My first foray into the Mazda world

[OMG Lumens]

First off let me be clear that the only reason I'm here is because SAAB doesn't make a minivan. I am a Saaber through and through but needs must. We have one kid and one on the way and if we wanted to ever carry our friends with us something was going to have to change.

I was very impressed a few years ago when I first saw the 5 in a parking lot. Well actually I was blown away by the good looks and reasonable size. I do not subscribe to the all to common idea that bigger is better. So anyway I have been wanting a 5 for a few years now but it only just happened for us.

After my first sighting of the 5 and falling in love I went to the dealer and took a test drive. I was very sad when I actually got to drive it. It came so close to the perfect car. The only thing lacking was the AC was horrendous with no vents in the back and it has no power. So I just said forget it. Then in 08 they added the rear AC vents and the 5 speed auto tranny. I test drove it again and then declared it a vehicle worthy of purchase.

Still the poor thing desperately needs more power. I am coming from the very torquey SAABs and sure would like to have that Speed3 engine in there. The AC even with the extra rear vents is only barely adequate for the worst that Texas summers can throw at it. Much like the Saabs I have had. Overall though this is one heck of a car and I am loving it.

I bought an 09 Grand Touring with 20k miles on it for $16K. Smokin hot deal if you ask me.

I must say the OEM tires are pathetic. They are loud and although they don't have a high tread wear rating they don't have much stick to them either. I feared for my life a few times driving in the rain on black top. I drove from Dallas to Milwaukee to buy this car. Nothing like 2000 miles in two days.(crazy)

Anyways I'm sure you all want to see the new ride. First time I got the color I wanted.

 

[mazdadude]

Welcome to the family. I know what you mean about brand loyalty.(2thumbs)

 

[ms6acton]

welcome!!

 

[wmzda5]

Power.... you should buy the MT, no prob adequate power when needed.
AC? You might want to put on some tints it will help on the temp and give your car good looks too.

Welcome and congrats on getting a white one too.

 

[wmzda5]

I just noticed the inside of the front badge is white too?

 

[chief_wiggum]

Nice; welcome to the forum. White is my favorite color for this car; too bad for me, I didn't want tan interior.

 

[thaxman]

WOW! HID's too! Nice ride. Wanna trade for my MT Touring?

 

[nate0123]

...Still the poor thing desperately needs more power. I am coming from the very torquey SAABs and sure would like to have that Speed3 engine in there. The AC even with the extra rear vents is only barely adequate for the worst that Texas summers can throw at it. Much like the Saabs I have had. Overall though this is one heck of a car and I am loving it...

Welcome to the forums, the car looks awesome. And... I have a feeling this article will resonate well with you (click)

 

[OMG Lumens]

Welcome to the family. I know what you mean about brand loyalty.(2thumbs)

I see that.

Power.... you should buy the MT, no prob adequate power when needed.
AC? You might want to put on some tints it will help on the temp and give your car good looks too.

Welcome and congrats on getting a white one too.

(rlaugh) Does the MT give you an extra 70 HP? Just for a little perspective my 86 Saab 900 turbo had 160HP and 190lbft from a 2.0L. Fast forward 23 years and this 5's 2.3 is at 153? I'm used to 260-380HP so 153 is so laughably slow it's not even funny. I hardly think the MT is going to make the difference.

I will probably look into some tint though.

I just noticed the inside of the front badge is white too?

Is that strange?

Welcome to the forums, the car looks awesome. And... I have a feeling this article will resonate well with you (click)

Yes I have seen that one before. Sure would be nice if Mazda did that for us. There is an opportunity, I believe, to be had here. No dad wants to drive a minivan. If you can give them a little terror of a wagon I think it could catch on. Judging by the 11 Mazda5 it seems they are intent on killing even the pretension of sportiness and transforming it into an Odyssey wannabe. (notcool) How can they claim to be the ZoomZoom company when the top-o-the-line model only has 153HP anyway?!

Sorry but I'm just a little ticked at Mazda for coming so close to making the perfect car then falling short right before the finish line.

 

[x10dude]

...No dad wants to drive a minivan.

I have absolutely no problem driving a minivan. I prefer my Mazda 5 over a minivan because it fits our family most of the time but we also have a Sienna and I don't mind that either. For picking up friends/family at the airport, I'll take our Sienna over the Mazda all the time. Moving furniture and hauling stuff from Home Depot, I'll take the minivan.But for just going around town and running errands, you can't beat the Mazda 5.

Who cares about the image. Minivans are easily the most versatile vehicles out there.

 

[wmzda5]

I see that.


(rlaugh) Does the MT give you an extra 70 HP? Just for a little perspective my 86 Saab 900 turbo had 160HP and 190lbft from a 2.0L. Fast forward 23 years and this 5's 2.3 is at 153? I'm used to 260-380HP so 153 is so laughably slow it's not even funny. I hardly think the MT is going to make the difference.

No it does not add 70HP but you have more control of the power band when you need it.

Is that strange?

As far as I know at least on the 07 the inside is black

 

[OMG Lumens]

I have absolutely no problem driving a minivan. I prefer my Mazda 5 over a minivan because it fits our family most of the time but we also have a Sienna and I don't mind that either. For picking up friends/family at the airport, I'll take our Sienna over the Mazda all the time. Moving furniture and hauling stuff from Home Depot, I'll take the minivan.But for just going around town and running errands, you can't beat the Mazda 5.

Who cares about the image. Minivans are easily the most versatile vehicles out there.

I don't have a problem with it either. That's not the point. The point is that a minivan is not generally what everyone has dreams about driving. You don't grow up thinking "gee I can't wait till I get old enough to buy that Sienna". What I want to see is the same amount of effort put into performance as is done on sports cars. Lightweight materials, sport suspension, highly bolstered seats, etc.

I am a Saab driver and we are known for not giving a hoot what others think of our rides. We are independent thinkers and don't need others approval. That said I do care about how my vehicle is designed and drives. I like the practicality of the roominess a minivan provides but I see no reason to just give up all semblance of performance. Do I expect a minivan to perform exactly like a 370Z? No, of course not. But there is certainly a huge margin for improvement in the performance of currently available minivans.

There is a market for van like the 5 with 250HP turbo4, uprated suspension, highly bolstered seats, and stickier maybe larger tires and rims. Charge $28,000 and I'm sure they would have more than a few takers. Plus although this model may not be the bulk of your sales it will go a long way to giving credence to the so-called ZoomZoom. Right now it's just words.

 

[x10dude]

I don't have a problem with it either. That's not the point. The point is that a minivan is not generally what everyone has dreams about driving.

I see your point but realistically HOW many "practical" cars do people dream about driving when they grow up. Most of our dream cars, we NEVER buy simply because they just aren't practical. I don't see anyone dreaming about growing up to drive a Prius... or a Honda Accord, or Ford Focus. None of them are particularly that sporty but they are practical (the Prius is debatable) and boy are they popular.

In my opinion, most people shy away from minivans simply because of the "image" problem.
Even the word "minivan" causes disdain on these boards. People refuse to call the Mazda 5 a minivan or have any association with it. And yet that is probably is closest to being a minivan.

 

[wmzda5]

What I want to see is the same amount of effort put into performance as is done on sports cars. Lightweight materials, sport suspension, highly bolstered seats, etc.

That is exactly what mazda has done on these cars but with moderation keeping the original intention in mind with a little bit of mazda zoom zoom. Remember the plastic hood at the back, lightweight sliding doors ( not sure if its plastic too), exact suspension as the MS3/M3 configuration, big brakes, (in between ms3 and m3 in size). If we can get our way, I don't know whether it will be good or bad for mazda in terms of sale which in turn determines if this line will continue or not. Overall I agree that we could use an extra HP, maybe +30 is enough nothing more. If I need something with more HP I'll buy something else not a M5. Imagine if all you would ask in a mazda5 mazda provides, it will be a boring drive seeing every mazda5 looks exactly like yours. How much will it cost?, a few thousand bucks and most of the few that bought the bulk of the mazda5 might not agree again affecting sales and eventually the future of the mazda5 in terms of future model builds and parts.


my 2 cents

 

[superbike7]

Quote:
Originally Posted by OMG Lumens
...No dad wants to drive a minivan.

Most dads I know wouldn't want to drive a Saab either. Did they even sell 30,000 of those things last year? Sorry just being sarcastic. I agree though I would be willing to pay
28k for a higher HP Mazda5 with better suspension and interior.

 

[skyhawk]

Congratulations. Maybe keep the Saab for the meantime while you slowly adapt to the Mazda5.

As a Dad I will never go back to crawling down inside towards the center of a sedan to secure a child.

The mazda5 has good ergonomics in this area.

Once the kid is seated, All I do is stand beside and secure the belts. (Soon he will be able to do it himself).

Note: There is no swing door that blocks my way from the driver seat towards the kid.

 

[opus]

Quote:
Originally Posted by OMG Lumens
...No dad wants to drive a minivan.

Most dads I know wouldn't want to drive a Saab either. Did they even sell 30,000 of those things last year? Sorry just being sarcastic. I agree though I would be willing to pay
28k for a higher HP Mazda5 with better suspension and interior.

My brother has two Saab's, it is an image thing with him, different, slightly sporty, but not BMW, Audi, or Infiniti. His wife was talking about getting a minivan when they had their little one, but he was able to talk her into the 9-3 Sportcross (wagon). They come up to our place on vacation and his wife takes one look at the 5 and says "What is that!??!?" I show her the vehicle and she asks what it cost. I tell her about 20k out the door with extended warranty and she looks at my brother (she is from Shanghi China and hates to spend a penny she does not have to spend) and says "Do they sell these in Sacramento!?!?" to which he replies "Welll, yeah....but it doesn't have ..... Needless to say she wasn't real thrilled with him the rest of the afternoon

 

[KBrian]

First, welcome to the what I consider the best forum of any kind on the net. Great to have a new member not afraid to express contraversial opinions and stir up the more complacient of us. Now, with the nice talk out of the way, do you take as well as you give?

Does the MT give you an extra 70 HP?

No, it just makes driving the 5 a lot of fun.

my 86 Saab 900 turbo had 160HP and 190lbft from a 2.0L. Fast forward 23 years and this 5's 2.3 is at 153?

Non-turbo 2.3 with 153 hp? Seems about average in the current automotive climate of economy/durability/longivity.

Sorry but I'm just a little ticked at Mazda for coming so close to making the perfect car then falling short right before the finish line.

The big problem for Mazda is sales of the 5. Consider the success of the Mazda3 and how that success has paved the road for multiple models, engine choices, option packages etc. If the Mazda5 saw similar sales success from the basic model, we would see choices like the Mazdaspeed5 and other interesting models. Alas, the 5 has made little impression on American drivers, and seems to dwell on the automotive fringes. Until sales improve, we will be lucky to see any model 5 offered in N.A.

 

[x10dude]

Of course this is just my opinion but I'm convinced that at least in N.A. the Mazda 5 just simply fills a spot in their lineup. When they discontinued the MPV in N.A. they needed a vehicle that could fulfil that role. They simply brought over the Premacy from Europe/Asia to fill that gap.

Despite getting excellent reviews and even a "Highly recommended" from Consumer Reports Mazda really still has refused to do any significant advertising or marketing of this car. As a result, very few people even knows that this car exists. (how may threads are there where people get asked "what kind of car is that??")

I do agree that Mazda could really make a good vehicle even better, but in my book, some sort of marketing campaign would also be high on my list.

 

[Wishmaster]

Ya would be nice if they'd do what Subaru used to do with the Forester in order to turn it into the Forester XT. In regular spec it was a 170 hp run-a-bout, but they dropped the WRX engine into the XT turning it into a 227 hp turbocharged, all wheel drive monster wagon! It was (and used ones still are) awesome!! If it was a little bigger I'd be rocking the last model year of those things right now (think it was 2006?)

Mazda could do the same thing by tossing in the MazdaSpeed3 engine... yes I've read that article... and it's really too bad they didn't at least make the swap a simple affair, because if they had, I have no doubt we'd see quite a few of them on the road.