All,

I'm having a hard time convincing my wife the Mazda 5 would be our best bet, so I'm asking your help. We've test-driven the vehicle twice, and she thinks it is too small.

How old are your children, and how are things when they ride in the third row?

We've got two young kids (boy 3 and girl 6), who fit perfectly in the back row now and would for years to come. The vast majority of the time, they would be in the second row anyway. During the test-drives, they've been in both areas and loved it.

Maybe five days out of the year, we would need to put the kids in the back row and have my in-laws in the second row. Five days out of 365.

For those five days, my wife wants to spend $9k-10k more in initial cost and gas for an Odyssey or a Sienna over five years. At least that much.

I've explained to her that roof racks and cargo boxes can be had for relatively cheap when necessary, but that doesn't placate her.

She's always difficult when it comes to picking out cars and homes. Absolutely impossible to please. When a car salesman asks her what she's looking for, I say to myself, "Bigfoot riding a unicorn."

Again, how old are your children, and how are things when they ride in the third row?

Thanks much,

Joe

 

Hey Joe!! (No pun intended) Welcome to Mazdaforum.

I feel for you because while my wife is often wrong too, it's very hard... nay, IMPOSSIBLE to convince her of that. (<<< Hard-headed.) In this case, your wife may be correct. The 5 is not all that big.

Based on the exact same chassis, it's only slightly bigger (mostly up) than my 3, which is not a very good people hauler. It is a little embarassing to invite our neighbors to go out with us, then have to ask THEM to drive. (Of course he's 6'5" and she's a lil' chunky.)

Your kids may be 3 and 6 now, but they are liable to grow quickly and will likely out grow the car before you do... unless you are used to trading in vehicles after only a couple of years.

I can also tell you that if your wife truly is like mine, you may just have to suck it up or find a compromise that you can both live with.

What do you think about that?

 

I hear you. Kids-growing-up-wise, during our last bring-home test drive, I had the neighbor kids come over. They are 9 and 12, which is a year older than our kids will be in five years when a Mazda5 would be paid off.

They fit just fine in the back row. Loved it, really; they went home and brought their parents over to see.

And I hear you about the compromise, but in our case, it's her who's going to have to compromise. She doesn't like to do that.

We have several things we both want to to do our house over the next few years (crawlspace work and a kitchen remodel) that will come to about $7000. Because of that, in our budget, we've set our car payment at $300 for 60 months. At our bank-quoted 4%, that plus tax and title equals $15k.

It's absolutely impossible to get a low-mileage Odyssey or Sienna for $15k. If she wants to spend $15k on one of those, she'll get something with 100,000 miles and a meth lab in the back.

A co-worker is best friends (best man at their wedding, etc) with a dealership manager near where I work. They have a red 2008 Mazda5 Grand Touring with 30k miles I can get for about $15. Former corporate lease, which I'm not crazy about but it'll do.

I'm bringing it home tomorrow, and I'm inviting my in-laws over for dinner. We'll load up everyone and head off to the restaurant.

If you hear about a guy in Indiana getting beaten to death in his sleep, that's me.

Joe

 

The thing is, this isn't a true 7 seater, and for those of you stateside of the pond, there is a big difference in the size of your vehicles.
My 2 girls are 11 and 12. Now the issue is the size, not the age. My eldest is about 5 foot 8 already, and to be honest, she goes in the 3rd row, but not on long journeys. The 11 y/o is a fair bit shorter, but likely to grow the same and is fine in the back on long journeys. We do have 7 in the car frequently and find it fine, but 7 adults, or 5 and 2 kids on a distance journey would be a no.

But for us Brits, the massive advantage is the leg room in the middle seat is exceptional. You won't beat it even in a bigger car. Our old Vauxhall Zafira used to mean knees in the back whilst driving, and 3rd row for eldest was 30 mins max. and that was when she was a foot shorter

If you plan on cross country 7 up trips, it's the wrong car. but occasional 7 up use with kids , it will manage easlily

 

ROFL!!!! That's funny... but sadly, I know what you mean.

Also, thanks for the input, coney. The experiences of an actual owner are better than my speculations.