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- 2008 Mazda5 GT
Wanted to share my 2 cents on the 2012 Mazda5. I played with it for a while and tried to jam my Joovy Caboose into it every which way. It is a tight fit behind the 3rd row and I would not want to squeeze the stroller in trunk with the 3rd row up. I’d have to settle for always leaving the 6th seat down, which effectively leaves me with a 5 seater, which is a sedan!... In fact the trunk in my sedan has more usable space with the stroller in there and comfortably seat 5.
Granted it was a slow day (why we choose to come) but there was very little activity in the Mazda booth. People that were there were looking at the Mazda3, CX7, or CX9. Hardly anyone looked at the Mazda 5… The C-Max was off limits at the Ford booth (disappointed) as it was on a spinning stand. From afar, it ‘looks’ better than the Mazda 5 but with the 3rd row up, there is no trunk space b/c of the running boards that cover the gap.
My highlights:
-As you already know, dimensions are near identical to the previous model.
-The side swoops are as ugly as they appear in pictures. You’ve been warned.
-Front doesn’t look so bad in person and the rear looks good with the factory rear spoiler –sad without.
-The gauge cluster is not proportional, in size, to the dash –it looks downright tiny! The cluster needs to be at least 20-30% bigger to match the oversized center radio stack and overall front dash.
-Plastics still feel cheap, nothing new but I was ‘hoping’ they would upgrade it a bit. I understand this is an economy car but if Hyundai can increase interior quality, Mazda needs to re-evaluate their supplier.
-The $3 roof lining still feels like the same old $3 roof lining. Push up on it with your finger and it folds like paper and still does not have sunglass holder (I guess it can’t b/c the constant pushing to open/close will prob deform the headliner).
-Glass all around is thin as before but the door molding seems to be a tad thicker, these affect NVH, which is a big gripe of mine on this car.
- Seats bottoms and side bolsters seem to have more cushion but the arm rest feel the same. You sink into the seats more but I don’t see this as a good thing b/c the soft cushion will wear quickly and may get hot, unlike really supportive seats that hug you.
-Rear view out the back windshield seems smaller compared to the 2010.
-The new seat fabric feels plusher/thicker, unlike the older model which is a big more rigid. Also, the new material seems to have more synthetic (spandex like) mix where it stretches more and has a slippery feel. Perhaps it is due to the stretchiness but the seat covers do not seem tightly fit. Maybe it’s b/c of the extra soft cushioning.
-Redesigned head restrains are bigger but not necessarily better.
-The leather interior looks better with the contrasting piping.
-Center stack (radio, HVAC, and shifter column) looks nicer.
-I much prefer the 2010 gauges and steering wheel look/feel/layout.
-The rear under trunk storage layout is a copy over.
-Under the hood, there is a good amount of free space, especially behind the exhaust manifold, which leads me to believe a turbo is/was a though. Great for DIY’ers.
I really WANT to like this car b/c it fits my needs but damn the interior quality is just so cheap. It will NEVER compete against true minivans b/c they ride so much better. The C-Max is expected to cost more but I hope Ford will address the issue with interior quality as justification for the price delta. I’ll bite at that. There’s also the 7th seat too.
Granted it was a slow day (why we choose to come) but there was very little activity in the Mazda booth. People that were there were looking at the Mazda3, CX7, or CX9. Hardly anyone looked at the Mazda 5… The C-Max was off limits at the Ford booth (disappointed) as it was on a spinning stand. From afar, it ‘looks’ better than the Mazda 5 but with the 3rd row up, there is no trunk space b/c of the running boards that cover the gap.
My highlights:
-As you already know, dimensions are near identical to the previous model.
-The side swoops are as ugly as they appear in pictures. You’ve been warned.
-Front doesn’t look so bad in person and the rear looks good with the factory rear spoiler –sad without.
-The gauge cluster is not proportional, in size, to the dash –it looks downright tiny! The cluster needs to be at least 20-30% bigger to match the oversized center radio stack and overall front dash.
-Plastics still feel cheap, nothing new but I was ‘hoping’ they would upgrade it a bit. I understand this is an economy car but if Hyundai can increase interior quality, Mazda needs to re-evaluate their supplier.
-The $3 roof lining still feels like the same old $3 roof lining. Push up on it with your finger and it folds like paper and still does not have sunglass holder (I guess it can’t b/c the constant pushing to open/close will prob deform the headliner).
-Glass all around is thin as before but the door molding seems to be a tad thicker, these affect NVH, which is a big gripe of mine on this car.
- Seats bottoms and side bolsters seem to have more cushion but the arm rest feel the same. You sink into the seats more but I don’t see this as a good thing b/c the soft cushion will wear quickly and may get hot, unlike really supportive seats that hug you.
-Rear view out the back windshield seems smaller compared to the 2010.
-The new seat fabric feels plusher/thicker, unlike the older model which is a big more rigid. Also, the new material seems to have more synthetic (spandex like) mix where it stretches more and has a slippery feel. Perhaps it is due to the stretchiness but the seat covers do not seem tightly fit. Maybe it’s b/c of the extra soft cushioning.
-Redesigned head restrains are bigger but not necessarily better.
-The leather interior looks better with the contrasting piping.
-Center stack (radio, HVAC, and shifter column) looks nicer.
-I much prefer the 2010 gauges and steering wheel look/feel/layout.
-The rear under trunk storage layout is a copy over.
-Under the hood, there is a good amount of free space, especially behind the exhaust manifold, which leads me to believe a turbo is/was a though. Great for DIY’ers.
I really WANT to like this car b/c it fits my needs but damn the interior quality is just so cheap. It will NEVER compete against true minivans b/c they ride so much better. The C-Max is expected to cost more but I hope Ford will address the issue with interior quality as justification for the price delta. I’ll bite at that. There’s also the 7th seat too.
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