Sliding-door sports car!

M

MazDin

:
2010 Mazda5 Sport
Had a chance to take the 5 out to play a few nights ago (just going to the store, dear!) and hit some of my favorite back roads. I've owned the 5 for two years now and really haven't had a chance to test it's limits, at least without a kid or two sliding around in the back.

New Cooper Zeon RS3-A's (215's) on the front, still old Goodyear GT's on back; I wanted to wring out the Coopers and see if they were up to spec. Cool-ish night but clear and mostly dry. This old autocrosser (1st gen RX-7, Ret.) felt the need for speed...

Wow! Sure, the stock shocks/struts are worn-out at 80 thou, the sway bar bushings should (and will) be polyurethaned {euthanized} and the stock except for K&N filter engine is strained by the mass it's pushing but... wow! This car is COOL! Pitched it in hard into a tight 40mph corner, nailed the throttle. I could feel understeer only by the slight scrubbing off of speed but no tire howl, no sidewall tuck and total lack of drama from the chassis.

Halfway through I abruptly let off the throttle and the chassis did; nothing. Absolutely nothing! No wild pitching or bobbing or sudden end-swapping. It just slowed down. Try THAT in your first gen RX-7! I tried it again in another corner; same (lack of) reaction.

Tested braking limits from about 55; stomp the center pedal and hang on. I swore my skull was coming out of my face before I let up. Had to do it twice because I'm not that well versed in anti-lock (O.K., so I was worried about all the junk the wife keeps in the back impacting my head...). Felt like Hyperdrive. In reverse. And I never even hit the anti-lock...

I've raced RX-7's, Mustang V8's, Lotus Europa's, BMW MCoupes and Miata's and driven hard quite a few other sports cars but never have I driven anything as stable and responsive as this- this STATION WAGON! The closest I can come up with is maybe an RX-8; it had the same vice-free and stable personality as the 5 at the limit. Makes sense, really; same DNA.

So tell all your friends, shout it from the rooftops. Forget the uber-expensive German Junkers, plug yourself into a Mazda!

Even if it has sliding doors...

MazDin for cheap speed!
 
i totally agree with your assessment. the mazda5 is the most underrated car currently being sold. i hope mazda adds skyactiv technology to for a redesign and keeps it in the market.

is your a manual transmission?
 
OP, this car (van) is way more fun to drive than a minivan has a right to.

thaxman, there are turbo 5's out there, you just have to build it yourself...
 
sac02 said:
OP, this car (van) is way more fun to drive than a minivan has a right to.

thaxman, there are turbo 5's out there, you just have to build it yourself...
Click to expand...

Yes but...

Mazda REALLY should have stuck the CX-7 lower-output turbo engine in it from day 1. There is just no excuse for them not to have done it.
 
thaxman said:
Mazda REALLY should have stuck the CX-7 lower-output turbo engine in it from day 1. There is just no excuse for them not to have done it.
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Cost. Always cost.

You and I may have bought one, and there's probably a handful of people on this forum that would also, but really, when the time comes for people to put their $ where their mouth is, they usually wind up with a Sienna or Odyssey, not a BDMSW (brown diesel manual station wagon) that all enthusiasts "say" they want. The fact that the "sportiest" minivan on the market is the appearance-kit Sienna SE "Swagger Wagon" is a good indicator of how many people want hot-rod minivans. I can understand why mazda probably didn't even consider a mazdaspeed5. They would spend significant money (just because the swap works in your garage "easily" doesn't mean it's production-ready for an OEM) and probably sell like 100 units a year. Special editions and low volumes are OK for a halo or image car like the miata or even the speed3, but not the minivan mazda5.
 
I too totally agree with your assesment, but would go a step further and say that the 3 which the 5 is based on is even more stable than the 5 because it's center of gravity is lower while being 300-400 lbs lighter. But I do contend that the main reason the 3 and 5's suspension are so stable, beside the fact that they were designed with a great deal of attention given to handling from the factory, is that their engines don't make crazy amounts of torque and horespower, that can get you in trouble in corners. Crazy amounts of torque and horespower applied to or taken off the suspension and wheels in a short amount of time will have adverse effects on how the suspension and tires react. Not to mention the fact that a FWD car that only produces in the 150's in torque and horespower is inherently more stable around corners, than a FWD or RWD with around 300 HP or more. This is exactly why speed freaks mocked the RX-8, they said it was a gutless motor with no torque and had a low HP output. It only produced 232 HP and 159 ft lbs of torque at 8500 RPM's. The 3 and 5 have almost the same amount of torque output as the RX-8. Yet, what made the Rx-8 hated in a 0-60 or quarter mile drag, is what made it brilliant on a winding track full of turns. That is why, many professional drivers who actually did laps in the RX-8 praised it in the turns, some even went as far as to say that it was the most forgivening and settled car they have ever driven at higher speeds around turns and corners. Basically, sudden and drastic changes in output to a suspension and tires in a turn or corner means a more drastic change in the way the suspension and tires react. The 5,3, and the RX-8 don't have to worry about sudden drastic changes from increases or decreases in HP or Torque because there isn't that much on tap, so they are more stable in the twisties. So, no Mazda hasn't for a while given their customers the options of engines with high outputs of HP and Torque, but I can say that Mazda does do a pretty good job of milking the engines that they do offer, of every ounce of available HP and Torque they can get from them, without hurting gas mileage too much.
 
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cburrell said:
This is exactly why speed freaks mocked the RX-8, they said it was a gutless motor with no torque and had a low HP output. It only produced 232 HP and 159 ft lbs of torque at 8500 RPM's. The 3 and 5 have almost the same amount of torque output as the RX-8. Yet, what made the Rx-8 hated in a 0-60 or quarter mile drag, is what made it brilliant on a winding track full of turns. That is why, many professional drivers who actually did laps in the RX-8 praised it in the turns, some even went as far as to say that it was the most forgivening and settled car they have ever driven at higher speeds around turns and corners.
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Perhaps, but the RX8 is/was/and probably will always be one of the ugliest rotary powered vehicles ever produced by Mazda. Driving dynamic isn't the only thing that sells cars. I've owned 2 RX7s, 3 Miatas, and now this micro-van (and sold Mazdas), but I will never buy that Rex. Balanced cornering is a nifty little car trait, but 1) there is no track between the pre-school and my house 2) the "turns" taken on surface streets of a major city are just that, not decreasing radius corners. Sometimes, we drive, instead of slalom, to work and the grocery store. There are just too many reasons why the RX8 was a bonk car for MNAO, and speed freaks aren't the only ones to blame.

sorry for the thread derailment, OP. carry on.
 
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Fair enough about the RX-8's looks, but the point I was trying to make was that massive amounts of torque being applied or taken off suddenly in a turn can drastically affect a cars suspension and tires. I was just using the RX-8 to prove the point. Our cars don't have ungodly amounts of tire squealing, neck snapping torque, that can be achieved on a dime, like many higher end sports car do. Thus our cars are more stable and predictable in turns and corners.
 
Buy a roller RX8 after its sorry assed rotary implodes, drop in an LSX, enjoy all the tire melting torque you now have at your command. Sorry that as waaaaayyy off topic. I also love and enjoy my 5s handling on a daily basis, it makes even a fairly mundane commute a little more entertaining.
 
I never said Mazda should have made a MS5. Insurance companies alone would have killed it...along with WAGs who are like "you DO NOT need 260hp to tote around my precious little one!"
But the 200+ hp CX-7 engine is just right to keep journalists from panning its poke and keep it credible as an alternative to the bloat-mobile that "mini"vans have become. I think some people didn't take is seriously because it was always reviewed as small and slow. Of course, all Mazda needs is 1 commercial: a typical commute in a sea of dull "mini"vans filled with bloated people with fatty arms hanging out the windows and a young, thin driver in a Mazda5 GT weaving around a few, taking the off ramp and hitting the twisties for a more fun way to get to work.
 
I hate myself for saying this, but I would actually rather have a diesel 5 than a turbo'ed gas engine 5. I'll take 250 ft/lbs of torque + 6sp manual + 35 +/- MPG any day of the week.
 
thaxman said:
Of course, all Mazda needs is 1 commercial: a typical commute in a sea of dull "mini"vans filled with bloated people with fatty arms hanging out the windows and a young, thin driver in a Mazda5 GT weaving around a few, taking the off ramp and hitting the twisties for a more fun way to get to work.
Click to expand...

Yes that would be a great commercial indeed, I would love to see it dancing it way through a sea of minivans: the Odyssey, Sienna, and a Caravan, and then take an off ramp to a curvy road.
 
Secondtyme said:
I hate myself for saying this, but I would actually rather have a diesel 5 than a turbo'ed gas engine 5. I'll take 250 ft/lbs of torque + 6sp manual + 35 +/- MPG any day of the week.
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me 2, 3, 4, 5. a friend just swapped out to a veedub diesel wagon. he hates cars, but really likes this one.
 
I was upset by watching a review not to long ago (the review was done a couple years ago) by some guys who tested one out trying to see if it was a "van with a sports car soul." First off, they drove the GT (non manual- you're first infraction) and secondly they tested it in winter on snow tires. What did they expect?! Of course it's not going to handle like a sports car or give you knockback acceleration but for crying out loud, I take mine through twisties all the time and am always left with a huge grin knowing that there are Corvettes out there that are being driven by "car enthusiasts" that are automatics.

I know it shows that I'm a n00b at manuals (which I'm not as this is my 5th manual car in about 10 years) but I'll often let the clutch out to hold it on a hill sans brakes or even shift aggressively to let folks know that I drive a manual. Even one of my Mazda buddies (I believe he's on here) didn't know it came in manual. That's probably my biggest love of this car is the sheer shock value when people see the sliding doors and judge it immediately.

I'll be borrowing a GoPro soon. Perhaps a "frisky" drive is in order soon. :) It is like 78 degrees out today. :)
 
Completely agree but mine got even more fun when I removed the back seats altogether. Dropped over 200 pounds but eventually put the passenger side middle seat back in as I drive alone and the car feels more balanced left to right with that weight on the right side.
 
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