I have owned this vehicle for almost 10 years and bought it brand new from the showroom. It has been a great vehicle for the most part but has had some major repairs in the past few months. I like that it has sliding back doors because I have kids and don't need them hitting the cars we park beside- that's one of my favorite things. I do not like that the tires are performance tires. They don't last as long as traditional tires and are expensive. Fuel economy is not too bad. The car itself has been good I just wish Mazda had more service centers in my area.

The Mazda5 is a great family vehicle. The second row captain seats fit many different types of car seats, and with latch, they install easily. These seats are also tall enough to enable even small children to easily see out the windows. Storage under the seats is perfect for tissues, first aid kit, or extra kid clothes. Fold-down third row seating provides plenty of room for daily trips to stores, soccer, or the beach while also giving Grandma a place to sit when she visits (and saving the expense of a rental car). The sliding doors make it easy to get toddlers or babies in and out of their seats without worrying about dinging the door of the vehicle next to you. The Mazda5 is also easy to drive. Unlike traditional mini-vans, it's the size of a sedan, so easy to fit in a compact parking space or squeeze through the lot at school drop-off. It even fits easily into a one-car garage. There is no feeling of floating while driving as there can be in larger vehicles.

I have three kids, twins and a baby, and we just couldn't get the car seats into my sedan any more. A mini-van wasn't in the budget, and in our urban area I was nervous about trying to park a large vehicle. The Mazda5 seats six, so plenty of room for our car seats plus a grandma or two to come along for adventures. Each seat can be adjusted separately though, so when we don't have extra passengers I can keep one of the back seats down to hold plenty of food for groceries, or a wagon, or two kid bikes. This car holds a lot, but it is so zippy! It drives like a car, great pickup when I'm getting on and off the highway, but brakes on a dime if I see a kid coming at me in the parking lot. Basically I get the gas mileage and handling of a compact car with the space of an SUV!