Are either of the 2 centerseats in the Mazda5 removable?

I'm think this car would suit our needs if I could remove 1 of the 2 center seats.

 

If you let us know where you are in the World, you will get a more accurate response, as the car seems to have different specifications in different continents.

In Europe the Mazda 5 has THREE centre seats, the middle one can be folded out of the way, but none can be removed from the car. The on-line brochure implies that this fold-away middle seatcreates a huge gap in the middle row, but it doesn't really!

Dave.

 

Good point, thanks! I am in the U.S.

 

OK,sorry I can't help you with the car info, but I wish you well with your twins.

Hopefully someone in the US will pick up on this for you.

Cheers
Dave.

 

No problem. I've realized the Mazda5 is going to be much too small for us anyway. Sure, we could fit 2 adults and 3 kids in it but we wouldn't be able to fit anything else....strollers, diaper bags, toys, etc....
Thanks!

 

As much as I love our Mazda 5, I would not recommend it for your needs... I am in Canada - here it is a 6 seater, but the third row is only good for small kids. If you place the car seats in the middle row, and your 2 year old in the third row, you could fold down half the third row for some storage, but I highly doubt it would be enough - definately not enough for strollers etc. You would probably need a car-top carrier. - And if you want to go on any trips, you woudl be still struggling for space with 3 kids.

We recently went on a 10 day road trip with our 5 month old at the time, and a small dog. Had the third row down, and the back hatch area was FULL and the cartop carrier was FULL. (My pic on the left is actually from that trip).

While its a great car, I would say that 2 kids would max you out. The third row will be great for the occasional time when we have a kids friend etc with us, but for the most part we never use it. Its handy, but not practical.

My next choice for a vehicle was a Toyota van as they have a ton of power and a good rep, but we didnt want to spend the huge $$ difference. For the price the Mazda 5 is awesome - nothing else like it out there right now (at least not in Canada) but IMO definately does not suite a family of 5+ with the Canadian Spec.

 

Thanks BCNorth.

 

I would say drop one of the 3rd row seats, and let your oldest in the back. because it doesn't have the "boat ride" feel to it, my oldest hasnt gotten carsick back there (yet)
I have had mine only a month, but i love it. My 4 kids are 9,4,4,and 1.5 yrs old. They love it also. For a small car, it is roomy. It only fits the six of us, and i do like the pass-thru in the middle isle, like a van. We are small people, so the size doesn't bother me.
I do squirrel away things under the midrow underseat compartments. and my emergency gear fits down under w/the spare.
Would i take it on long trips? no. Daytrips; yes.
But we are down to the single umbrella stroller, ONLY on occasion. get those twins walking ASAP, as they will try to wear you out otherwise. And being a man w/no hips, they are not easy to carry at the same time.
LOVE the car. did i mention that?

 

I have a 2012 Mazda5 Sport 6M that I got about six weeks ago. We have three kids, 2 1/2 year old twin boys and an 11 year old boy. I traded a Kia Sedona LX in on the 5. The Sedona had a lot more room, but also sucked gas and was more vehicle than we need the huge majority of the time. It was great for the one 3000+ mile road trip we take each year, but an awful lot of vehicle for running the kids around town. It did have a lot of storage space, but we didn't fill it to capacity very often.

On the other hand, the 5 is much smaller and fits our needs for everything except a long road trip with the whole family (we can make it work for that, but we might just rent a larger van for the trek each year when it comes up). The 11 year old fits in the back seat, and the twins are in the middle row captain's chairs in their car seats. There isn't much storage space in the back with the rear seats up, but with one child in the back folding down one of the rear seats isn't a problem. Overall I am happy with the trade offs.

Now, the really good news. The Sedona averaged 19.1 MPG over its life with us. The best it every did was 26 MPG on the highway (and that was just once, it generally did between 21-23 MPG highway). The worst I ever did with it was 10.9 MPG in all city driving. On the other hand I just got back from a weekend trip that I took with the twins (my wife and the older boy stayed home) that was almost all interstate driving. The 5 averaged 31.2 MPG.

The 5 might not work for you now, but don't discount it without looking (and especially driving) first.

 

That is great, I wish my '09 had a 6M (before '12 it was 5M) - I get maybe 27 mpg on the interstate at 70 to 75 mph.

At 65 mph, in 5th gear, I am at 3,000 rpms.