Mazda5 (2010) review
by Tom Stewart (1 November 2010)
Mazda launched its replacement for the Premacy MPV a little over four years ago. Back in 2006 the then new Mazda5 was the only car in the sector to have rear sliding doors and, somewhat surprisingly, this feature remains unique to the class on the new, second-generation Mazda5.
As anyone who's ever wrestled a bad-tempered toddler into a rear child seat will know, maximum accessibility to the rear seats under such circumstances is a definite plus, but despite this palpable advantage the Mazda5 has continued to slip under many buyers' radar. In an attempt to divert attention away from the C-MAX, Scenic, Picasso, Zafira and others, Mazda has worked hard on its new 5 and so it comes with a variety of improvements designed to tempt "on the go" families away from Ford, Renault, Citroen and Vauxhall, showrooms.
In addition to its new exterior design which I'll come to shortly, the new seven-seater Mazda5's twin rear sliding doors now open wider than before (to 686mm) and extend just 160mm beyond the body when open, thus making it virtually impossible for kids jumping in or out from damaging either your bodywork or that of a car parked close-by.
More obvious at first glance is the new 5's styling. Inspired, it says here, "by the flowing elements found in nature", there can be no argument that the flowing and quite complex contours pressed into the 5's flanks are interesting to say the least. This unusual design feature is supported by a distinctive front end and a pleasingly swoopy silhouette, at least for an MPV.
Priced from £17,695 to £21,495, the new 5 comes initially in three trim levels with either a two-litre direct injection petrol engine with stop/start as standard or a 1.8 petrol. A 1.6 diesel will be available from early 2011 and all come with six-speed manual transmissions. Interestingly, an auto option on the 2.0 won't be available, and, having driven the manual, I can hazard a guess as to why.
With 148bhp and 141lb/ft of torque the 2.0 should have more than sufficient punch for a car of this type and size. Its claimed top speed is 120mph along with an acceptable 0-62mph time of 11 seconds. A short drive at a sensibly sedate pace along some twisting Cornish minor roads showed that the car has a great chassis with a comfortable, compliant ride, good brakes and very responsive steering. At the lower speeds required on these roads it accelerates quite eagerly and bounds along quite happily. It's also quiet, spacious, comfortable and has a high-quality interior with an attractive dash and instrumentation. So what’s there to not like?
The following day our test route took us onto more open, faster roads – the county's spinal A30 across Bodmin Moor being the particular stretch I have in mind – and here the Mazda5 revealed its Achilles heel. Going onto the dual carriageway at about 55mph I accelerated in sixth to overtake a lorry. Not being in any particular hurry I didn't initially change down a gear, but, with an uphill gradient gradually steepening, a change to fifth was required, and then, surprisingly, a change to fourth.
Now normally a two-litre, dohc, 16-valve, six-speed, 148bhp petrol engine would make light work of such a chore, especially with just two people and hand luggage aboard, and even more so a new, supposedly torquier direct injection model, but the car struggled to reach 70mph.
I experimented some more by slowing down and accelerating again in third, fourth, fifth and sixth, suspecting that the gradients might have been steeper than they seemed or that there was an unusually strong headwind (the weather was pretty miserable), but at anything above 60mph the car struggled. I couldn't put this down to it being overgeared for fuel consumption purposes as I'd been down as low as third gear, so had to presume that my car must have had some kind of fault, possibly an engine management fault.
However, upon joining a huddle of other journos over lunch, it transpired that we'd all experienced the same underwhelming urge at higher speeds and so I can only conclude that either all of our press demonstrator Mazda5s – 113bhp 1.8-litre models included – were in some way faulty, or it has nothing like the power claimed. (Later that same day I drove another, similarly-sized MPV – my own 10-year old 105hp Fiat Multipla 1.9JTD – on an equally wet, windy and hilly motorway, and though it's no rocketship it definitely didn't struggle like the 5.) But whatever the reason, I can't help thinking that an auto transmission would highlight the problem still further.
Moving on, the Mazda5 is suitably well-equipped. The TS version comes as standard with Dynamic Stability Control, cruise control, electric windows, front and rear, air conditioning, a reasonable audio system and alloy wheels.
The TS2 adds privacy glass. rear parking sensors, climate control, rain-sensing wipers, a trip computer and Bluetooth, while the top-spec Sport model has 17" alloys, powered rear doors, leather seat upholstery, heated front seats, foglights, tyre pressure monitoring as well as a few exterior adornments. Should you wish to add to that then there's quite a bit left on the comprehensive options list.
So, the new Mazda5 is practical, accommodating, comfortable, good-looking, refined, well-equipped and well-built. It also rides well, and steers and handles with far more precision, but no more performance than is strictly necessary for an MPV. I've never been entirely sure what Mazda's Zoom-Zoom slogan is actually supposed to mean, but if taken literally and for reasons which I can't fathom, this car could definitely use a whole lot more of it.
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