Mazda 5
Submitted by "Cookie the Dog's Owner"
During the last football season, Peyton Manning appeared in a series of "Priceless Pep Talk" commercials for a major credit card company. In one of them, he attempts to console a viewer who is "bummed" about driving a minivan. "Is it at least like a sport-turbocharged minivan or something?" he asks plaintively, before recommending "flames" or a "cool decal" as a cure for the minivan blues.
If Peyton had been pitching Mazdas instead of credit cards, he might have recommended a Mazda 5 instead. The Mazda 5 looks more or less like every other minivan, but when you park it next to the likes of an Honda Odyssey or Dodge Grand Caravan, you notice that it's a lot smaller. Mazda calls it a "small crossover," though it lacks all-wheel drive.
It's a Mazda, so of course the build quality is excellent, and it's as reliable as modern engineering can make it. It has a decent sound system and power windows and all the other little electromechanical conveniences you expect in a modern vehicle.
The Mazda 5 is also immensely practical. The sliding rear doors allow easy access. The second- and third-row seats fold flat to create a large cargo area when one is needed. The second-row bucket seats are comfortable even for large adults. The third-row "hobbit seats" are suitable for occupants in the twelve-and-under demographic on long trips; for adults, only on short hops. In its normal configuration, with the third row folded down, the Mazda 5 can carry a couple weeks' worth of groceries, or two or three Boy Scouts' worth of camping gear.
In other words, it's a minivan. Basic transportation. But while it isn't quite turbocharged, the Mazda 5 is a cure for the minivan blues. 
The Mazda 5 is built on a slightly stretched (by about five inches) Mazda 3 platform. It uses the same DOHC 2.3L inline four-cylinder engine. It has the same base suspension as its more conventional cousin, the same disc brakes, the same steering gear. It is available with either a 5-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed shiftable slushbox.
The Mazda 3 is one of the more lively and entertaining cars in its class, and most of that entertainment value is found in the Mazda 5. Even with the automatic transmission, the acceleration is sprightly; not enough to win stoplight drag races, but more than adequate for merging into freeway traffic. Steering is precise, with excellent road feel. On a twisty back road, it can actually be driven rather aggressively--enough so that, for a while, you almost forget it's a minivan. That's what I like about it.
Since the Mazda 5 and the Mazda 3 share the same chassis architecture, it should be possible to take the performance parts from the Mazdaspeed 3, or aftermarket upgrades for the base Mazda 3, and build a Mazda 5 into the sport-turbocharged minivan of Peyton Manning's dreams.
The Mazda 5 in the picture was my wife's birthday present last summer, which explains the balloon floating above the rear hatch. She has no plans to do any performance modifications.
--Cookie the Dog's Owner
Mochi Mochi on March 18, 2008 at 01:24 PM
I think we need a new word to describe certain kinds of cars. Cars that are really great when it comes to comfort, utility, practicality, efficiency, and performance. The term sport utility vehicle has obviously been appropriated already - in my opinion by the dark side. Honda took the term Compact Recreational Vehicle and turned it into the popular CRV. Mini-Van just doesn't fit a car like the 5 - maybe something like CVX (blending CRV and CRX). It pleases me to know that there's a nice looking small van that has potential to reach beyond its original design to become a scrappy contender.
There have always been two schools of hot rodding thought. There are those cars that are thoroughbreds from the start. Then there are those that come from humble beginnings and become great in an unusual and unexpected way - overcoming some obvious limitation of their original design. Family sedans that become fire-breathing road burners. Flyspeck economy cars that are turned into bullets.
While these are extremes, there's a middle ground of cars that can be tweaked and tuned into sleepers (the old VW Rabbit for example). And in that same area there are cars that don't call attention to themselves in obvious way but are way more than one would ever think. Cars like these can be a great ride. They may burn themselves into our favor by virtue of their essential goodness, efficiency, an reliability.
But Cookie Dog - I'd sneak a few mods and performance parts into it if you can. I'd love to hear about a long term stealth performance project for your 5.
Oatworm on March 18, 2008 at 02:35 PM
There's always the other name for minivans: Multi-Purpose Vehicles. According to Wikipedia, that one is rather popular in the UK, among other places.
Frank Black on March 18, 2008 at 02:37 PM
Didn't Mazda name their old crossover thing an 'MPV' with that moniker in mind?
Steaming Pile on March 18, 2008 at 04:42 PM
@mochi - it's a station wagon. Simple as that. Back in the old days, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and music came on large black disks with grooves in them, these were the most useful family vehicles on the road. They had suspensions like trucks and big engines and room for not only your own kids but your neighbor's kids too. And all their stuff. And the dog. We used to go to the drive-in in a full-size 1970 Chevrolet wagon and we had a blast.
Those were the good old days.
Mochi Mochi on March 18, 2008 at 11:16 PM
There's an argument that says a station-wagon, an SUV, an a van are all the same thing but taking slightly different forms apportioning volume differently - they all, to one degree or another, are vehicles with some degree of utility. The other way to look at the question is that they are all different branches of a similar family of vehicles. To some degree the distinctions are functional - in another way they are semantic - and then there are also semiotic differences.
As far as I'm concerned there are associations we have all come to accept regarding the mini-van. I think the 5 is a carving out new territory and changing the expectations that surround the concept of mini-van. As such, perhaps it deserves a new name. Cookie the Dog's Owner has clearly laid out a description of the 5 that beats all the expectations associated with a mini-van. If there's a question about the level of emmotion associated with the mini-van all we need to do is look at the 90+ comments (and controversy) that surrounded Chris's posting on the Honda Odyssey.
I love a good station-wagon. I love vinyl records. But I also know when I see a station-wagon, a mini-van, a truck, and an SUV. They are all different in important ways. I think Honda and Mazda are redefining what the experience of a mini-van can be. To me that just sounds good. You can have a great car that performs and all the utility of a small van.
Cookie the Dog's Owner on March 19, 2008 at 06:18 AM
My wife calls it a "wanabee minivan."
(BTW, thanks for publishing me, Chris!)
Coleman on April 01, 2008 at 01:08 PM
It's a bit like a van and a bit like a wagon. I'm tempted to call it a vanagon, but didn't VW already make a car with that name? The Mazda 5 seems to be in a class by itself in North America, but here in Europe there are several similar cars, the most popular of which are the Renault Scenic, the Opel Zafira and the Toyota Verso. The Mazda only seems van-like because it has sliding rear doors. It's Euro competitors all have regular swing-open doors, so they seem more like tall station wagons. The Renault is particularly nice, with a lot of glass and great visibility (hence the name).
rocker on April 06, 2008 at 01:21 AM
We had one as a rental from Enterprise last weekend. A little gutless with the auto trans under acceleration, but 27 mpg and stored a lot of stuff with the third row seats down.
MeeNYC on June 16, 2008 at 08:16 PM
What ever it is, I don't care. I have 2007 model for just pass a year now and we love it! It is a tiny-minivan that fits my small family perfectly (2 + 2 toddlers) with occational need of roof top cargo box (yes, I have a roof rack.) Its cargo volumn is amazing. Diving is great as well.
Dawn on July 13, 2011 at 03:57 PM
The above interior photo is not a Mazda 5. The 5 is a six passenger vehicle and does not have a middle seat in the second row.
Mr Conehead on August 01, 2011 at 11:08 AM
Buick Road Master Station Wagon was a beast my parents and us kids loved. We drove to Ohio Sea World and back in safety and luxury. Enough room to actually play cards in the vehicle and watch the sights, sounds of the open road.....wow, how I miss that. Those days will never return, and now all we have to chose from is paper or plastic vehicles...excuse me while I vomit. I seem to be pulled towards the Mazda5, but I'll do my research first.