The Mazda5 wears low profile tires. When I bought my car I was naive and thought I could just change them out for full size tires. Nope. That?s how the car is built. Because of the low to ground factor it scrapes on things normal cars would just roll over. I once got completely stuck in a tiny bit of mud and had to be pulled out. It was quite embarrassing. This also means it handles poorly in snow. Maybe different tires would make this a bit better. The cabin is noisy. It quite literally sounds like there?s nothing between you and the engine. This is perhaps one of my biggest pet peeves about the car. There is a third row. So the Mazda5 does technically seat 6. However, the third row will not comfortably fit any one over five feet tall or with average length legs. The air conditioning and heat take awhile to reach all the way back there. So it?s really not ideal for full time usage. Also, when you have the third row up your trunk area is almost nil. So imagine trying to fit a family of six and Christmas presents from three sets of people in there? Yeah, it?s not pleasant. The gas mileage on the Mazda5 is decent for the size of it. It doesn?t have a large tank, so that?s unfortunate. I don?t have specific numbers but currently it?s around $35.00 to fill from around ¼ tank. My daughter was driving about half an hour one way to work, three days a week and one hour once a week to dance class and this took most of the tank. The Mazda5 uses the computerized key fob with the jack knife style key. These cost roughly $300 to replace. My car only came with one. So I always freak out about people losing or breaking the key. I like the jack knife style, but I don?t like the price tag on the computer fob. So, you may be asking what do I like? I don?t actually hate everything about this car. I like the side sliding doors, those are nice. My particular Mazda5 came with a DVD player and wireless headphones, so that is great for trips. It also has a six CD changer, which I personally appreciate very very much. I like the seat adjustments, the lumbar support is probably my favorite. There are lots of cup holders, if you?ve ever had a car where there wasn?t enough you can understand why this makes me happy. There?s one for each seat, one in each front door and an extra one in the middle of the 2nd row. SO MANY CUPS!! So there?s my short and to the point review. Don?t buy the Mazda5 if you need all six seats every day. Don?t buy a Mazda5 if you like to drive through mud. Do buy it if you value cup holders!
