2006 Mazda 5 Touring from North America - Comments

It's brand new, so not much. There were a lot of transportation dings that the dealer buffed out, an alignment or tire balance issue that the dealer took care of right away, and when I test drove it, someone had left the lights on and the battery was dead. No big deal.

I love the car so far. The color is stellar greensilver, probably not everyone's cup of tea, but my wife and I really like it. We got a 5 speed, not the auto, and it's plenty peppy. I won't beat a WRX in a drag race, but, well, I'm a compact minivan owner, I probably wouldn't have even tried. (Heh.) I'm easily able to get to 75+ for freeway cruising, and the shifter/clutch combination is really pleasing. It's firm enough to not have that floaty minivan feeling, but it absorbs bumps surprisingly well. I live on a dirt road, admittedly just a short block away from pavement, but that was a factor. I won't be going on safari anyway, it's great for what I need it for. I look forward to seeing how it handles the snow; my last car was also front wheel drive and did just fine as long as you paid reasonable attention to the car and the road, I don't have any reason to believe that I'll have any problems with the Mazda.

The car is very quiet, you can hear enough of the great little engine to enjoy it, but it's not intrusive. Not a Lexus by any means, but it's great. The brakes are fine, and the power steering is perfect for me, it's speed sensative so it's easy and light in a parking lot, but much more live and communicative at freeway speeds.

The car's brand new, but we've already used it for shopping trips, hauling the kid around, etc.. I wouldn't plan on taking 6 adults on a long trip, the rear seat is pretty tight for legroom, but for us, it's either in-a-pinch seating or cargo space. The footwells in the front get narrower at the outside edge of the car, most "cab forward" type designs I've tested had this, though, and I didn't have a problem with it either driving or as a passenger.

The controls are great and very cool and techno looking, and my first impressions of the stereo are that it's fine. Not inspiring, but much better than in my Ford Taurus.

The Mazda5 comes with single zone automatic climate control, it's easy to use and seems to work great; I'll know more after the winter and after a bit of real summer driving, mild fall weather doesn't exactly put it to the test.

The one disappointment so far is that the manual specifically "does not recommend" towing of any sort. I'd like to do some light towing, branches to the dump and stuff like that, and hitches are available. I don't know if I'll do it so early into the warranty, but it's tempting. I'll research on the internet to find out more about the issue, I haven't found anything definitive, but I do know that people are hauling bikes and single motorcycles and things like that already. I didn't buy it to haul a boat or anything, but it's disappointing and makes you wonder what part of the car is so weak that it just can't handle even the slightest load?

Regarding the towing capabilities of the Mazda 5. This also is a concern for me so I asked a dealer (in Canada) and he checked with their mechanics. They suggested that I could tow up to 2000 pounds (about 800kg) as long as the hitch weight was under 300 pounds. I checked with a local Trailer Hitch shop and they had a listing for a Mazda 5 type 1 hitch (up to 2000 pounds capacity) that they could install for $229(around $200USD). They didn't say something like "towing will void your warranty" so I believe it won't be a problem.

I too was rather put off by the "towing not recommended" comment that I've seen in some Mazda 5 reviews because I was hoping to get rid of my old 1/2 ton truck that I use for yard maintenance and such.

What is especially frustrating is that the Mazda 5 dealer brochure in the UK suggests towing of up to 1320 lbs without trailer brakes and 3080 lbs with brakes (with the diesel engine). Perhaps that is the criteria--engine power. I'm planning to get the Mazda 5 with manual transmission and install the hitch from the local shop. My trailer is only 4 foot by 5 foot and I'll limit the trailer weight to around 700 pounds. The tongue weight will only be about 70 pounds. I can't see that being a problem.

The writer mentioned that the Mazda 5 he bought did not start when he first test drove it; he suspected that someone had left the lights on. Maybe so, but maybe not. I bought a Mazda 5 in mid-December after about two months of shopping. I test drove five Mazda 5s at four dealerships over that time period; I drove one of the cars twice, about a month apart. ALL, but ONE of the cars had to be jump started after the salesperson was unable to get them to turn over. At the time, Mazda had a deal going on 2006 Mazda 5s so as to move the inventory. I think that the cars needed to be jumped because NO ONE ELSE was test driving them, they were just sitting on the lot. In one case, the salesperson did not fully charge the car. When I then drove that car – which has electric assist power steering – the power steering suddenly failed when I slowed to make a turn. All of a sudden it was like the car had manual steering. I figure that the cars just sat there largely because the Mazda 3s and 6s (and others) were getting all the attention from the customers.

I have had a 5 now for about 6 months and I love it. About the towing issues, I asked the mechanic where I purchased mine (i live in canada, he said he tows two dirt bikes with his mazda3, and that is with the smaller engine, and he had no problem, so he said that we should be good up to 1000lbs with no problem. But it would be nice not to void the warranty.

If anyone is going to do any towing, it would be wise to install an auxiliary automatic transmission fluid cooler. For manual gearboxes, a heavier oil would be wise.

Actually, the Mazda 3 and the Mazda 5 have the same 2.3 litre engine. Same horsepower and torque.

I had my Mazda 5 for one week so far, so far not too bad. Just have one issue and that is you cannot drive the vehicle with the rear windows down over 60km as you will get a extreme vibration noise that would pop the ear drums. Has anyone else experienced this? Dealer said it is normal. Not to me!

I'm the original reviewer, and my electrical problems have not returned, it really was just a glitch at the test drive. Outside a single piece of broken trim that our toddler kicked off, we haven't had any problems at all. (And they replaced it for free.) I'm coming up on 20,000 miles, and I couldn't be much happier with the car. My little complaints - any car has them - are that the A/C and heating could be a little stronger, especially A/C, the stereo's just a little weak for me, I can say I'm glad I didn't get the DVD because it would have killed my rearward vision, and I can say I've had it loaded enough that I could have used a bit more power from time to time. Our Dodge pickup we bought 6 months later has been at the dealership over 8 weeks for repairs; we half-joke about just trading it off for a second Mazda5.

I have had my Mazda 5 for almost a year. I have had only one problem and that was the rear suspension on it had to get it fixed. I was wondering I am heading across America lol not really that far but it is from Wyoming to Michigan. I need to know if there is like a towing system that can be put on the car. I have not looked under it yet. But I know like at walmart you can buy the extender and ball thing. I just want to haul one of those really small uhaul trailers to take a few of the kids stuff back with me? If anyone knows please let me know.

I would not use the car for towing. The big 4 cylinder has only enough power for the car, Just enough. If you tow with this car it will become a dog.

I'm the original reviewer again. Never dealt with the towing issue, although I found plenty of Mazda5 owners doing utility towing without any problem. If you were hauling a motor home, you bought the wrong vehicle anyway.

I totalled the car on Wednesday. I spun and rolled and flipped the car at 75mph when a deer ran in front of me, I ended up upside down and backward in the median. The car's not in good shape, pretty grim as you'd expect. But I walked away from it with a couple minor scratches and a bruise where one of the smaller airbags went off just as you'd expect. I couldn't be happier with how the car protected me. I'm glad I was the only one in the car, but after seeing it again yesterday at the wrecking yard to reclaim some belongings, the entire passenger compartment looked very good, it's a tough little car.

We're most likely replacing it with another Mazda5 once we work out the insurance stuff, there's not really anything like it to comparison shop with. You can get something that hauls more and you can get something that gets better MPG, but it was a pretty great combination of everything. I won't be able to get a manual transmission AND a sunroof again, they changed the equipment combinations, but I'll live. Literally.