touring vs sport decision???

[flatfoot]

Trying to make final decision, and want to know if my thinking is sound.
Basically, the sport has everthing I want in it without having to buy any options. The remote control start and some kind of roof rack would be nice.

The differences betweent the two are from what I see

1)moonroof - I dont use it, and dont want to lose headroom

2) body colored mirrors- cosmetic, really doesnt make a huge difference to me

3)6 cd stereo w extra speaker- Listen mostly to local rock station and news, and talk radio, not needed for me

4)Rear liftgate spoiler- If its only cosmetic, not needed. Does it really do anything on a mazda 5?

5)Automatic climate control- I basically never use the heater, and the the a/c on full blast most of the time, so climate control not needed

6)Fog lights- have only used them once on my acura tl - not needed

7)Navigation option_- Dont want

8)Correct me if I am wrong- touring has leather wrapped steering wheel, and sport does not... Can someone tell me if theres a big difference between the two.

9) And the side sills- Are they just cosmetic or is there a purpose to them.
I have an aerodynamic kit on my tl, and tired of it getting scratched all the time, but please inform me if they have some value.

I am not trying to go chintz here, since a few hundred dollars is not going to break the bank, but I really rather have more headroom without the moonroof , and the other options, while probably nice to have, dont seem to be more then cosmetic.

Sorry for long post, but I will be using the mazda5 primarily as my city beater, probably putting on no more then 800 miles a month. It just fits so nicely as a utility vehicle for me, and the flexibility is great, and getting into a normal sized parking space is great. I am always worried about my other car, getting scratched and not being able to handle crap from home depot, ikea, my wifes jaunts buying shoes(lol) etc.

Stay safe

 

[jandree22]

Yep, Sport sounds right for you. There's nothing wrong with the sport other than you're giving up some nice-to-have's that you mentioned you don't need.

 

[geezerz99]

you can get the sport with the "popular package". it looks like the touring model from the outside minus the foglights... but you get the sunroof, the side skirts, the rear wing.

 

[TheMAN]

the biggest thing that may sway buyers towards the touring is the safety latch sliding doors... you have to pull the handle to close them whereas on the sport model, you can just push the door closed

 

[geezerz99]

the biggest thing that may sway buyers towards the touring is the safety latch sliding doors... you have to pull the handle to close them whereas on the sport model, you can just push the door closed

not my "sport"... mine latches.

 

[ladygrey]

If you don't need that stuff then get the sport.

I will say that I actually use my moon roof surprisingly frequently. I didn't notice a difference in headroom between the sport without (I drove one for a week while mine was in the shop) and ours with. Why do you think the moonroof decreases headroom?

 

[jandree22]

Why do you think the moonroof decreases headroom?

I think what he's referring to is moonroofs that, when open, drop down and slide inside the ceiling... rather than tilt up and slide on top of the roof.

Since the Mazda5 tilts up and slides back, it does not have a need to drop the ceiling to fit the moonroof inside when open.

 

[flatfoot]

specs

I think what he's referring to is moonroofs that, when open, drop down and slide inside the ceiling... rather than tilt up and slide on top of the roof.

Since the Mazda5 tilts up and slides back, it does not have a need to drop the ceiling to fit the moonroof inside when open.

According to Mazda Specs on Mazda 5

Headroom for front passengers

40.7 without moonroof

headroom with moonroof 38.9

I am fairly tall, and that extra two inches makes it a lot more pleasant.

Staysafe

 

[Rocket]

I have a sport with the "popular" equipment package. It looks just like a touring. I don't care for sunroofs either. I have a $300 Garmin GPS, not the $2,000 Mazda GPS. The sport gives you the most important features. The Touring is nice, but if you don't want the moonroof then you are really better off with the Sport.

 

[jandree22]

+1 for researching actual numbers. That's honestly surprising to me, but now I know. Anyways, I don't own my 5 yet so I can't speak out of real experience, but I'm more concerned with comfy front legroom than headroom in the 5. I'm 6'1".

 

[zoomzoom mazda5]

GET THE SPORT WITH THE POP. EQ. PACK. AND POCKET THE MONEY FOR ANYTHING YOU WANT TO BUY FOR YOUR MAZDA5 (EYELIDS, FRONT LIP, ETC) ZOOMZOOM(bling) GOOD LUCK AND DON'T LET THE DEALER TRY TO SCREW YOU ON PRICE.

 

[doctorz]

For the most part you can make a Sport look like a Touring. The only things you can't get are the leather wrapped steering wheel, body colored mirrors, auto climate control, navigation option, and the flip-out center row console (that hasn't been mentioned). The only thing we cared about was the center row console, but it wasn't enough for us to justify getting the Touring.

There are no differences in the sliding doors between US Sport and Touring models.

 

[opus]

One of the major differences that sold us on the Touring was the storage areas under the back seats, and the fold out tray that comes out from under the passenger side rear seat. My kids think this is soooooo cooooollll!!! Also the six speaker, six disc sound system is standard on the touring and optional on the sport.

On the personal opinion front, I think the touring over the sport is a no brainer. Just about everything on the touring will bring increased resale at trade in and it usually clocks in about 1000 over the price of a comparable sport by the time everything is said and done.

 

[jlk_250]

Doctorz has it 100% right as far as the differences in the US models. In our case we wanted a completely base Sport model with no options at all. The extras on the Touring aren't things we wanted anyway except possibly the flip down rear tray. We ended up with a Sport model with the popular equipment package, which includes the cosmetic "aero" bodywork and the 6 CD changer. In hindsight the 6 CD changer is well worth it because we can have a mix of kid and adult CDs in there at all times rather than storing them elsewhere and swapping back and forth. For the original poster's preferences I'd say it's a no-brainer--get a Sport with as few options as possible. It's a great value and is far from a stripped-down model as is done by the US domestic manufacturers.

Jon

 

[ladygrey]

Headroom for front passengers
40.7 without moonroof
headroom with moonroof 38.9

Huh - very interesting. I took a gander after I read this and I guess they drop the whole headliner to make room for the moonroof. Every sport I saw on the lot when we were buying had the moonroof anyway, so I didn't get a chance to decipher the difference until I drove a rental sport for a few days.

Still - there is lots of headroom so go sit in both and see what you think. If you want other options I wouldn't give them up because of a number on paper without trying it IRL.

We honestly bought the touring almost 100% because of the fold out tray in the second row. Also, when we were buying for some reason we couldn't easily find a sport MTX. We got a great deal so it was worth it to us. I also love the CD changer more than I expected (I've never had one before) and the climate control is really nice once you get used to it. That is what annoyed me the most about the sport rental I had for awhile.

 

[flatfoot]

For the original poster's preferences I'd say it's a no-brainer--get a Sport with as few options as possible. It's a great value and is far from a stripped-down model as is done by the US domestic manufacturers.

Jon

Thanks to everyone for their posts to my query.
I have decided to go for the sport, and looking into just the remote start and some sort of roof rack.
The 07,s have started to come into one of the mazda dealers near me, but try finding a sport, without any packages on it. They all seem to have at least the preferred equpment package and wheel locks.
When asking about a basic package, the saleperson got arrogant, and basically walked away, saying take it or leave it. They have 06,s left, all with extras on it, and the price they are trying to get is just 100 less then an 07.
I will wait a while, till all the dealers near me have some, and then start shopping over the internet instead of dealing in person.
Do they think all the mazda5,s will go flying out the door? Having 06,s left should tell them something.

Stay safe

 

[doctorz]

If you haven't done this yet--go on mazdausa.com. You can see the inventory of every Mazda dealer in the US, right down to model, transmission, and price. 5-speed Sports devoid of options are nowhere to be found in the Baltimore area; I managed to find one at a dealer near DC, called them up and made an offer, and they took it. Easy for them, easy for us.

 

[jlk_250]

Looking at the Mazda website for dealer inventory is a great suggestion. That's how I found the one we ended up buying. You can also search by transmission type if that is important to you. I found one at a local dealer that offered a great "internet only" price that was better than what would have been my target if I had to haggle. Quick, painless, and an outstanding car for the money.

Jon