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 On the upside, the 2011 lowers the taillights and eliminates the clear-lens-over-chrome style, which is outdated at best.

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    Door Locks
    WARNING. Always take all children and pets with you or leave a responsible person with them: Leaving a child or a pet unattended in a parked vehicle is dangerous. In hot weather, temperatures in ...

    New for 2011
    An electronic stability system is now standard on all models. Beyond that, Mazda makes mostly minor changes to option packages after the 2010 redesign. ...

    Safety
    In Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash tests, the CX-9 earned the top score, Good, in frontal and side-impact tests. It hasn't been tested for rear impacts or for roof strength, an indica ...