Considering a Mazda 5

How do you guys like it?  I am going from a 4 door F150 FX4 to this and I'm sure I'll miss the power, but the gas mileage increase is more important.  What kind of real world mileage do you guys get?  How is the versatility of the vehicle?  Whats the pulling power like when loaded down with 5 people and some cargo? 
 
I am looking at a used 06.  Does this year require premium fuel or can I use regular?
 
Whats the scoop on tires?  I have seen some threads about poor tire wear. 

Anybody have any feedback?

I shall assume from your spelling of tire that you're in the USA. I think you should be OK with tyre wear, it would appear to be only the European models that have suffered this problem.
Our mpg figures won't mean much to you either I suspect as we have toatally different engines over here too. Sorry can't tell you anything useful!
However, welcome to the Forum.
 
Dave.

I am also considering selling my wife's Sequoia and getting a 07-08 Mazda 5 and I also have the same questions as miller2.  Thanks

I guess the lack of responses is a clear indicator that Mazda 5 owners are not happy with their vehicles....

quote:

ORIGINAL: Miller2

I guess the lack of responses is a clear indicator that Mazda 5 owners are not happy with their vehicles....

Or the opposite.

Meaning that there's not much to complain about it.


In my case i own a M5 Sport 2.0 CD 143hp (Diesel) - 30000 Euros in Portugal -and the only issue that i have after 25000 kms was the wear of the original tyres that were replaced under warranty. Since then zero problems.

I have '07 M5 auto. and Kia Rondo '07 4cyl..
M5 fell more sporty like wagon. 4 passenger up hill is not too bad. tire little noise after 8k, next time i will try 215/50/17. my wife love it alot( she said it feel like her '97 C230 drive).
Kia is good too, my is 5 seater. plenty of room and alot more like Toyota drive tran. smooth ride. i like them both. M5 '08 have alot more goody then '07.

Actually there are few on here that own the 5's.  Most however are owned by young families and they are not as interested in a hot rod and modding their 5's.  I can say that I am seeing more and more of them on the roads around here!  I used to see one once in a while.  Lately, every time I out somewhere I am seeing at least one.
 
I of course own a 3HB which is the 5's lil' sister and can say that I have had little trouble with the car, find it a joy to drive and it gets good mileage even though I like to put my foot in it regularly.  I would recommend the 5-sp over the auto though... especially since there is a little more weight involved and you've expressed concern over a loss in power and an interest in better economy.  It'll save you $950 too!
 
CU and J.D.Powers both rate the 5 VERY well.  If I'm not mistaken (I didn't double check) it makes both top ten lists in it's category.
 
The only thing I am not too crazy about on the 5, and this is purely my own preference, is the way the center console and shifter are situated.  I would rather that they had taken a more traditional route and used the console from the 3 series.
 
 

I bought a 2008 Grand Touring 5 about a week ago. We just had our third child this week, so we wanted a larger family car (but not a MINI-VAN!!!). So far, we love it. The tires are made by Toyo, and seem to be a decent quality. I haven't hauled four or five adults yet (since we've got three car seats strapped in), so I don't know how the 5 will handle with a full load. We haven't burned a full tank of gas yet, so I'm excited to see the mpg at fillup. And...I'm not sure about the 06, but my 08 doesn't require premium gas.

We bought a new 5 a little over a year ago.  With the four of us and luggage, we get 28mpg at 75 mph.  Not sure what city or suburban driving is, never checked.  Wife goes thru 3/4 tank every week.  Power is fine, faster than my SuperDuty, but I dont need alot of power.  Regular fuel is all that is required.  Go to the dealer, pick up a brochure, read the window sticker for mileage, take a test drive.  This should answer many of your questions.  With our Ford discount, we picked up a new sport model for under $20K!  We are very happy with this car.  We have not had any tire problems in the 8K miles we have driven, I think the tire problem was isolated to Europe (or UK) for whatever reason.  Philip.

Having read about the tyre problem with the UK Mazda5 2.0 Sport / Sport Nav I want to be sure of the situation before handing over the money. I'm looking at buying a pre-registration pre-facelift Sport Nav. When challenged the dealer said the problem was resolved before this vehicle was built but that the front and back tyres should be swopped round every 6000 miles. I'm not too happy about this, is it normal?

Incidently is there a spare wheel with this model? The VW Tourano doesn't have one.

Thanks.

I know that in the States there is a spare, though a temporary "donut."
Rotating tires @ 5-6K should be std on any vehicle, so to answer your question, yes that's normal. 
These cars, like my own, are designed with a fair amount of negitive camber in the rear, up to -2*.  A camber kit (longer, or adjustable upper rear links) are avaiable from several sources and w/an alignment should solve any problem.
I personally don't like all the neg camber and have also added some positive toe in the rear to help compensate.  The handling of my 3HB is a lot more "sporting" than before.
 
 

I have a 2006 Mazda5 GT and I had it for almost 2 years now (i got it april 20th).  Since that time I've been recording my fuel consumption.  Year 1 it's 10.89 L/100km, year 2 it's 10.74 L/100 km and this is a combined City/Highway driving.   I like the versatility of having a larger than car cargo space when I needed it (BBQ, kid's bed, patio set, helping friend move, etc) and also the ability to ride people around (guests, families, etc), doing all of these NOT with a mini-van.  I personally like the idea of the sliding doors specially when loading the 2 kids to their car seat, it makes it so much easier for us.