I will never be convinced to drive a granny van that cost 70 or 80% more than my 5. First off no Odyssey or Sienna I've driven even comes close to handling like my 5, and for the times that i need to haul more than 6 people, I will just take two cars: my 2012 Mazda 3 and my 5. Because I don't know about everybody else, but I have two kids and I hardly need to transport more that 6 people, but for the occasions when I do, I will just spend the extra in gas money, and seeing how I can get 29 to 30 mpg's out off my 5 on the highway and 40 mpg's out of my 3 on the highway, it isn't that much more in gas. Also, the cost of ownership for a Odyssey or Sienna is a lot higher than the cost of the 5. A 2012 Mazda 5 loaded GT cost around 24 grand, the top of the line Sienna or Odyssey cost around 40 grand, that is almost twice as much. Is that extra room worth that much ? Even if you compare a Base sport model 5 to the base Sienna or Odyssey, it is still about a 10 grand difference. I have 34 grand tied up in my 2010 Mazda 5 and my 2012 Mazda 3, that is about the cost of a middle level Odyssey or Sienna. Practically I can't see pay ten to twenty grand more for the extra room vs the 5. If I need the extra room, I would either bring the 3 along also, or if it was a long trip, I would just rent a larger vehicle for the week, and save a lot of money vs buying a granny van.
Why did you buy a Mazda5?
- Thread starter Turbohatch
- Start date
Wishmaster
Member
- :
- 07 Galaxy Gray AT Mazda5 GT
Needed a newer ride... we were about to be pregnant for the first time, so I bought a used Toyota Matrix (really loved that car)... then found out we were having twins!! At that point still wasn't quite sure whether or not the Matrix would be able to handle the load. Then we brought home our new giant double stroller. (http://www.easywalker.nl/ca-EN/product/id=3/duo.html) The stroller filled up the entire hatch... and then thought further about it... two car seats in the back and a giant stroller in the hatch = no room for anything else, not even groceries... no way we'd be able to anything local, never mind road trips.
So the hunt was on for something I could buy used for about the same as I could sell the matrix for, but could also handle more cargo, could potentially handle more passengers (fitting someone in-between two rear-facing car seats makes anything that calls itself a 5-seater really a 4-seater), and still be somewhat compact + fuel efficient... driving dynamics of better than your average SUV and Minivan are a bonus. Right away I thought about the 5... had remembered seeing the ads and saw a few driving around, had always thought they were a great idea and if I ever needed that much space I'd check them out.
Did the research on them and anything that came close in comparison... the 5 was the clear winner. Found a great used 2007 GT that needed a bit of suspension work
-)), which I was happy to do on my own, everything else was tip-top. Within the week I had sold my Matrix privately and privately purchased the 5. Best switch-er-oo ever. Two years, and many a road trip later... still loving our 5. Ended up only owning that Matrix for just under 6 months... ha!
So the hunt was on for something I could buy used for about the same as I could sell the matrix for, but could also handle more cargo, could potentially handle more passengers (fitting someone in-between two rear-facing car seats makes anything that calls itself a 5-seater really a 4-seater), and still be somewhat compact + fuel efficient... driving dynamics of better than your average SUV and Minivan are a bonus. Right away I thought about the 5... had remembered seeing the ads and saw a few driving around, had always thought they were a great idea and if I ever needed that much space I'd check them out.
Did the research on them and anything that came close in comparison... the 5 was the clear winner. Found a great used 2007 GT that needed a bit of suspension work
-)), which I was happy to do on my own, everything else was tip-top. Within the week I had sold my Matrix privately and privately purchased the 5. Best switch-er-oo ever. Two years, and many a road trip later... still loving our 5. Ended up only owning that Matrix for just under 6 months... ha!
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