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 On the upside, the 2011 lowers the taillights and eliminates the clear-lens-over-chrome style, which is outdated at best.

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    Mirrors
    Outside Mirrors Check the mirror angles before driving. Mirror type Flat type (driver's side). Flat surface mirror. Convex type (front passenger side). The mirror has single curvature on its su ...

    Cruise Control
    With cruise control, you can set and automatically maintain any speed of more than about 32 km/h (20 mph). WARNING: Do not use the cruise control under the following conditions: Using the cruise ...

    Rocking the Vehicle
    WARNING. Do not spin the wheels at more than 56 km/h (35 mph), and do not allow anyone to stand behind a wheel when pushing the vehicle: When the vehicle is stuck, spinning the wheels at high sp ...