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 On the upside, the 2011 lowers the taillights and eliminates the clear-lens-over-chrome style, which is outdated at best.

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    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 ...

    Meters and Gauges
    1 Speedometer. 2 Odometer, Trip Meter, Average Fuel Economy Display, Outside Temperature Display and Selector. 3 Tachometer. 4 Engine Coolant Temperature Gauge. 5 Fuel Gauge. 6 Dashboard Illu ...

    LATCH Child-Restraint Systems
    Your Mazda is equipped with LATCH lower anchors for attachment of specially designed LATCH child-restraint systems in the rear seats. Both anchors must be used, otherwise the seat will bounce ar ...