Exterior & Styling
If it weren't for its sliding rear doors, the Mazda5 would undoubtedly be considered a hatchback rather than a minivan. Mazda says sliding rear doors offer easier access to the second- and third-row seats, and are easy to open in tight parking spaces (not to mention less likely to ding other cars when they're thrown open by exuberant kids on a trip to the mall).
Though it retains the basic shape of a large minivan, the Mazda5 looks sporty nonetheless. It features a raked windshield; an aggressive front end that's been restyled for 2008 with a new grille, headlights and bumper; a tapered roofline; and standard 17-inch alloy wheels. There are also new taillights for 2008, but the additions don't markedly change the van's appearance (see a side-by-side comparison with the 2007 model).
See also:
Interior & Safety
Though the car is small, the two-seat configuration provides more driver
space than you might expect. A 6-foot-tall ectomorph, I fit just fine, though it
wouldn't be my first choice for a long dri ...
CX-9 in the Market
Full-size truck-based SUVs were wildly popular in the '90s, but crossover
SUVs are (for the moment) the hot segment in the car business. The 2007 model
year saw the introduction of more than 10 ne ...
Substantially reduced road and wind noise
Many improvements were made to structural rigidity and powertrain NVH
performance to provide a quieter, more pleasant ride, including the reduction of
high frequency booming noise sometimes heard ...


