We have a limited number of reviews for the 2014 5, so we've included reviews for other years of the 5 since its last redesign.
Mini Minivan Impulse
presappl, 09/18/2013
updated 09/02/2016
2012 Mazda 5 Sport 4dr Minivan (2.5L 4cyl 5A)
14 of 18 people found this review helpful
We were planning to buy the CX-7 when we saw the Mazda 5. While my husband test drove the car, one of my daughter's and I sat in the very back seats and raised our hands like we were on a roller coaster ride -- we had too much fun on the test drive! It is a cute (love the smiling face), fun car, and I love to tell people about our mini minivan's features. The low car height makes it easier for my daughter with disabilities to get in and out. The sliding doors have been very good and helpful in many situations. However, I do wish we had purchased the CX-7 for the height, size, and space. One thing I really appreciate about this car is its performance on inclines. The car is good to go up hills and plateaus, and does not seem to be taxed much at all. Only once in a while, when really taxed, does one have to really accelerate to get the car to maintain a constant speed on a hill. And while you can raise the driver's seat to make it higher, it is just lacking the SUV feel/height which I miss very much. And even though the transmission seems to do fine going up hills, often on regular roads, the car feels like it needs help shifting into the correct gear. Sometimes I will use the manual shift for a little while and then switch back - sometimes it is better, sometimes it is not. At approximately 50,000, the car needs a second set of brakes, a second set of tires, and a new serpentine belt. The man at the shop said that Mazdas are notorious for going through brakes and tires. The car seems to be lower and longer than expected which makes it harder for me to park and has resulted in more scrapes to the front bumper. In addition, it is hard to see around parts of the car to actually see out the windows. The placement of some of the corners seems strange. One has to look several different ways to make sure an area is truly clear. And cosmetically, I have been unable to clean spills on the upholstery. All of the seats have splotches where something has been spilled and "cleaned". RIGHT after we bought the car, I had to have the driver's seat adjusted as the mechanism by which it scoots front and back (close and far from the steering wheel) was not catching and holding properly. This has now happened to one of the back seats, too. And while trying to work with that chair, the top part of the seat folded down, but the seatbelt attachment/lock beside the seat did not (very common) and the seatbelt attachment broke into many pieces.
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- Reliability
Almost Perfect
oakwind, 05/30/2013
2012 Mazda 5 Sport 4dr Minivan (2.5L 4cyl 5A)
9 of 11 people found this review helpful
I bought my 2012 Mazda 5 in February of 2013 with 10 miles on the odometer. Upgrading from a '96 Corolla with 166K and 27/34 mpg. I got all the room extra I wanted and more but was disappointed in the mpg (24mpg). I am more of an SUV kind of person rather than a "mini-van". It's size and body style is more inline with the Rav4 & CRV that I looked at with a better price and mpg than they offered. I wished the milage was better and there was a bigger covered center console. I could have gotten this with new Mazda CX-5, but the bench seat didn't fold FLAT and the front 'racing" seats were hard & uncomfortable. Every time I drive ZoomZoom, I find something else about it I like
2014 Mazda 5 for sale near you
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- Touring Passenger MinivanMSRP: $12,998390 mi away
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Great cheap hauler
chris_columbia, 12/18/2020
updated 06/22/2021
2014 Mazda 5 Sport 4dr Minivan (2.5L 4cyl 6M)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I bought this new in late 2014. Had it now 6 years and 70k miles. Price was great and it's really a lot of car for the money. Plus, I was able to get a manual. I didn't like the way the shifter felt when new. Too much effort to move and it's plastic, so I added a new aftermarket leather shift knob which was taller, and that made it go from poor to perfect. Also got a factory leather steering wheel from the grand touring and installed myself(Sport model is the only option for the manual trans). After a few years, I also got some after market touch screen head unit from China for about $300. Looks completely factory. With it, was able to have a backup camera and dvd player in center consul. Rear visibility wasn't great before the camera, but this is an issue on all modern cars. Two negatives: 1. Wish I could get my hands on the center row middle seat that is available in Europe and Japan. 2. Tire noise and wear are higher than any other car I know of. The wear isn't a big deal, as 16" tires are only about $100 each for good ones, but the noise gets old. I have had no repair issues, ever. So far, just tires and oil changes. I'm not having paint or rust issues that I see in other reviews, but I live in MD, so only see snow a few times per year. Update: Jun21, 2021 77K miles: No new issues. I did buy adjustable rear control arms to adjust factory chamber from -2.0 degrees to -0.1 degrees and install new rear tires. I can't notice a handling difference but everybody reports that this resolves the rear tire wear issue. So far so good. The after-market cast steel arms were only $28 each.
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Excellent minivan
jastin, 05/20/2012
2012 Mazda 5 Sport 4dr Minivan (2.5L 4cyl 5A)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
Have been driving the mazda 5 for 4 months and absolutely love it. Drive is awesome, little road noise (probably from OEM tire), handle wonderfully. Plenty of space for 4 adults and 2 children as we experienced (the two children rode in the bag seats, plenty of space for them there). A must buy if you want a nice minivan for a fair price, even my wife can stop raving about it.
Perfect for us
Tamy Lemke, 03/31/2017
2012 Mazda 5 Grand Touring 4dr Minivan (2.5L 4cyl 5A)
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
This mini-minivan is the perfect car for me! I had a full size minivan and this is so much easier to handle and still seats 6 people, so I can haul my kids and their friends. The gas mileage is wonderful compared to the full size minivan. I have only had the car for 3 weeks, but so far I am really enjoying it.
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- Comfort