The 5 - Relaxing to drive, or what?

[FiftySix]

It's as if the car were designed for smaller people.

Yep, it sure isn't a full size F150. The good thing for me is that I'm the tallest one in my house at 5'9", so the 5 fits me and the rest of us pretty well.

The creaking doors I had too, as mentioned somewhere on here, I wrapped a little gorilla tape around the door catch on the b-pillar and it solved the creaking. Not pretty, but it worked. Might switch it out for electrical tape.

Interesting. I'll think about using that technique.

 

[FiftySix]

Like Lazy Boy armchairs, I tell you.

I'd fall asleep at the wheel. (lol2)

 

[Davicho]

The MZ5 is very sluggish, which is mostly the fault of the auto trans. It's also slow. Due to this, I'm pretty chill driving it until I hit some corners. On the highway the car would be better if it had less wind noise and better directional stability in windy conditions.

Comfort is okay, however I feel the pedals are too close, the seat bottom too short, and the armrest too close. I actually use the passenger seat armrest. It's as if the car were designed for smaller people. I drive with the seat all the way back, and the wheel all the way out.

The creaking doors I had too, as mentioned somewhere on here, I wrapped a little gorilla tape around the door catch on the b-pillar and it solved the creaking. Not pretty, but it worked. Might switch it out for electrical tape.

I completely agree and side with you on your first two paragraphs. I haven't done anything about the creeking sliders so I will stay out of that part. Having driven both a 5MT and now a 5AT, the two biggest dampers in the fun factor of our 5s is the A/C and the AUTO trans, the latter being the worse. I sure do miss my 2006 Touring 5MT fun driving factor. Although my 2012 is way more well put together and buttoned up compared to my old one. The auto is sluggish and slow to down shift. In respect to the seats, I also fully agree that the seats were never designed or meant to fit our American fat asses and instead they are meant to fit the smaller framed Japanese people or for that matter the slimmer everywhere else in the world except us here. I'm by no means obese but I am like most Americans a bit over weight. At 6' tall and 210lbs these seats are quite small and the seat bottom lacks length and thigh support. The arm rests are also not placed properly and I also always use the passages side armrest instead of mine. This was a huge issue with my 2006 since the two first years didn't have passenger side armrest so I had no choice but to use the driver side armrest. In a nut shell, I do like and at times enjoy driving my 5. I really do wish that we here in the States had the option as in Canada to buy a fully loaded GT with the 6MT because that's what I would have bought instead. I simply sacrificed and gave up the tranny in order to get all the other nice amenities the GT offers over the plain Jane (no offense to the ones that own one) Sport trim. I'm in the same boat as another member here (90210). This vehicle works for my family at this point but sometime in the near future I will be either selling it or trading it in for a Nissan Frontier PRO-4X 6MT but for now it does the job as intended and works for us.

 

[chudzikb]

Sounds good. I do think the 5 rides great on the highway.

I put up my impressions in another thread. The reader's digest version is that it handles like a car, and is powered like a goat cart! But, decent efficiency has its cost. The 6 manual is the only way to go with this car. I will "fancy" it up with parts from a GT once I find one in a junk yard. Miata shift knob? Do they fit? Also have to develop a plan to rid the car of its "illegal" residents. A colony of Georgia ants!

 

[FiftySix]

Goat cart?

Ants? Bummer.

 

[Orangutan]

It's not a sports car, crotch rocket, luxury roadster, grand tourer, or anything else. It's a tall Mazda3 with sliding doors and a couple hundred more pounds. It uses the same engine, same transmissions, and same suspension tuning as the 3 sedan and hatchback (which is why it's softer and leans more - same suspension, more weight). I often say it's the wagon-minivan version of the 3, because it essentially is. The 3 is an inexpensive, compact car and the 5 is an inexpensive, compact car with sliding doors. It's more fun to drive than other minivans and most wagons, including everything in its class (that there is). I didn't cross-shop the 5 with a Mercedes SLK, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, or even a Nissan Maxima, because they're not what the 5 is about.

Do you want the ability to carry two people and a massive amount of cargo OR four people and a moderate amount of cargo OR six people in a pinch - all in a compact-car footprint?
Do you want a low entry and running cost?
Do you want something that is fun to drive for what it is?

It doesn't get great gas mileage. It's not quiet on the highway. It's not super comfortable for tall or wide drivers (because it was designed for the Japanese market). It can't tow. It doesn't have AWD. It doesn't have a lot of horsepower. It has Mazda's paint and rust problems. Many of its components are Ford Motor Company.

So what? It's a class of vehicle that was popular in Europe and East Asia that Mazda tested to see if it would take hold in the U.S. & Canada. They spent almost no money marketing it or otherwise modifying it for the tastes of North Americans because it was a gamble anyone at all would want it. But it also cost them almost nothing to make it for us since it shares so many parts with the 3. The lack of improvements to the 5 certainly didn't help its case here, but you only need to look at the market for these miniature vans in Europe and Japan to see that the failure of the 5 in North America isn't an isolated case. People around the world just aren't buying these vehicles like they did.

I like my 5. I would like to change some things about it, but I'm happy with it, and I knew what I was getting into.

 

[FiftySix]

Do you want the ability to carry two people and a massive amount of cargo OR four people and a moderate amount of cargo OR six people in a pinch - all in a compact-car footprint?
Do you want a low entry and running cost?
Do you want something that is fun to drive for what it is?

Yes.

With a simple naturally aspirated single head engine, and a chain driven set of cams, all for potential reliability and ease of maintenance.

Plus, I want to be able to wash the top of this magical vehicle without using a step stool.

Mission accomplished.

 

[MZ5black]

It's not a sports car, crotch rocket, luxury roadster, grand tourer, or anything else. It's a tall Mazda3 with sliding doors and a couple hundred more pounds. It uses the same engine, same transmissions, and same suspension tuning as the 3 sedan and hatchback (which is why it's softer and leans more - same suspension, more weight). I often say it's the wagon-minivan version of the 3, because it essentially is. The 3 is an inexpensive, compact car and the 5 is an inexpensive, compact car with sliding doors. It's more fun to drive than other minivans and most wagons, including everything in its class (that there is). I didn't cross-shop the 5 with a Mercedes SLK, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, or even a Nissan Maxima, because they're not what the 5 is about.

Do you want the ability to carry two people and a massive amount of cargo OR four people and a moderate amount of cargo OR six people in a pinch - all in a compact-car footprint?
Do you want a low entry and running cost?
Do you want something that is fun to drive for what it is?

It doesn't get great gas mileage. It's not quiet on the highway. It's not super comfortable for tall or wide drivers (because it was designed for the Japanese market). It can't tow. It doesn't have AWD. It doesn't have a lot of horsepower. It has Mazda's paint and rust problems. Many of its components are Ford Motor Company.

So what? It's a class of vehicle that was popular in Europe and East Asia that Mazda tested to see if it would take hold in the U.S. & Canada. They spent almost no money marketing it or otherwise modifying it for the tastes of North Americans because it was a gamble anyone at all would want it. But it also cost them almost nothing to make it for us since it shares so many parts with the 3. The lack of improvements to the 5 certainly didn't help its case here, but you only need to look at the market for these miniature vans in Europe and Japan to see that the failure of the 5 in North America isn't an isolated case. People around the world just aren't buying these vehicles like they did.

I like my 5. I would like to change some things about it, but I'm happy with it, and I knew what I was getting into.

Agree with the post! I have not yet experienced any Mazda paint and rust issues yet as I haven't owned mine for long -- I hope that's well in the past. Or does it apply to 2nd gen of 5's also?

 

[MZ5black]

I do think the 5 rides great on the highway.

Agree. Not the quietest thing on the highway but I enjoy it. But then I don't drive aggressively so that's probably why it works for me.

 

[Diamondhead]

I agree with Orangutan. ..Tell you what..I have had more compliments on my 5...than any other car I have ever owned..sometimes 2 or 3 a day... I have owned many convertibles and a prelude..only one that even came close in the compliment department was my Pontiac LeMansGT..which was stolen while I was on active duty from right in front of my house.