Still deciding on what to change up to from my Civic estate.
Was looking at the M5 mpv today and liked what I saw, does anyone on the forum drive one ?.
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Hi Mal
I bought a new Mazda5 1.8 TS in September 2005. My wife and I found the car very versatile family transport. The sliding rear doors are an excellent and unique feature amongst other mid size MPV's. We test drove the Touran, C-Max, Zafira and Corolla Verso prior to choosing the Mazda5, but thought the sliding doors and low price made it the best choice.
We averaged around 31 mpg over 18 months of mainly town driving.
The first year service bill was around £120.
The light interior trim in the TS models tends to show up dirt quite readily. The Sport and TS2 are darker so don''t show the muck up as easily !
HOWEVER - after 6 months of ownership the car began to make a loud groaning noise from the front suspension when going over speed humps or bumps in the road. The car was examined on 3 seperate occasions by the main dealer before they eventually fixed it by changing the front suspension arms. It appeared to be a well known fault, but my local dealer repeatedly told me the car was fine, before eventually contacting Mazda who by this time had issued a TSB along the same lines as one that had been available in the USA for many months regarding the same issue. I took this up with Mazda UK personally but was told to refer back to my local dealer as Mazda were unable / unwilling to discuss technical issues with the owner of the car !!
The front tyres on my car were down to the legal limit after 14K miles, the rear tyres were OK however.
The front brake discs were skimmed by the main dealer at the first service (14K miles) due to vibration through the pedal when braking from fairly high speeds.
All in all my wife and I liked the car as it genuinely offered something different when compared with the likes of the C-max, Verso, Zafira etc, the ownership experience however left a lot to be desired. I was constantly amazed at the negative and unhelpful response I received from both my local main dealer and Mazda UK regarding the suspension issues and rapidly wearing front tyres. Eventually I lost all faith in the car and Mazda and so sold it after 18 months and 16K miles of ownership.
If the above issues are now resolved on current cars then I would still recommend the Mazda5, despite my experience with it and Mazda UK.
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this is the link to the US recall concerning suspension noise:
www.tiny.cc/5Unbd
I also posted on here numerous times regarding my experiences with the Mazda:
www.tiny.cc/HMNTK
The readers reviews on Whatcar also make quite interesting reading:
www.tiny.cc/mNWki
Also this American website provided a lot of useful info regarding issues with the Mazda5:
www.tiny.cc/qpqFw
Still miles better than a Zafira though !!
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Thanks for that I have now decided against the Mazda 5.
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For that size of MPV I'd say it was between the Toyota Verso and the Ford C-Max. The Verso will probably hold its value better than the C-Max.
The Ford is said to be the better driver's car, but (based only on test drives but quite long ones, out on my own) I don't think there's much in it, at least not if you go for the diesel.
The Verso's back row of seats is fit only for children, but the seats all fold into the floor, leaving a high but flat platform. The C-Max has only 5 seats (as there is the S-Max if you need seven) and the rear seats only fold forwards, not into the floor.
The VW Touran is another possibility but it's big and van-like and TVM on this forum has had a lot of grief from his.
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I drove the Corolla Verso and would agree it is a good 7 seat mid size MPV. I found the 1.8 petrol a bit gutless, and would have opted for the 2.0 D4D if we had not bought the Mazda5. Given the poor performance from the 1.8 petrol I didn't bother trying the less powerful 1.6.
From memory I seem to recall that the build quality in the Verso was hugely better than the C-max, which I also found quite ordinary to drive.
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The other one to consider is the new Citroen C4 Picasso - 5 or 7 seat versions available.
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mal
Don't rule out the 5 just yet. We've had a 1.8TS2 since Mar06 and really like it. The suspension problem was there from a few months old right up until its first service when the dealer fixed it without fuss 5000 miles ago and since then not a squeak - just a shame Mazda have dented their reputation for reliability with such a basic fault. Otherwise, the car has been faultless although I'd agree front tyre wear is heavy. As mentioned above, steer clear of the TS with its light interior - the TS2 interior is black and is wearing well. The sliding doors are fantastic in car parks with kids and makes it much easier to put them into car seats without breaking your back. Its very nice to drive, looks great, good engine and 7 seats when you need them. Worth sticking it back on your list.
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FRV: Looked at a couple earlier this year when I was looking to do a similar change. Nice cars, I feel they are too expensive though. I also thought long and hard about the day to day practicalities of the 3+3 set up. With two children I anticipated weekly arguments about who was going in the front and back seats. Eventually decided it wasn't for us and our needs.
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