I've put down a deposit on a UK spec Furano Special Edition and having now sat in 2 separate cars I've a couple of questions:

1) The brochure states that the car comes with Leather Gear stick and Handbrake lever - The 2 that I've sat in certainly did not have a leather handbrake just plastic and the gearstick might be a leather gater, but the **** looks/feels like plastic. Anyone know if this is right? Is it a misprint in the brochure?
2) The car seems to come with the chrome exhaust garnish but this is not listed in the brochure;
3) Does the car come with locking wheel nuts?

I appreciate that I can ask my dealer these questions but they are 150 miles from where I live so it's a little difficult to get their attention.

Many Thanks

Cheers
Rob

 

Hi Rob,

1) Our Furano has got the leather gear **** (although it feels like plastic), but we are going to take up the issue about the handbrake just being plastic and not leather as stated in the brochure.
2) We got the chrome garnish and took it as a bonus.
3) Our car came with locking wheel nuts as standard.

Any other questions please shout. Out of interest what colour are you going for?

Cheers,

AJ

 

Hi AJ,

Thanks for your response.

1) When I read the brochure I was expecting the car to have the leather know and handbrake from the accessories brochure as although not a deal breaker, it is a nice touch and lifts the interior detailing slightly. When I sat in the car I was very disppointed to see that the gera **** and handbrake lookm exactly the same as the standard sport model. From memory these extras are about £120 and like you I feel that these should be fitted if stated in the brochure. I'm going to call my dealer at some point and check the story. What has yours said or have you yet to query it?
2) Well done, looks like it comes as standard then
3) Great, that's what I thought, but again I'll check with the dealer that they are fitted

As for colour, as you know there are only 2 choices - Stellar Silver or Strato Blue. We are going for the silver, although I think that the US description of Stellar Green Silver is more suited as it does have a mint green hue. To be honest it wouldn't be my first choice for a car's colour but as mentioned elsewhere the car we are getting is pre-registered with Delivery mileage (<10) and at a considerable discount to Brand New and therefore, bearing in mind the fantastic spec we don't mind the colour and I have to say that it is a little bit different and will standout nicely from the crowd. I hope that it's a grower. What did you go for?

Cheers
Rob

 

Hi Rob,

The handbrake is going to be queried when we are next passing the dealer (need the front number plate replaced due to smudge mark).

We went for the silver although my wife wasn't entirely convinced, but rest assured it is a refreshing change on the UK roads due to the sheer numbers of silver cars around. It's a great 'different' colour that stands out in a subtle way and we have grown to love it. It's funny hearing your thoughts on the colour selection which almost mirrors ours when we were deciding which 5 model to purchase.

Never thought heads would turn and look at a Mazda 5, but I've noticed a number of people looking at roundabouts and when waiting in traffic. Not sure whether that is a good or bad thing, but it proves it gets noticed.

You may have already got this covered but we are thinking of getting the boot liner/mat or maybe the rear bumper protective tape, as the bumper is going to get scratched with normal everyday use.

All the best,

AJ

 

Hi AJ,

I've not actually seen a Furano on the road or for that matter in natural daylight, but I'm convinced that the silver is OK and in any case it is better than the Strato which imho doesn't suit a large car and hides all of the car's details.

I wish you luck with the handbrake, but I suspect that you won't get very far as on the back of the brochure it states that specs are subject to change without notification. The fact that the car has the exhaust trim makes up a little for the handbrake and I suspect that the best you can do is get a deal on the purchase of the leather handbrake.

Does your gearstick have the silver inserts as per the accessories brochure or is it the all black standard fit from the Sport model? The ones that I've seen are all black.

Good idea re. the Boot liner etc. The only problem I see with the one that has a rubber fold out sheet to protect the bumper, is what to do with it when you have all the seats up - you either leave it at home, or fill up the remaining boot space with it. Have you considered the chrome bumper strip althogh might be a bit ott.

Do you have the Petrol or Diesel and what sort of mpg are you getting so far?

Cheers
Rob

 

Hello Rob,

The gearstick is standard black, as in the Sport model.

We are leaning towards the boot liner and clear protective tape for the bumper.

We have the petrol model, although I wanted the diesel but couldn't justify the extra £1600 for the mileage we will do. Currently get around 30mpg, but hopefully we will get around 33mpg once the engine has loosened up. What are you getting Rob?

All the best,

AJ

 

Hi AJ,

Thanks for the details. The black gearstick seems to be the standard Furano fit, although I'm not sure that it's leather.

Budget permitting, I might try and cut a deal with the dealer to get the proper leather gearstick and handbrake (from the accessories brochure) together with the interior mats and maybe one of the boot liners. If he doesn't want to give me a good discount, then I'll just leave it and get them later from a more local dealer.

I think that once the car is nicely run in you should see upper 30s on a run so I guess that what you're seeing now is as expected. I test drove the diesel and it seemed very nice with good power delivery and not too noisy. I assume that the petrol is similar with slightly less grunt but slightly quieter?

I've not got the car yet as it is not available for delivery until the end of December (it's pre-registered and must stay at the dealers for 3 months prior to selling on) so I can't comment on any direct experience.

Cheers
Rob

 

Hi Rob,

Are you going for the petrol or diesel?

We originally drove the diesel and it is more refined/quieter than the petrol. The petrol is surprisingly responsive, but the diesel had the usual oomph you would expect. Looks like the mpg is starting to improve, heading towards 32 already.

All the best,

AJ

 

Hello Rob,

Got a nice surprise when we went to the Mazda dealer today (to have the front number plate replaced), got a boot mat we should have had when we picked up the car. Apparently, this was part of the deal. Wife not too worried about the gearstick or handbrake now, but will ask next time she is passing the dealership.

Cheers,

AJ

 

Hi AJ,

We are going for the petrol version as with our ave. mileage at about 6k p.a. we cannot justify the extra for the diesel.

Great news about the boot mat. I must say that the car we looked around at our local dealer had this and the salesman said that it was part of the deal. So it looks as though they swapped out the gearstick and handbrake for the boot mat and exhaust trim. That's not too bad and those are probably more attractive and practical than the original brochure spec.

I'm going to cantact my dealer soon to see when I can collect the car.

All the best
Rob