carry 5 kids to school, tow 6250 pounds, and still get fuel economy of 20 mpg. That said, we've also done day trips to the Jersey shore in my former compact Audi A3 with beach gear crammed in every corner, so I wouldn't sweat the new 6 being big/roomy enough. Even if you had twins, you could fit a double stroller and all their gear in that trunk. Heck, I fit a B.O.B. double stroller (which is a huge side-by-side double stroller) in the trunk of our 2000 Corolla.

The 6 will be more than enough for room if you prefer it to a compact SUV.

Also remember they won't be infants for long... 2-3 years the strollers will be gone. It goes by quick! My boys are 7 & 9 now and gave a big thumbs up to the Mazda 6 when the three of us sat in it at the Philly car show in January (ultimately my wife and I bought the new 6 a few weeks ago).

 

[ManMachine]

Depends on how one uses the vehicles and what other car you may already have. CX-5 certainly fits a lot more stuff, and it is easier to buckle in kids with SUVs than sedans. If you will have a lot of road trips in the future, with camping gear, skiing trips etc., CX-5 will be good to have. We have CR-V and 528i and it's a nice combination. Trips to the cities - 528i. Trips to the wilderness - CR-V.

Of course if Mazda brings us the wagon, there won't be any discussion what car to get.

 

[Dimcorner]

We currently have a 06 Mazda3 (won 3 local autocrosses with that sucker!). Personally I prefer to drive a sedan than a CUV (that and the 6 is optioned out better for the same price).

Here is another data point. We take about 1 road trip per year from the Carolinas to Boston around winter time. We have done it in the Mazda3 and my 2000 Audi S4 (from Florida!) with me, the wife, the cat, and his bathroom along with Christmas present. I don't think we would stuff the CX5 to the ceiling, but I'm guessing that the Mazda6 would have more trunk space than the S4. I want to say that AWD would be nice but honestly the only time I used it was when it snowed in Boston and I wanted to slide the S4 around a corner

Anyhow I did test drive both and the Mazda6 left a bigger impression on me than the CX5 did (2013). I'm probably going to the Atlanta car show in 2 weeks and see if I can gently steer the wife towards the Mazda6.

And yes if the wagon comes I'm buying that (as long as it's not a ridiculous premium over the sedan).

 

[Evan55]

Im in the same boat (well, with an 8 month old), and if I didnt have 2 mutts Id get the Mazda6 for sure.

 

[tom8]

Having kid(s) changes everything! I have two that are 3 and 6 and I can relate. Fortunately I got a cx-9 so mazda 6 was an easy decision. But both cars, cx5 or 6 are great.

 

[DougNuts]

We have a 3 week old and we've decided to go with the cx5 for three reasons. First is the higher seating position, for easier loading. Second is the ability to load and carry big items, such a new grill or the jogging stroller without taking the wheels off. Finally, we do a lot of biking and a hatchback has better aerodynamics with a hitch mounted rack than a sedan does. If the 6 wagon was here, we may have made a different decision.

 

[nikbrewer]

We have twins on the way and considering these cars as well. We have a 2011 outback for the big trips. I was suprized that a double stroller ( the huge ones that fit the car seats) fit in the trunk just as well as it fit in the cx5. THe trunk actually looks like it would hold 2 strollers long ways ( will test this Saturday)

since this is my daily driver, the 38 MPG is was I am excited about ( I drive a mazda2 at the moment and love the 37.5 mpg I been getting lately)

 

[arktctr]

For those of you with the 6, has anyone with kids considered the cx5?

I personally like the 6, but the wife is thinking CX5 because of the trunk/space in the back. Is it going to be THAT much easier with the CX5?
How much stuff do you need to carry with infants that won't fit in a Mazda6?

Same boat here...first child is due next week and looked at both but the 6's size and style far outweighed the CX-5 for me. There is plenty of room (front, back and trunk) to be able to swallow whatever entourage the little guy is going to require.

 

[eyeballs]

You guys are funny, worrying about space in the 6 vs cx-5. I've got a mazda 2, and my 1yo and 3yo daughters fit just fine in the back. When it was just one baby seat in the back, I've fit 3 adults plus me. I even have room for a double stroller in the hatch. We used my car for a 3-day vacation last summer to Jekyll Island with no space issues.

You'll be fine with either choice. It's the kid seats that I had to do alot of research with.

 

[DKaz]

My wife, mother-in-law, and two kids drove 700 miles each way to Edmonton no problems in our Mazda 3.

I'd go for the 6 if you wanted something really fun to drive, and the CX-5 if you wanted something that was a balance between fun to drive and being tall. Remember that in the CX-5, the legroom and shoulder room will be compact like. I personally didn't think the CX-5 was comfortable in the back.

Of course, the better choice than the two would be the 5, although it uses a bit more gas. I averaged 24.5 mpg in my old 2007 5 with 5 speed manual vs. 32.5 mpg in my 3. Can't wait for the 5 to get SkyActiv'd.

 

[tom8]

Wait till you kids gets a bit older and those legs begin to grow. Moving to the 6 or cx-5 would help a lot. My 6 year old keeps kicking the back of my seat in my VW jetta, but now in the 6, peaceful drive again!

 

[eyeballs]

Just move the 6 year old to the passenger side to kick the other seat. My girls are not going to get very big so I'm not worried about growing legs. Besides...when they get big enough to no longer need the safety seat, I will be getting something with an even smaller backseat such as an FRS/BRZ. If they want to be comfy they'll have to go in the wife's car (the 5).

 

[inspekt]

Agreed. My daughter, at 5, has very long legs and there is still quite a bit of room and she never says a thing. There are plenty of shoe marks all over, of course ^_^. I think adults tend to be more concerned about a child's legroom than they do.

 

[eyeballs]

I keep my 1yo rear facing behind me, and my 3yo front facing on the passenger side. Most of the time they are in my car there's nobody in the front passenger seat, so I just keep it pushed forward to minimize the foot marks. And I just recently moved the rear facing seat from 45 deg. to 30 deg. and voila, I can now sit with the seat all the way down.

 

[birdman579]

New member here and having the same debate to replace my wife's car. We have a 5 month old and plan to have a 2nd in a year or so. We were all set to get a CX-5 until she found it difficult to get our infant carrier into the back seat due to the large rear wheel well. The 6 had much more room front to back to get the infant seat in the car. Did anyone have a similar issue? The Ford Escape has a larger opening, but the stupid MyFord Touch system is so unreliable that we had to eliminate the Ford. She really doesn't want a 6 because it's too long.