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 On the upside, the 2011 lowers the taillights and eliminates the clear-lens-over-chrome style, which is outdated at best.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

    Design: inheriting the Mazda 3's established identity while making it more expressive
    The design concept for the new Mazda 3 was "remaining faithful to an inherited identity while evolving the design to make it more expressive." While retaining some of the original model' ...

    Fuel Requirements
    * U.S. federal law requires that octane ratings be posted on gasoline station pumps. Vehicles with catalytic converters or oxygen sensors must use ONLY UNLEADED FUEL, which will reduce exhaust ...

    Under the Hood
    Tribute buyers get the choice of two engines, a 153-horsepower, 2.3-liter four-cylinder or a 200-hp, 3.0-liter V-6. The base Tribute comes with a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed automati ...