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 On the upside, the 2011 lowers the taillights and eliminates the clear-lens-over-chrome style, which is outdated at best.

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    Engine Coolant
    Inspecting Coolant Level WARNING: Do not use a match or live flame in the engine compartment. DO NOT ADD COOLANT WHEN THE ENGINE IS HOT: A hot engine is dangerous. If the engine has been running ...

    Improved Cabin Quietness
    For improved cabin quietness on both body styles, engineers adopted stiffer door modules for less vibration at the side of the car, reduced the level of wheel resonance and used additional soundin ...

    Superior Traction - Mazda's Active Torque-Split All-Wheel Drive
    A main contributor to the predictable handling of the Mazda CX9 is its Active Torque-Split All-Wheel Drive system that provides traction in all road situations. Based on the system used by the Maz ...