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| Road Test Mazda5 1.8 TS |
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Four Of Seven Less unusually - though it's still a point worth bearing in mind - the 5 is nominally a seven-seater. Well, more than nominally. It does actually have seven seats, but as is usually the case with compact MPVs the two in the third row don't offer much legroom and are therefore suitable only for small children.
Not as small, though, as the sprog who will be allocated the central seat in the middle row. This is very small indeed, less wide than the span of my hand, and it will not cater for the rear quarters of anyone sturdier than an infant, or perhaps a supermodel who has been feeling under the weather recently and has consequently been off her food. So there may be seven seats in a 5, but its maximum capacity of adult occupants is no more than four, though even then the ones in the middle row don't have much legroom despite the sliding seats. With all the seats in place the 5 is inevitably short on luggage room; Mazda's own measurement is 112 litres, which is a lot less than you get in an MX-5 and makes a MINI hatchback seem like a van. The more seats you fold down, the more luggage space you release (detention for anyone who hadn't already worked this out - it's not quantum physics), and in two-seat form the official figure is 857 litres (presumably up to the parcel shelf rather than to the roof). The cheapest car in the 5 range is the 1.8 TS tested here. In fact this is one of only 5s sold with the entry-level TS trim (the other being the less powerful of the two turbo diesels), and it's fine if you're prepared to live with 15" steel wheels and manually winding rear windows. The same 114bhp 1.8-litre petrol engine is also available with TS2 trim, which includes 16" alloy wheels and all-round electric windows, along with an interior storage box, roof rails, a leather steering wheel with audio controls, second-row picnic tables and various other goodies. The TS2 costs £800 more than the TS, but it might be worth the extra investment, not least because you should get at least that much back when the time comes to sell the car. Why would you buy the 1.8 petrol model when there's a more economical and similarly powerful 2.0 diesel in the range? Well, for a start the diesel costs £1500 more, and although the diesel is 8.6mpg better on combined fuel consumption and will cost less to tax thanks to its lower CO2 emissions, it would take a while for that to make £1500 worth of difference unless you were doing quite a high annual mileage. For people who don't need to travel long distances, the petrol is the better bet.
But it can be quite wearing on motorways. The 5 has always suffered from a booming noise through the cabin at higher cruising speeds, and in addition to that the 1.8 is quite low-geared: at 70mph in top the engine is spinning round at 3300rpm, which is quite a lot in this day and age, whereas the diesel is burbling along at around 2000rpm. The best thing about the 1.8 TS is the price, but if I wanted a 5 I would be very strongly tempted by the diesel. At the same time, if I wanted a compact MPV of any sort this would by no means be the only one on my list, unless I had a particularly friendly and trustworthy Mazda dealer close by. There is a lot to be said in favour of the 5, but it's neither as practical nor as much fun to drive as Mazda says it is, and it does not stand out as the single must-have car in its class. Price: £15,795
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