Road Test: Mazda 5 2.0 TS2 5dr

The Mazda5 loves a party trick. Five years ago, when first launched, it used sliding doors where others had hinges. It used a ninja seating system that flipped and folded to make room for seven, in a space usually reserved for five. But tricks get nicked, and what Mazda started, others have copied. This is a busy marketplace, full of compacts and crossovers and seven-seat, slidey-door people-movers like Ford’s excellent new Grand C-Max. To keep ahead, Mazda needs to keep the 5’s edge keen. 


This, then, is the heavily updated version. It gets a fresh look, some new dash and console trim, a few mechanical updates and a new engine. But fundamentally it’s the same car, based on a Mazda3 – essentially an outgoing Ford Focus. Meanwhile, the Grand C-Max gets the new 2011 Focus platform, which we tried last month and instantly approved of.
 


But the 5 always did, and still does, drive well enough for a people-carrier. This time around, it gets a rubber steering coupling for smoother steering response, stiffer anti-roll bars plus retuned springs and dampers. It doesn’t match the C-Max dynamically, but just how hard do you want to drive with six kids on board?
 


Then there’s the new design. From the smiley family face to the wavy line etched along the doors, every panel is new. Its all part of the ‘Nagare’ design language, made famous on the Furai concept. It’s supposed to conjure up images of wind blowing over water, which worked for the Furai, but makes the 5 look a bit uncomfortable.

The 5 comes with three engines: a 1.8- or 2.0.-litre petrol, and a 1.6 diesel. The bigger petrol is the pick of the lot – it has 147bhp, direct injection and features ‘iStop’, Mazda’s start/stop system. Unlike others that use the starter motor alone, iStop combines it with the combustion process to get the engine refired – fuel is injected and ignited to generate downward piston force, which spins the engine back to life. The fuel savings may be small, but they help achieve an average consumption of 40.9mpg. 

But the selling point of the 5 has always been the interior, and nothing has changed here. Two seats pop out of the boot floor, and could house a teenager for a longish journey. The middle row has three seats, though the central one is just a jump seat that folds away when not needed. But for a car this compact, it feels large – more so than the Grand C-Max. And the sliding doors remain, as they should.



Others may be more stylish and drive a teeny bit better, but practicality rules this market, and by that measure, the Mazda5 is still top of its game.