Ride & Handling

The Mazda5's steering response is designed to engage the driver. A turn of the wheel delivers a quick change of direction, and there's a fair amount of feedback. The suspension is on the firm side, but it provides a tolerable ride even on the broken pavement that's prevalent near Cars.com's Chicago headquarters.

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    New for 2011
    The headlights and fog lamps get a new design, and there is a new design for the 17-inch alloy wheels. Mazda says fuel economy has improved on the "i" and "s" models. Other cha ...

    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 ...

    Operation Using Advanced Key Functions
    Keyless Entry System This system uses the more traditional key buttons to remotely lock and unlock the doors and the liftgate, and opens the power windows, and opens the power windows and the moo ...