Yeah I like the vertical LED taillights a lot better too. Many a people ask me what kind of cross-over that is. I guess keeping my 2010 is the best bet, and there are many on the market right now form rental companies, so that maybe be an option for some. The front of the new one is pretty girly looking too.
Pro's and Con's of the first gen Mazda 5 vs second gen Mazda 5
- Thread starter cburrell
- Start date
I know this is about the new vs old M5, but I want to defend the newest Odyssey or similar van, since I dont consider myself and others pathetic for choosing one. Don't get me wrong, I'm with you on the M5 too and we even kept ours for my commuter (for the time being). I'm not speaking for older mini-vans that really did get 16 or so mpg to the tank or those who choose guzzling SUVs.
After 3 months and about 3k miles, I was suprised to find out the difference in gas mileage is fairly minimal. With mix of city/suburban/some highway, the overall mpg now is at 20 mpg in the Odyssey. And that is with long excessive idling while parked before and during outings to blast AC this summer. The same kind of routes in the m5 have been 22-24 per tank during the same time period, and thats while trying hard to conserve gas. They are much closer in actual consumption than I had assumed. One hundred percent stop and go would probably show more difference, but if you live in an area like that you probably drive less miles anyway. Given that the odyssey in my case is not a daily commuter and is used for comfortable family road trips, the sad reality is that the room and comfort are worth the few bucks extra per tank and car payment to me.
The way I see it, either cars getting an average of 23 mpg or 20 mpg in same conditions, and considering several people in one vehicle (1-2 adults, plus children, plus extended family at times), you are both using a reasonable amount of gas to get around for what they are and how they are used. No reason really to blast one or the other. If you want even more MPGs, get an even smaller vehicle and make that work and then criticize M5 drivers. Or if gas and money are no concern, just get a loaded suburban so that you can tow a large boat or camper. Or maybe tow a kayak behind a bike. Land of the free!
Please lighten up on mini-van owners. We only have two kids now but we often travel with our inlaws who dont have to drive separately now. If you gave it a chance you might realize the benefits. By the way, we dont have a DVD player in it, and alot of times one of us sit between the twins in the 2nd row which isnt even possible in a M5 or practical in anything smaller.
I couldnt justify/afford 40k on a loaded minivan. We got a good internet deal EX with power doors, no leather or extras for out the door 28,8K (msrp 32).. So a few grand more than a mazda5, but again they are not the same. Unfortunately, no zoom-zoom fun factor... but it is a kid hauler anyway.
After 3 months and about 3k miles, I was suprised to find out the difference in gas mileage is fairly minimal. With mix of city/suburban/some highway, the overall mpg now is at 20 mpg in the Odyssey. And that is with long excessive idling while parked before and during outings to blast AC this summer. The same kind of routes in the m5 have been 22-24 per tank during the same time period, and thats while trying hard to conserve gas. They are much closer in actual consumption than I had assumed. One hundred percent stop and go would probably show more difference, but if you live in an area like that you probably drive less miles anyway. Given that the odyssey in my case is not a daily commuter and is used for comfortable family road trips, the sad reality is that the room and comfort are worth the few bucks extra per tank and car payment to me.
The way I see it, either cars getting an average of 23 mpg or 20 mpg in same conditions, and considering several people in one vehicle (1-2 adults, plus children, plus extended family at times), you are both using a reasonable amount of gas to get around for what they are and how they are used. No reason really to blast one or the other. If you want even more MPGs, get an even smaller vehicle and make that work and then criticize M5 drivers. Or if gas and money are no concern, just get a loaded suburban so that you can tow a large boat or camper. Or maybe tow a kayak behind a bike. Land of the free!
Please lighten up on mini-van owners. We only have two kids now but we often travel with our inlaws who dont have to drive separately now. If you gave it a chance you might realize the benefits. By the way, we dont have a DVD player in it, and alot of times one of us sit between the twins in the 2nd row which isnt even possible in a M5 or practical in anything smaller.
I couldnt justify/afford 40k on a loaded minivan. We got a good internet deal EX with power doors, no leather or extras for out the door 28,8K (msrp 32).. So a few grand more than a mazda5, but again they are not the same. Unfortunately, no zoom-zoom fun factor... but it is a kid hauler anyway.
No hard feelings intented. A lot of us with 5's bought them because we didn't want a mini-van, so in a way some of us are anti-mini-van. Their is a big drop off with in city driving with a mini-van to the 5, but when you get on the highway, the 6 cylinders have more torque and can make up some of the difference in mpg's. I do a lot of highway driving in my 5 and average 29 to 30 mpg's. My mother has a 05 Sienna and also does a lot of highway miles and average 24 to 25 mpg's. If you look at the Sienna and Odyssey forums, you will find that Toyota's and Honda's last generations vans got better real world mpg's, than the new ones because the new generations are bigger and have larger motors. So yes on the the highway my mother gets 4 to 5 gallons less than I do, but in the city the 4 banger makes up for that. To me 4 to 5 mpg's more adds up quick. When I was looking for my 5 I priced shopped the 5 with the Odyssey and the Sienna, and no matter if it was new or used the 5 cost anywhere from 10,000$ to 7,000$ less. That is one thing that annoyed me about a lot of the reviews of the 5, they would always compare the price of a 5 GT with all the bells and whistles to a LX model which is a mid level model. When I compared appropriate trim levels, the 5 was always a much better deal. I got my 2010 5 sport with 40k for 14 thousand walk out price. The only Odyssey's or Sienna's I could find for that price where older models with close to 100 k. For my situation the 5 is way more practical monetarily than a Odyssey or Sienna. The time you considering the thousands less you pay up front and the extra mpg's do add up over the life of the vehicle. American are obsessed with space, and the automakers know that. Look at how Honda and Toyota vans and trucks have only gotten bigger in the last decade with every new generation. Ford and GM rode the big truck and SUV wave for years. The bottom line is that in america you have to pay a lot more for space, and some people are willing to do so. Different strokes for different folks. I am an equal opportunity offender though, I think the CX-7 and CX-9 are impractical vs the 5. I tried to discourage my cousin from getting a CX-7 for a 5. Really it isn't so much a criticism of any one type of vehicle, but more a praise of how versatile for the price that the 5 is.
No problem. I agree with you about the 5 being the best and most economical choice for a small family. And that's why we got one expecting 1 kid, then we'd see if it worked for 2 or more as it got older, thinking in the back of my mind that we'd probably want a bigger van one day.
The highway mileage may show a bigger gap, but only a few times a year are we gonna be driving either over an hour or so in a row without hitting stoplights. So in the 5 we rarely see 29 a tank and the odyssey we have yet to see 25+ a tank. And those times are going to be a vacation where im not thinking about using a cargo box like alot of 5 drivers have to do. Just saying, the 3 mpg difference most of the year is something most people can live with - for a family car. Not like comparing the choice of a single person commuting in a shiny full size truck vs a mazda 2 or 3-- that would be hard to argue.
What I feel bad about is only 1 person ever uses our maz 5, and 23 mpg is pretty bad for that. I want to trade for a 3 skyactiv for mileage. But i think it makes more financial sense to pay it off and keep it for a while longer in lieu of another car loan.....
The highway mileage may show a bigger gap, but only a few times a year are we gonna be driving either over an hour or so in a row without hitting stoplights. So in the 5 we rarely see 29 a tank and the odyssey we have yet to see 25+ a tank. And those times are going to be a vacation where im not thinking about using a cargo box like alot of 5 drivers have to do. Just saying, the 3 mpg difference most of the year is something most people can live with - for a family car. Not like comparing the choice of a single person commuting in a shiny full size truck vs a mazda 2 or 3-- that would be hard to argue.
What I feel bad about is only 1 person ever uses our maz 5, and 23 mpg is pretty bad for that. I want to trade for a 3 skyactiv for mileage. But i think it makes more financial sense to pay it off and keep it for a while longer in lieu of another car loan.....
Right now things for me are a little bit tighter, so I guess that is why i try to think about what is the most practical. If I had the extra cash flow I probably won't care either. My parents have a 04 and 05 Sienna for the both of them. My dad likes the space and how they drive, and my mom hates driving in cars, she like being higher off the ground. So, they drive 2 large vans for only the 2 of them, to me that is crazy, but they have the disposable income to do that. I was forced into changing jobs several months ago, and had to give up the company van I had. My wife was driving the 5 and the only other vehicle I had was a 96 1500 extended cab Silverado with a 5.7 V8 engine in it. I was averaging 15 mpg's on the highway and was costing a ton in gas. I drive 65 miles round trip to work each day, when I calculated how much I was spending on gas, it almost equaled to a car payment. Then add to the fact that my AC was broke and was going to cost 800$ to get fixed and my rear seal was leaking and that was going to be around 700$ to 800$ to get fixed. So, I bought a 2012 Mazda 3 i touring and my payments are about the same as what i was paying for gas with my Silverado. Me and my wife split time driving the 3 to work, and they do get the 40 mpg's they advertise on the highway. My wive's commute to work has more stop and go traffic and red lights, and she consistently gets 34 mpg's to 36 mpg's. I have 2 kids also, and the five is fine right now, but I never haul anyone else, because my parents and in-laws always drive separately and my sister and sister in- laws all have to many kids, so we all just take our own vehicles and drive separately. No one I know needs to ever ride with us. The 5 does hold it value well, so maybe you can get enough out of your 5, to where to difference between the 5 and the 3 isn't that bad. I payed 19,000$ walk out on my 3, and Mazda gave me 500 cash back for owning the 5. Mazda is offering some good deals right now with their summer savings. If your drive to work isn't that far, have you considered a lease, because Mazda is offering the skyactiv 3 for 200$ a month and 2000$ down. If you intention is to buy the car after the lease, than the lease isn't a bad idea, seeing as how the payments you make for the first 3 years go toward the vehicle anyway, and you can then purchase the vehicle for a lot less than what you could get it used for.
Yeah I see where you're coming from as I used to drive too much in a silverado too until gas was nearing 3 dollars. Still got it, but it barely gets used. I've never leased, but 2000 down and 200/mo doesn't sound too bad. I like what they did, but I just hope mazda doesn't overly complicate their cars in the near future with the skyactiv. I like the idea of 40mpg before adding a bunch of expensive unneeded electrical components while adding even more ways to get a CEL.
