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 On the upside, the 2011 lowers the taillights and eliminates the clear-lens-over-chrome style, which is outdated at best.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 Inside
    Because of its preproduction status, Mazda warned that there might be some imperfect trim pieces in the cabin, but our CX-9 held up well to our scrutiny. Sport models have cloth seats, and the fir ...

    Beep Sounds
    Air Bag/Front Seat Belt Pretensioner System Warning Beep If a malfunction is detected in both the air bag/front seat belt pretensioner system and the warning light, a warning beep sound will be he ...

    Driving Impressions
    The easy-to-drive Mazda3 handles more adeptly than most rivals. The automatic transmission delivers quick, smooth responses. Performance with the larger engine falls short of some sporty compacts, ...