2012 MAZDA MAZDA5 GRAND TOURING

[رانيا 2]

By Mark Elias Thursday, May 5th, 2011 @ 11:45 a.m.
Looking both forward and backward at the same time, the freshly-unveiled 2012 Mazda Mazda5 is a conundrum of sorts. As mini a minivan as you’ll find, it has found a niche with buyers across the globe.

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The Mazda5 is one of the last vehicles to sport the firm’s Nagare design language. But that doesn’t mean the vehicle is not fresh. Pull back the sliding door and hop in as we spend a week with this sporty people hauler.

What is it?
A six-passenger vehicle: Is it a crossover? A van? A minivan? Or all of the above? We say yes.

The first re-do of a vehicle that hit market in 2005 as a 2006 model, the latest Mazda5 combines everything the zoom-zoom brand knows about people hauling with its sporty intentions. The product designers at Mazda seem to have plucked the best of all possible ideas and come up with a right-sized urban vehicle that does well in the outskirts, too.

What’s it up against?
Players in this segment really run the gamut since the Mazda5 isn’t your average minivan/wagon/thing.

Consider more compact three-row ‘utes like the Toyota RAV4 and the Chevrolet Traverse, as well as traditional vans like the Dodge Grand Caravan and Honda Odyssey, but don’t count out the upcoming Ford C-Max. Like the Mazda5, the C-Max rides on a small car platform (think Mazda3/Ford Focus) developed when Ford still owned a hefty share in Mazda.

Interestingly, Mazda says it is excited about the C-Max’s arrival in North America since it will help grow interest in the segment.

Any breakthroughs?
How about sportiness in a minivan? But a sporting nature is not what you would typically find in this segment. What about being the only vehicle in the segment to offer a six-speed manual transmission? (A minivan with a manny-tranny?)

Mazda’s latest MZR 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine is here with five more ponies than the outgoing 2.3-liter version that previously occupied this space. That, coupled with the brand’s Active Adaptive Shift function, allows for a sporty ride when aggressively pedaling the ‘5.

How does it look?
Borrowing from nature and the look of rippling water, the Nagare design lingo causes like ripples to be seen on what would otherwise appear to be slab sides. Sketched in Hiroshima, Japan, (with input from Mazda Design in Irvine, California) it’s a nice look that may take a while to grow on certain viewers – at least in terms of its detailing.

The rippling, or as some have called flame effect goes a way to cleaning up the aerodynamics around the ‘5’s A-pillars. We wonder though, how repairable the side panels will be while at the body shop following a shunt. Along the lower skirts are ground-effect style panels which help to give an extra sportiness to a vehicle that we think would look rather awkward without.

Between the Mazda-trademark five-point grille and the rather expressive headlamps, the Mazda5, like many of its corporate siblings, appears to wear a Cheshire cat grin. The playfulness goes a long way towards reducing the stigma of being in a people-mover. Unlike the cat from Alice in Wonderland, this one won’t get you in trouble.

Such playfulness makes the brand one of the less-conservative offerings from the Pacific Rim. That’s a good thing.

And on the inside?
Our week-long test vehicle featured Mazda’s typical mid-to-top-shelf materials used in a two–tone interior. This one is laid out in beige leather with contrasting piping, and charcoal-black soft-touch material on the doors and dashboard. Driver-oriented, the dashboard gauge array lights up in the now familiar Mazda red. Situated directly in front is the gauge binnacle, which sets off the wrap-around feel for the driver. It is filled with a tachometer and speedometer along with temperature, fuel and mileage displays. The centerstack is topped by an eye-level display that updates the driver with climate, vehicle and audio settings from the Bluetooth-equipped, Sirius-capable AM-FM-CD-MP3 sound system.

There is no audio or navigation display built into the center stack. Mazda officials did not feel the take rate on such a system would warrant designing it into the console of the ‘5, a decision that might bother a handful of would-be buyers.

Highly adaptable, the Mazda5 offers cubbyholes and storage areas galore throughout the interior, including bins under the second row captain’s chairs. There are more than 16 different ways to configure the seating arrangements, so you can accommodate a wide range of ways to make people and things all fit inside. Easy access sliding doors and a wide pass-through to the third row of seats helps to prevent the dreaded “I don’t want to sit in the back,” routine that plays itself out nearly every day in carpool situations everywhere.

Capacities for the interior are 5.58 cubic feet with all rows of seats in the up position. They climb to 27.5 cubic feet with the third row seats folded, and further still to 55.44 cubic feet with the middle and third row seats in their stowed positions.

But does it go?
Power for the front-driving Mazda5 comes from the aforementioned MZR 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder, variable valve-timing engine that replaces the 2.3-liter engine from the last-gen vehicle. This one churns out 157 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, and adds 163 lb-ft. of twist to the equation. It’s not earth blistering to be certain, but it does provide ample motivation to get this people-mover, er, moving.

Our four-banger was mated to a five-speed automatic transmission with gated manu-matic functions. The Mazda Active Adaptive Shift system is on hand to blip the gas for part-throttle downshifts while in the turns. Any more, and with all the redundant buttons on the steering wheel, we think it’s time for paddle shift levers up there, too. By the way, our 3,457-lbs. little darling gets EPA numbers of 21/28 – not really all that impressive considering that a properly-optioned Honda Odyssey can match that 28 mpg highway figure with way more power and space.

The monocoque body transfers power to the road by a pair of MacPherson struts in front, and independent multi-link system in the rear. Twin-tube shock absorbers at both ends equalize the equation and receive their steering input via an electro-hydraulic power-assisted rack and pinion setup. Our Grand Touring model was outfitted with seventeen-inch alloys shod with Toyo Proxes A18 all-weather tires.

Driving the Mazda5 proved a surprisingly exhilarating experience that actually saw us tossing the six-seater sprite into turns that allowed us to cut apexes with ease. We still think the steering input, and ride firmness are softer than the previous version, but that comes with the territory. Really, are you supposed to be able to toss a people mover into the turns? It works for us. Most likely it will work for you, too.

On average surfaces, the interior isolated road thrum to manageable levels. When we wanted to move, either by causing an automatic downshift in gears by stomping on the skinny pedal, or by auto-sticking it with the shift level, the mighty four cylinder let you know that it was doing its stuff by way of the high-pitch wail of bumble bees coming from under the hood. We say the only thing missing was one of those coffee-can sized mufflers sticking out of the rear bumper.

Why you would buy it:
You have been relegated to the realm of the minivan, so you might as well have some fun

Why you wouldn’t:
The apple of your eye is the Acura TSX Sport Wagon.

Leftlane’s bottom line
Though people movers are not supposed to be fun, Mazda never got the memo. Instead, the zoom-zoom brand continues to offer a little Euro-style sophistication in this hopped up Mazda3-like hauler.

Priced reasonably at less than 25-large, it could be a great entry point for many customers into the brand.

2012 Mazda Mazda5 Grand Touring base price, $23,875. As tested, $24,720.
Rear bumper guard, $50; Destination, $795.