Road Test
Mazda 5 2.0 Sport
Test date 13 September 2005
Price as tested £16,680
For Good dynamics, practical sliding doors, flexible seating
AgainstHarsh ride, some cabin plastics look low quality
There’s a fierce debate raging in the midi-MPV sector, and the core question comes down to numbers. Which is best: five, six or seven seats? Established seven-seaters - Renault Grand Scenic, Vauxhall Zaifra and Toyota Corolla Verso - square up against the original 3+3 proponent the Fiat Multipla and its latest advocate, the Honda FRV. And then there are the five-seaters: the Ford C-Max and Citroen Picasso with their traditional layouts. Rolling into this battle comes the Mazda 5, claiming to have either six or seven seats depending on your mood.
Essentially though, the Mazda is a seven-seater, following the conventional 2-3-2 format, but with a flexible system allowing the centre seat in the middle row to be partially stowed to improve cabin space. Where the 5 really evolves the species is with its use of twin sliding rears doors, giving improved access to the third row of seats, the Achilles heel in other three row designs.
While the actual aperture offered by the sliding doors isn’t significantly wider than that of a conventional door, it’s far more useable. In tight spaces the improved access gives more space to fold the middle row of seats, and then presents passengers with a far better approach angle through which to clamber into the rear. No longer is there a need to awkwardly twist your frame around the C pillar.
With the middle seats folded, a single handed process, passengers can simply walk straight in the rear seats. Furthermore, with the centre row’s foldable seventh seat tucked away (the base flips into a storage compartment under the left hand seat, while the backrest swivels to form an armrest), smaller members of your family will be able to squeeze through the gap left between the two remaining seats
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