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 On the upside, the 2011 lowers the taillights and eliminates the clear-lens-over-chrome style, which is outdated at best.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

    Going & Stopping
    The new Mazda6 is available with one of two engines, and both offer capable performance for what they are. The base engine is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that produces 170 horsepower (a cleaner vers ...

    SAFETY
    Driving the Mazda2 felt a bit like driving a tin can, which doesn't instill a sense of confidence on the safety front. There aren't any crash-test ratings available yet on this car. However, it do ...