my first post-- I test drove a 5 yesterday

[beachgirl]

Im liking it-- I had lurked around here a bit too. We currently have a Yaris -- which I do love but theres not a heck of a lot you can put in it with a car seat and a booster. I test drove a Dodge Caravan too-- what a beast... I cant afford to feed something like that!

What I wanna know is-- how are these guys in the snow-- we don't get a lot here but when we do I wanna know if I should switch back to the Yaris on those days.

We will be going for the automatic, I can drive standard, and I prefer it -- but I have arthritis in my hips-- I was told to get an auto-- when they are really bad it is very hard to use the clutch.

We have 2 kids, a small dog and we are on the ferry a lot, so space is important but so is small size. I like the fuel economy, that is what originally attracted me. The underseat storage is cool too. I think I said "cool" about 50 times to the guy who was showing it to me.

I'm making my decision in the nest week or so...

 

[zblackbear]

We also have 2 young kids and a medium sized dog (Airdale Terrier) and bought our 5 last week. I know it hasn't been long, but we absolutely love our 5. Great pep for the city driving we do. Plenty of room and fun to drive. I don't think you can go wrong with the price / fun / MPG's and room.
Good luck,
Bill

 

[jimp]

we got a used 09 AT sport for my wife to drive, she traded in her 03 Mazda 6 for it, and hasn't looked back, doesn't miss the 6 at all, says it easier/more fun to drive than the 6 even though the 6 had a V6 vs the 4 banger.

 

[njaremka]

What I wanna know is-- how are these guys in the snow-- we don't get a lot here but when we do I wanna know if I should switch back to the Yaris on those days.

where do you live? i have a set of dedicated snow / winter tires for ours, and its just great in the snow. the manu-matic transmission allows you to select 2rd gear from a stop, and that helps with take-off when the conditions are extra slick.

 

[Dellerane]

I'm near Chicago and we get a fair amount of snow here especially when the lake snow machine kicks in.

I've got a 2010 5 and it handles great in the snow but I think the 2010 model was when they added traction control and anti-lock as standard.

My wife got blown off the road a few years ago in a Ford Ranger that we had and ever since then she is very skittish about driving in the snow. The first time she drove the 5 in bad weather I got a phone call about 20 minutes after she headed to work to be informed that I wasn't getting my 5 back for the rest of the season

 

[thaxman]

This post has been out for 36 some hours and no Canadian feedback yet!?!

 

[Robotazky]

Beachgirl will be driving in the snow? OK. The cars do fine in the snow. traction control is standard now. Ours is an '09 and i have never needed traction control anyway.

 

[DKaz]

The Mazda 5 passed most of my snow driving tests with Toyo Observe G-02 Plus snow tires on... flats braking (to a stop) and accelerating (from a stop), turns, and downhill braking (and I mean a steep 10% hill at 25mph, no problems stopping in under 100 feet). It had extreme difficulty accelerating from a stop uphill though compared to my Corolla... it seemed that the weight shifted off the front wheels possibly due to the higher centre of gravity.

 

[Tsuru]

Beachgirl will be driving in the snow? OK. The cars do fine in the snow. traction control is standard now. Ours is an '09 and i have never needed traction control anyway.

Hey, there's a desert within 100 miles of where I live...too bad it's covered in snow for 6 months of the year
I've got an '06 so there's definitely no TC on mine. If you're still using the OEM tires come winter time I'd look at getting some winter tires (or decent AS tires depending on your winters) since the OE tires are crap as soon as the temperature approaches freezing.
The 5 is a tall vehicle so if you're used to a low slung sedan it's going to perform differently in winter (obviously) but for it's kind of vehicle I've certainly got no complaints about it's snow and ice handling.

 

[KBrian]

I concur with DKaz about uphill travel in snowy conditions. As you lose momentum, you also lose traction. All other conditions, using snow tires, return secure and controlled handling.

Throw in traction control and stability control, along with snow tires, and the 5 will be unbeatable IMO.

 

[skyhawk]

Get a complete set of winter tires and don't drive when snow gets too deep even for suvs. We don't have that much snow where we are. But all the snow that fall stays on the ground the entire winter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi0B5fqe7x8

 

[opus]

We get the total mixed bag in the winter: snow, ice, rain, sleet. I have an 06 and the Toyo's were a disaster in even light snow or partial ice. I picked up a set of Bridgestone Blizzaks and now drive with complete confidence in all but the deepest snow. The deep snow is what my wife's Jeep is for

 

[beachgirl]

I live on the Sunshine Coast of BC-- we don't get a lot of snow and what we get is pretty wet stuff. it's quite hilly here. KBrian will know where I am-- you are on the Island right? I am from the Island and we do trips home quite often.

I do not believe in all season tires, they don't exist. Maybe if you live in southern california? dunno. In Canada where there are actual seasons... you have to have snow tires. All seasons are useless. My personal favorite are dudes in their 4x4s in all seasons that think they can drive the same way they do on dry roads cause they switched it to 4x4... I like to drive past them when they are in the ditch after they have passed me in my little fwd.

Canadians,,, have you seen the episode of Rick Mercer where he does the comparison of snow tires to "all seasons" it is a very dramatic example (funny too).

I have been emailing my dealer today (that sounds druggy...) we are going back for another look on Sat, pretty sure we'll be taking one home soon.

 

[KBrian]

Yes, we are on the Island. Comox Valley for 18 years.

We love our 5, but had no luck trying to buy from the local dealer. We bought from Vancouver instead.

 

[beachgirl]

Well I guess we would have no luck with a local dealer too-- cause there is none.

We have no choice but to go to Vancouver. I have been dealing with the North Van Dealer. So far they are pretty good. I CANNOT say the same for the N Van Toyota. Avoid at all cost. They are jerks there-- and I'm not the only one that has had that experience.

Locally we only have Ford, GM and Dodge. No imports need apply here...

So I have been doing lots of emailing.

 

[AIMWO4]

I'm from the island, but am now in Denver, CO.

I have a manual tranny 5 and snow tires for the winter. No problems at all in dry or heavy wet.

I even managed to go uphill with my summers on in a freak spring snow storm.

 

[Tsuru]

I live on the Sunshine Coast of BC-- we don't get a lot of snow and what we get is pretty wet stuff. it's quite hilly here. KBrian will know where I am-- you are on the Island right? I am from the Island and we do trips home quite often.

I do not believe in all season tires, they don't exist. Maybe if you live in southern california? dunno. In Canada where there are actual seasons... you have to have snow tires. All seasons are useless. My personal favorite are dudes in their 4x4s in all seasons that think they can drive the same way they do on dry roads cause they switched it to 4x4... I like to drive past them when they are in the ditch after they have passed me in my little fwd.

Canadians,,, have you seen the episode of Rick Mercer where he does the comparison of snow tires to "all seasons" it is a very dramatic example (funny too).

I have been emailing my dealer today (that sounds druggy...) we are going back for another look on Sat, pretty sure we'll be taking one home soon.

Where abouts on the coast? I used to spend all of my summers just north of Davis Bay. Half again of that would be spent fishing in Halfmoon or Sergent Bay. I need to go back soon.

 

[beachgirl]

I am in Sechelt, we used to live overlooking Halfmoon bay up till last year.

We bought a 5 yesterday, we get to pick it up thurs. It is red, has auto, air, bluetooth, cruise and stability/traction control-- they gave us a deal cause we did not really want that package (well we did but did not want to pay!) but they had one in stock they wanted to move.

We sat everyone in it (except the dog-- but she's small, she'll fit) the kids like it too.

it's turning out to a lot cheaper than I thought it would be!

I'm still deciding on all the stuff like fabric treatment, undercoating etc-- Have never gone for that before but the fabric treatment sounds good with kids!

 

[KBrian]

Congrats on the new 5. Did you get a GS or a GT?

Consider a can of the 3M spray (name escapes me) water repellant. Works great for less than 10 bucks.

 

[beachgirl]

GS.

jury is still out on the fabric protector etc-- I am concerned about the chemical content in something like that-- new car smell is bad enough-- gives me a headache.