Exterior & Styling

The sliding doors say "minivan," but many see the Mazda5 as a wagon. Minivans tend not to set hearts aflutter, but there's one thing I appreciate about the 2010 Mazda5, and that's its styling. It's nothing special, but it's also not the redesigned 2011 Mazda5 that's due at dealerships early in 2011; Mazda has already released photos (click on the thumbnails to the right). The 2011 has a less restrained design, including the smiling grille most new Mazda models get, plus a new characteristic: wavelike accent lines in the bodyside sheet metal. On the upside, the 2011 lowers the taillights and eliminates the clear-lens-over-chrome style, which is outdated at best.

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    Under the Hood
    Tribute buyers get the choice of two engines, a 153-horsepower, 2.3-liter four-cylinder or a 200-hp, 3.0-liter V-6. The base Tribute comes with a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed automati ...

    Fuel Requirements
    Vehicles with catalytic converters or oxygen sensors must use ONLY UNLEADED FUEL, which will reduce exhaust emissions and keep spark plug fouling to a minimum. Your Mazda will perform best with fu ...

    Highway Driving
    On the highway is where you'll notice you're driving a small, light car, and that's not always a great thing. Right off, there was fair amount of road noise, and passengers noticed a lot of wind n ...