Category: Compact MPV 
Price Range: £16,245 to £20,295
Stylish shape for a seven-seater, surprisingly fun to drive, roomy and cleverly designed cabin, quiet at speed, sliding rear doors.
Too many hard plastics in the cabin, centre-row middle seat decidedly occasional, seats not removable.
If you want a compact seven-seater with proper rear seats, decent looks and a fair dose of fun-to-drive, the Mazda 5 is that car.
The Mazda 5 received the full five-star rating in the EuroNCAP crash tests. It's designed to do little damage to pedestrians foolish enough to wander into its path, too, with plenty of space between bonnet and engine, a deformable scuttle panel and ribs behind the front valance to help stop legs being caught underneath. Ouch.
The traction, stability and brake-assist systems help keep you out of an accident in the first place, and automatic lights and wipers are available. Should a crash occur, front, front-side and curtain airbags cushion the blow, the brake pedal collapses under heavy pressure and a bevy of reinforcing gussets and overlapped joints stops the body from collapsing uncontrollably. All seven seats have three-point belts and the outer centre-row seats have Isofix child-seat mountings and top tethers.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Mazda Mazda5
wrote on 08 01 2007
wrote on 21 11 2006
wrote on 20 10 2006
wrote on 17 09 2006
wrote on 22 07 2006