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 On the upside, the 2011 lowers the taillights and eliminates the clear-lens-over-chrome style, which is outdated at best.

    See also:

    CX-7 in the Market
    Rants aside, the CX-7 represents a lot of performance for the money, and thanks to some clever features and a workable starting price, it's not a pragmatic embarrassment, either. Does that make it ...

    Going & Stopping
    All Mazda5s have a 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 153 horsepower and 148 pounds-feet of torque. It's a smooth-revving unit that's strong enough for its purposes, but it doesn't have a w ...

    The Drive
    The Mazda5's 2.3-liter four-cylinder has to rev pretty high to get the car moving quickly. Our car had the optional five-speed automatic transmission, which adds $1,440. The five-speed manual migh ...