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 On the upside, the 2011 lowers the taillights and eliminates the clear-lens-over-chrome style, which is outdated at best.

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    Jump-Starting
    Jump-starting is dangerous if done incorrectly. So follow the procedure carefully. If you feel unsure about jump-starting, we strongly recommend that you have a competent service technician do t ...

    Cabin Quality
    Some may find the CX-7's interior styling a bit too heavy-handed, but overall quality is good, and there's more utility than you might imagine on first glance. The dashboard plastic is hard to the ...

    Accessory Sockets
    Only use genuine Mazda accessories or the equivalent requiring no greater than 120 W (DC 12 V, 10 A). Front The ignition switch must be in the ACC or ON position. With Advanced Key To use, pr ...