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Dave
Now some peeves. I don't miss true intermittent wipers like some, or the passenger armrest, but the lack of a decent roof rack does make my blood boil. I nearly broke down and got the factory racks but it seems once they are on, they are essentially on for good? And they are at a fixed distance apart, limiting what they can be paired up to. When I see the rails on the European model I'm just gobsmacked. What were they thinking in omitting them from the North American offering? Will we ever find out? On a related subject, I commend those who put a tow hitch on their 5 for either a bike rack or a light trailer, but I'm not going there. I'm certain my dealer would love to void the warranty from the reaction to my two discussions of the towing issue. And again, in Europe, the dealer will fit the hitch with Mazda's blessing. And that is why we have not parted with our elderly Subaru wagon. Its rack takes a ladder or a Christmas tree whenever duty calls. It will tow our small sailboat (under 800 lbs including trailer), and it will operate in snow with all season tires.
1. Inorder for the Odyssey to meet our wishes, we had to go for the ex-l model (to get the sunroof) and we simply can't afford it.
2. two teenagers in the family who will soon be driving had proclaimed that they will not drive a minivan to school. lolz. It is not cool. They don't mind an SUV though.
3. So we decided to get a car (in terms of size and fuel consumption) which would seat 6 persons.
Everyone is happy.
One wheel is already nicked when my daughter hit the curb.
Ouch! oh well I guess it will come sooner or later. 'Battle scars' on the car as long as they are documented I guess is ok.
Somebody mentioned in an earlier post that the rim protrudes from the tire, which makes it susceptible to being damaged.
Here is my list of gripes and also the things I like about it.
*********************
GRIPES
*********************
1) Underpowered - This vehicle is simply too heavy for the motor they've equipped it with. They need to offer it with a low-pressure turbo or something to overcome the curb weight, which leads me to my next gripe..
2) Fuel economy - I've never seen the estimated city mileage they claimed on the sticker. This thing gets about the same city mileage as my 2005 Nissan Frontier did, and it had a V-6! The actual city mileage is comparable to the Dodge Magnum, which has a 345hp V-8, and is certainly not lacking in power. Highway mileage was as advertised, somewhere in the 29-30mpg range, but V8 powered vehicles with cylinder deactivation can also achieve these types of numbers, so it seems less impressive as a result.
3) No iPod input - 'Nuff said about this already, I think everyone with a digital music player chafes at this one. I understand it will be remedied in the 2007 model, but that doesnt do me much good.
4) 4-speed automatic, 5 speed manual - Both trannys should be bumped up a gear. 5 speed auto, 6 speed manual.
5) A/C inadequate - It shuts off under hard acceleration, which isn't much good in Florida, where I live. The vents are also very small and don't keep people in the second row cool, much less the third.
6) No passenger armrest - I really don't understand this one. Its a small gripe, but I just don't get it. Why do the backseats have them but not the passenger? Its just odd.
7) Tire/Rim combo - The rims on the M5 look cool, but the way the tires fit them causes them to be easily scraped, as the rubber actually fits inset from the rim itself. You will always hit rim before tire if you come close to a curb.
8) Nanny Seatbelt alert - Dealer said they could deactivate the endless beeping that occurs if you dont put your 'belt on. Of course, the service department wouldnt do it. I don't mind a seatbelt nag, but the one in the 5 is excessive.
*********************
THINGS I LIKE
*********************
1) Appearance - Inside and out, the M5 is a good looking vehicle. Paint quality is good, panel gaps are good. Inside, the plastics used make it feel like a more expensive vehicle, and I like that (though the black carpet is hard to keep clean, and the nose could be a little more adventurous, like the 3's)
2) Utility - The interior is spacious, theres lots of headroom and with the seats folded flat you can carry a lot of stuff. With the seats up I've had no problem carrying 6 adults (on short jaunts..2 adults would not want to be in that third row for long).
3) Handling - The turning circle is nice and tight and the M5 never feels topheavy (to me), and can be driven through tight turns and corners without really slowing down, which is nice.
4) Sliding doors - work well and make ingress and egress easy, though mine have developed a bit of a rattle over time.
Overall, I know a lot of my gripes should have been dealt with before I bought it. However, my dealer lied to me and told me that an iPod could be used with the head unit, and also told me that it was a 5-speed auto (but that we never went fast enough on the test drive to get into 5th). Sure, I was dumb to believe them and have no one but myself to blame for that.
However, anyone considering this vehicle should be aware that if you're looking to save money on gas, think again. This vehicle is not at all efficient on gas in city driving. Most of my driving is city and I'm lucky if I get 250 miles out of a single tank of gas.
Additionally, if you live in a hot climate, your first trip is going to have to be to the window tinting shop, because there is no factory tint provided on any of the windows and it desperately needs it. The M5 is like a greenhouse (as are most minivans). Paired with the anemic air conditioning, you will end up sweating a lot.
At any rate, if I wanted to go slow and get crummy gas mileage, I would have just kept my pickup truck. I'm probably going to trade it in for a Magnum. At least then I'll have a reason to get bad gas mileage.
The Passenger armrest thing (lack there of) makes tones of sense. If it was there, you would not have access to the center console storage compartment. But it could have been designed differently.
Power, there is tones of, You just need to buy the Manual. Makes for a great driver. I drive very "sporty" and regularly hit the spec's for mileage. If I took it easy, I would beat the specs easily. I regularly get 450km out of 3/4 tank. A diesel option would however be great
As for the auto tranny having a 4 spd not 5, That's more your fault, You should be able to take your salesperson at face value. but you should always verify their claims, most salesperson's barely know anything about what they are selling (cars or not!)
The AC could be better, but hey what did you expect. Your already getting alot of car for $25k!!!
I don't get the seatbelt issue, just use the seatbelt and the alarm won't come on!!
There is an Ipod input (though you have to install it yourself, takes about 15 minutes)
Just my 0.02 worth
fowler3
You still only have to track one group, for example, the Mazda 5 owners group here. The difference being that once you're in the group, discussions on brakes, audio, and other topics will be separated out rather than having everything in one big pile. (along with the off topic whining )
This information is used to help them reconstruct the events that led up to a crash/accident.
David
The only major differences I could find from the Grand Touring compared to a 2006 Touring were:
- Blackened effect headlights and taillights (I personally like the light gray chrome effect better)
- Xenon headlights (with a little tilt adjusting control on the left side of the dashboard. I good say that this is finally a good use for those 4 meaningless "sockets"). I think the other use for those around are the 4WD control and electric doors (Japan)
- Leather seats. Front seats are heated. The door panels also have the espresso brown effect, yet it does not seem to be leather!
people have mentioned earlier that the 2007 now have 3yr warranty, instead of 4.
They also have a nice light Tan/beige interior option that IMHO looks better than the"carbon" interior that we get!
The Mazda Club Chat is on tonight. The chat room opens at 8:45PM ET Hope to see YOU there! Check out the schedule
Oh and I'm in Toronto where it does get vold in winter.
If you have a Mazda car starter, how good is the range? Does it have an off button?
Thanks.
the automatic version comes with a four
speed transmission and over-drive.
Am I missing something?
To me, overdrive means some sort of
torque converter so as to eliminate
slipping at cruising speed, but
my Mazda5 with auto just keeping on increase
the RPMs as the speed goes higher.
With cars with overdrives, once you hit
cruising speed and the overdrive kicks in
you notice it with a sudden drop in RPM.
Overdrive simply means that the trans output is turning faster than the engine. In the Mazda5's case, the 4th gear is an overdrive gear.
It sounds like what you may be referring to is a lock-up torque converter which nearly every car sold today has. Once the vehicle reaches a certain speed, 40-50 mph, the torque converter locks to improve efficiency.
When I bought my last car (also new)
in 1998, the torque converters were refered
to as "over-drive". For example, some of the older
rental cars I have driven have an "over-drive" switch
where the torque converter is disabled/enable.
When I accelerated my Mazda5 Auto it quickly gets to 4th
gear (as displayed), then revs up beyond 3000 but
then drops down (presumably when the torque converter
kicks in).
The torque converter has always been a means to allow variable slippage of the transmission's input shaft for getting underway, between shifts and when limited slippage will aid engine power to move the vehicle.
Yes, your TQ will slip it's way into 4th gear and then lock when the power demand is palatable for the engine. It has no relation to overdrive and never has.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thbjmDGCtOI
Thanks for sharing!
(P.S. They really should bring that MPV over here to the states - looks NICE!)
The Mazda Club Chat is on tonight. The chat room opens at 8:45PM ET Hope to see YOU there! Check out the schedule
Thanks
As far as noise goes, it's not that big of a deal compared to everything else that moves under the hood. a belt drive system is cheaper to make but car manufacturers likely sold the noise thing to public to get their buy-in.
The Mazda Club Chat is on tonight. The chat room opens at 8:45PM ET Hope to see YOU there! Check out the schedule
My main concern with the 5 is its small powerplant and whether or not its underpowered. Every editorial I've read says it is underpowered, while many people who own them say the manually equipped version is actually fairly peppy, while the auto is just okay. We would have to have an auto as my wife would be the primary driver and she absolutely refuses to drive a manual. We haven't test driven one yet, but I doubt I'd be impressed with such a small engine. For the life of me, I can't figure out why Mazda decided to go with such a small powerplant in a vehicle that weighs roughly as much as the MPV. A better choice would've been to go with the tried and true 3.0 V-6. Add VVTI and you've basically got a rocketship minivan that would get incredibly good fuel economy.
The other thing we must consider is the fact the our MPV will be paid off in 2 years and will still have relatively low miles (about 50K by then). Do we keep our PeeVee and have NO car payments, or start all over again with a new set of payments and a vehicle we possibly may not be happy with? Now if Mazda were to get smart and upgrade the engine to the 3.0 VVTI then it might be worth taking the plunge....
However, if the new set of payments doesn't hurt your budget and you're willing to have the less space in the Mazda5 to have the better handling and looks, go for the Mazda5.
What sort of MPG is the MPV getting now?
With the exception of the crunching noise I, and others, get from the suspension on below freezing temperatures when first using the car, I am completely happy and satisfied with my 5. I LOVE my car. I am also happy with the power it has, as well, and can't understand why so many reviewers say it's underpowered.
I mean, what the heck do they want this family vehicle to do? I have an '06, Touring automatic and I find it very peppy around town, and just fine on the highway. For the first time, the other day, I managed to peel out of a corner when merging onto a highway - it was so much fun and I was pleasantly surprised with my 5 (tires squealed and chirped in acceleration and the it went FAST and I immediately thought of all those naysayers who say it's underpowered and laughed them off :shades: ).
The ONLY time I have had an issue with my 5's power was when I was in a very HILLY North Carolina Mountain neighborhood with 5 other adults packed in, 4 of which were overweight (each of the 4 weighing well over 200 lbs.). Yes, the 5 struggled up those steep hills and I wondered if it was going to make it. But, it was fun! heehee That's the ONLY time it felt underpowered to me.
When I drive on the highways on long trips, I routinely drive anywhere between 80 to 85 MPH, if I'm not caring about fuel economy, and, at times, go 90 to 95, and once reached passed 100mph. It was completely effortless in my 5 and the car did not feel strained - and this was with two adults, two children and luggage packed in.
In conclusion, I think the 5's power is more than adequate and think that American car journalist have become jaded with all of the 240+hp machines that are made nowadays. There is no need for such power in most of those vehicles. Fun, yes, but not needed. The 5 has ample power and it's perfectly suited for the vehicle - and I like to drive fast.
It all depends, though, on your opinion. So, you should definitely take a test drive and find out for yourself. I like the MPV, but I like the 5 much better. Edmunds themselves said it was a better overall package than the MPV. Plus, though the MPV does look nice, I think the 5 is better looking. To this day, after having the car for 1 year and 8 months, I still stare at it and am impressed with its looks - especially when I have it washed.
(FYI, highest mileage I ever got on my 5 was on a trip to DC from NY and I made 250 miles to HALF a tank, which would mean a full tank would have been around 500 miles. It fills up anywhere between 13 and 14 gallons, so that would make the highway MPG rating at least: 35.71. I doubt the MPV gets that.)