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 On the upside, the 2011 lowers the taillights and eliminates the clear-lens-over-chrome style, which is outdated at best.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

    Immobilizer System (with Advanced Key)
    The immobilizer system allows the engine to start only with an advanced key the system recognizes. If someone attempts to start the engine with an unrecognized advanced key, the engine will not s ...

    A More Exciting Engine Sound
    All Mazda MX-5 facelift versions offer a sportier engine sound. Mazda engineers restructured the sound-creating elements of the facelift model - like the surge tank, the intake ducts and the exhau ...

    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 ...