Mazda 5 is very good but not perfect, has drawbacks
It's classified as a wagon, but I bought it as a starter minivan. It's smaller with a smaller engine and cargo capacity than most minivan. The price vs. performance is "good enough," IMO. It is not a gutless compact, feels like a mid-grade sedan that you rented, although I don't floor it. Not much space for cargo if you need the 3rd row for seating. You're either carrying people or stuff, but not a lot of both. Not great for a family of 6 to go camping unless you have a car-top carrier or other cargo extension. Regardless, I still think it's a great car. The chairs are much more comfortable than expected for the size of the car. The arm rests on the captains chairs are very natural, and we miss them if we rent a different car. The rear ventilation is not ideal, center console blows only cold air and that seems to be the only rear AC for rear 2 rows. My rear air vents don't blow any heat, but I don't know if that's just my car or how it's designed. I got the car up to 150k miles almost, and was told to do a tranny flush. I'm not sure yet if that means I'm better off trading it in or not. Mine has an automatic transmission, so that could be a car-totaling experience. I suggest taking the car to a tranny shop for review if you are buying it over 100k miles. I dropped my debit card and cell phone b/t the center console many times on both front driver and passenger sides, recovery was easier than in a Jeep. Noise level on highway driving is also mid-tier or possibly better than average. If I had to decide again whether or not to buy this at 98k miles in 2019 -- I might buy a Honda if I had 2x the cash to blow -- but this one has been a great car for half the cost. If possible, I might update this review if I get another 50k out of the one that I own.
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