The Mazda5 MPV range has undergone a bit of a transformation since the last time we paid close attention to it. The choice of engines has been reduced to two - a 148bhp two-litre petrol unit and the 114bhp 1.6 turbo diesel tested here - while the range of trim levels is sparser still: it's Venture or nothing.The list of equipment, by contrast, is far from sparse. Standard equipment includes all-round electric windows, climate control air-conditioning, heated door mirrors, Sanyo TomTom satellite navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, front foglights, automatic headlights and wipers, rear parking sensors, privacy glass and, more trivially, side skirts and a roof spoiler.You also get rather fetching 16" gunmetal alloy wheels with 205/55 tyres. No higher-profile rubber is available, but that's not a problem because the 5's ride quality is pretty good. Not everyone gets the balance between outward appearance and inner comfort right, but in this case Mazda has done just that.There has been no change recently to the basic structure, so you still get those sliding rear side doors (not as unusual now as they were when the 5 was launched, but still something of a rarity), a sensibly low rear sill, a load capacity of up to 1485 litres if you fold down the seats in the second and third rows and the ability to carry up to seven people in one journey.They can't all be full-sized adults, since like all seven-seaters of this size the 5 has very limited room at its extreme rear. On the other hand, Mazda has made a much better job than some of its rivals of allowing easy access to that part of the car, so there's a below-average chance of the centre-row seats being covered in muddy footprints on a school run at the end of PE day.The 1.6 diesel, which made its debut in the Mazda3 two years ago and was already available in the 5 before the range was so thoroughly reworked, doesn't appear to be anything special, but it quietly gets on with its job of being one of my favourite Mazda engines.It isn't too noisy (you can tell it's a diesel, but the sound is soft-edged, if you see what I mean) and although there isn't an overabundance of power there's as much as the car needs. In particular, performance is fully adequate at low to medium revs, which is all that most owners are likely to use.True, a 5 fitted with this engine costs £1295 more than the two-litre petrol version, but you'll probably get that back at resale time, combined fuel economy is officially 13.4mpg better and lower CO2 emissions mean you'll pay £50 a year less in Vehicle Excise Duty. And the diesel simply suits the car better. Engine 1560cc, 4 cylinders Power 114bhp Transmission 6-speed manual Fuel/CO2 54.3mpg / 138g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 13.7 seconds Top speed 111mph Price £21,290 Details correct at publication date
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