Can't image, even if it was rated to do so, towing with a 5 around here.
This statement does not make sense and sounds bias. If your argument is one should not tow b/c IT IS NOT rated to do so, then why cant you image towing if IT IS rated to tow?? I think the cars body/style does not pass your eye test not big or manly enough?
My .02 to add some technical details to this discussion. Before anyone considers towing, you really should have some basic understanding of not just IF it will work (b/c you read/heard a grape vine yes or no) but better understand WHY it would or would not work. There are two separate questions getting mixed up. (Question 1) Is the Mazda5 capable of towing, followed by (Question 2) how much can the Mazda5 tow?
You should have a basic understanding of parts involved. A vehicle is either a body-on-frame (all trucks, rarely any SUVs these days) or unibody chassis (cars were body-on-frame way back but efficiency has moved all cars and most SUVs to unibody, for good reason ability to design energy absorbing crumple zones, chassis flex for nimble road manners, lighter weight for better MPG, more cabin space gained from not having to rest on a ladder frame, and cheaper to make). What were once real SUVs built on a ladder frame have almost all moved over to unibody. Running joke is that the previous highly capable Pathfinder (body-on-frame) has become the Mallfinder (unibody). Now the question becomes why can these tow but not cars?
Chassis 101
http://www.web2carz.com/autos/car-tech/2332/body-on-frame-vs-unibody-construction
A real tow capable vehicle has one of these hidden underneath.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlO2N076aq8
Todays unibody SUVs are more car like and will never be as capable as a body-on-frame truck or older SUVs, which originally truck based. Todays SUVs are reinforced in key structural areas to allow the chassis to carry more weight in addition to the fact that the frame gauge is engineered thicker, logically since the car will also be heavier (relates to Question 1). Other components such as engine, transmission, cooling, brakes, and suspension control may or may not get beefed up (relates to Question 2). This is why they offer towing packages, which are just add-ons to beef these up.
The other factor to tow-ability is type and quality of the hitch, and more specifically where and how it is fixed to the car. There are a few hitch options for the Mazda 5 that are installed/attached to the car VERY DIFFERENTLY! I cannot stress this enough. There are hitch designs that attaches to the bumper beam, ones that attaches to the bumper beam or one unibody frame rail + tow hook, ones that attached to both unibody frame rail. Where and how the hitch is connect to the car impacts the sturdiness and how much leverage is applied to the frame. FWIW, the bumper beam is a serviceable part held on by 4 bolts per side so 8 bolts think about that. All decent hitches are mounted to the frame rail look at hitches for trucks/SUVs to get an idea.
You need to know where a particular hitch attaches to the car to know if the attachment point is reinforced and how much leverage is applied from distance of hitch receiver to axle. The Mazda 5 does not have a reinforced rear end, which is partly why it is not rated to tow or carry much tongue weight (my guess). The question is rather how much weight can it really tow before risking potential frame damage or exceeding components limits. I think youll exceed what the shocks, transmission, etc. can handle before worrying about exceeding weight limit. As noted, the car is pretty heave as it is and build in platform intended for a compact car.
Mazda 5 frame
IMO, the last and minor hurdle is the how capable/how much weight the car can handle. You can add things to beef these up (bigger/better brakes, coolers, shocks/springs/air coils) but my conclusion is unless you are towing waaaay above your weight class, this is a minor to non-issue if driven with care. So, the debate should be to figure out how much weight is the limit. LONG TERM feedback from actual users (with full disclose of what they are using and how they are towing) would be the real world bench mark legalities aside.
On a different but similar subject, the CX5 uses the new Sky Active (marketing name) chassis shared with the Mazda 3 and 6. I dont know if the Mazda 3 or 6 is rated to tow but look at the frame diagram and youll see the CX5s rear frame rails (where a proper hitch would be mounted too) are reinforced but not on the Mazda3.
Mazda 3 SkyActive frame
CX5 SkyActive frame
Disclaimer: Never towed a thing in my life so you can ignore pretty much everything above
