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 On the upside, the 2011 lowers the taillights and eliminates the clear-lens-over-chrome style, which is outdated at best.

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    SeatWarmer
    The front seats are electrically heated. The ignition must be in the ON position. Press the switch to turn the seat warmer on or off. When the switch is in the ON position, the indicator light w ...

    LATCH Child-Restraint Systems
    Your Mazda is equipped with LATCH lower anchors for attachment of specially designed LATCH child-restraint systems in the rear seat. Both anchors must be used, otherwise the seat will bounce aro ...

    Exterior
    The CX-9 manages to avoid the chunkiness of many SUVs, in part because of its angular nose and carlike grille. The crossover's shoulder line rises as it heads rearward, and the sides are free of c ...