Not only can the Mazda5 comfortably carry four adults and two kids, but it can also haul the Christmas gifts of my spoiled son and daughter back home, too. The rear hatch opens a little higher than before, which is good, and its lightness is easy for the ladies to grab and close. I still don’t know where to put all their stuff in the house, but at least I didn’t need to leave any behind.
The 5 also gets a redesigned instrument panel and steering wheel that look a lot like the ones found in the Mazda3. Gone is the silver-painted centre stack, while the intuitive climate control rotary dials remain. My girlfriend likes the new design a lot better than the old one, and so do I, but we find the A-pillars are still a little too fat.
The CD player finally gains MP3 file playback, but Mazda is still trailing the competition by failing to offer a USB port while everyone else is now integrating one in their sound systems. Our GT tester does have Bluetooth audio streaming, though, which wirelessly reads the music stored in my Blackberry. I still prefer just plugging in a USB key.
In addition, the rear speakers are located in the cargo area, which were muffled by all the stuff that was piled up back there during the trip. My kids were complaining that the music wasn’t loud enough in the back seats. Oh well.
Base price for the 2012 Mazda5 GS is $21,795, which means for $1,300 more than the outgoing 2010 equivalent, you get standard A/C as well as traction and stability control systems, which were previously all optional. The automatic GT we’ve driven costs $25,595, before tax, freight and delivery charges. By the way, a navigation system is no longer offered.
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| Not only can the Mazda5 comfortably carry four adults and two kids, but it can also haul the Christmas gifts of my spoiled son and daughter back home, too. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |
The 5 also gets a redesigned instrument panel and steering wheel that look a lot like the ones found in the Mazda3. Gone is the silver-painted centre stack, while the intuitive climate control rotary dials remain. My girlfriend likes the new design a lot better than the old one, and so do I, but we find the A-pillars are still a little too fat.
The CD player finally gains MP3 file playback, but Mazda is still trailing the competition by failing to offer a USB port while everyone else is now integrating one in their sound systems. Our GT tester does have Bluetooth audio streaming, though, which wirelessly reads the music stored in my Blackberry. I still prefer just plugging in a USB key.
In addition, the rear speakers are located in the cargo area, which were muffled by all the stuff that was piled up back there during the trip. My kids were complaining that the music wasn’t loud enough in the back seats. Oh well.
Base price for the 2012 Mazda5 GS is $21,795, which means for $1,300 more than the outgoing 2010 equivalent, you get standard A/C as well as traction and stability control systems, which were previously all optional. The automatic GT we’ve driven costs $25,595, before tax, freight and delivery charges. By the way, a navigation system is no longer offered.
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| Mazda’s sound systems still don’t have USB port like other brands do. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |