Considering Mazda5
 

So we're thinking of getting a second car and have had the Mazda5 on our minds since summer of 08 after renting one on a family trip.

We liked the size, capacity, fuel economy and overall feel.

But now I have some concerns. They are:

• 17" rim tire wear
• The gas cap problem
• general suspension issues

I'm in the US. Should I consider one model year over another if any of the above are a concern?

One a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 how concerned should I be about these?

TIA,
Chip

My one penneth
 

You could consider avoiding the 17" wheel models. Myself (and my better half) bought a Diesel TS2 2006 model in March and the only common fault we've experienced was a weeping shock absorber (which thankfully the dealer fixed before we picked the car up). As the TS2 has 16" wheels as standard there is, apparently, no worries about tyre wear (and fuel economy is, I expect, improved as a result - although if the 17" tyres wear on only a fraction of the tread I'm not actually sure this is true or not). We've done about 8,000 miles in the TS2 so far and the tyres look as good as when we picked it up (no wear on the edges either). We've also had no problems with the suspension/anti-roll bar squeeking or the fuel filler cap issue. Without wishing to sound too gushing about it the TS2 is, so far, the best car I/we have ever owned (although to put things in perspective I have owned some wrecks in the past).

Do we even have a choice in the US? I don't know about previous years, but the '09s and up ONLY came with 17s, as far as I know. I mean, heck, we bought a base '09 and have the 17s.