Looks: for a 7 seater, the Mazda 5 is a great looking family car. It looks sharp and stylish and has lots of bells and whistles and is smart on the inside too. Who really wants a mummy-bus anyway?
Practicality 1: the most notable thing about the Mazda 5 at first glance is the rear sliding doors. Every parent knows that getting the kids fastened into the rear seats is a trial at the best of times, but doing it in a cramped car park when you can't even open the door properly can be quite a struggle. I didn't quite appreciate how easy it could be until trying out this car. Our particular model was kitted out with electric doors, which meant that the doors could even be opened remotely with the key fob or from the driver's control panel. Very nifty.
Practicality 2: the rear seats can be configured in many different ways which gives a lot of flexibility: the middle section can easily be reduced to two seats which allows kids to move to the rear two seats without adults having to pull forward the seats to let them in. Any step towards self-sufficiency is a welcome one! When the third (middle) seat the in the middle row is in place, it's a little too narrow to provide comfort for an a third adult for any kid of distance. Likewise, it'd be a struggle to fit three booster/baby seats side-by-side. Nevertheless, the fact that you have two extra seats available in the rear means that you are likely to find a configuration that works for you. Plan it out before buying.
Storage: when you're not using the rear seats, they fold away neatly providing ample boot space - we comfortably got two kids bikes in an upright position with ample space to spare. The middle seats even lie flat too which allows ample space if you need to move stuff around without the kids. The car apparently has over 40 nooks and crannies for storage - we didn't find them all but we'll take their word for it. Plenty of space to hold the skinny lattes too! Note, when the rear seats are in use, there is little boot space remaining: without getting into bus territory, them are the laws of physics, my dears!
Safety: The new (2011) model hasn't been NCAP rated at the time of writing - the old model had 5/5 for adults and only 3/5 for kids. We'll reserve judgement on the safety until the results come out but we'd be surprised if the safely ratings hadn't improved from the old model - Mazda have made several notable improvements to the build since the last model. Our model did not have a button to turn off the front passenger seat airbag despite it being indicated in the manual - so be sure you get one. The back row seats were comfortably set back from the rear window of the car, unlike some other models we've seen. The middle seat row has two ISOFIX points.
Running Costs: The Mazda 5 is sold in the Republic with a 1.6L diesel engine which we found ample: the car has a surprising amount power given this relatively small engine. Low CO2 emissions, which are rare in this class, mean that car tax is Band B (€156 p.a. currently). Quoted fuel consumption, for this relatively large car, is an impressive 5.2L/100km. Top marks for Mazda here.
Purchase Price: The car comes in four different trim levels, starting at the Comfort (price: €24,995) and extending to the Sport (€29,995). Even if you go for the cheapest option, you retain most of the important features of this car including 7 seat configuration, sliding doors (although not electric ones) and rear parking sensors.
Peace of mind: Mazda's have a great reputation for reliability, and come with 3 year/100,000km warranties and roadside assistance from new.
Kids' verdict: "Best car ever"- swayed by the electic sliding doors and the airplane-style seat back tables.
MummyPages verdict: A great all rounder and one of our favourite 7 seaters. Unless you really see the benefit in going for the electric doors or need to splash the cash, go for the lower trimmed model at €24,995.
See our other 7 seater family car options here.
