Mazda5

 

Could you get a Mazda 3 hatch and still live?

 

between the 2, i would go with Mazda5

i test drove one when they first came out and it was pretty nice

the 3rd row seat is pretty for for small children, but the rest of the 4 seats are ok

i can never understand why honda only put 4 seat belts on the element?

oh, and Mazda5 looks 100x better than the element as well

 

I vote for Mazda5. Car handles good considering a stationwagon. Hack, there isn't any Mazda that I've driven that doesn't handle good from the factory, including some old base model '80s 323 to '01 MPV! If "sits-6" is not required, Mazda 3 has better options and higher gas mileage, but I don't know how much of the gas mileage is contributed by weight difference and the fact that the 2 3's in our family (1 4-dr and 1 5-dr) are 5-speed and the 5 is 4-speed auto.

 

The Mazda 5 is nice, just for the sake of it though I'm going to throw the Hyundai Sonata out there for argument's sake. A friend of mine got a Santa Fe for business and loves it, and it hasn't had a single problem in 30k+ miles.

 

Sad to hear. P5's are very good cars. Maybe get a used one for really cheap

 

mazda 5

 

does the family own another vehicle? If so, does it provide you with the utility you need? If light utility is important to you, i would go with the Element. I didn't like the element at first, the styling is kinda odd, but it has grown on me. My wife and I decided to look at one when i was getting my car serviced at the dealership. I was really surprised that the interior room. The E's interior is almost as spacious as a Tahoe. Its really amazing.

IMO, take a look at at 2006 EX-P. The painted panels look better, IMO. I also like the one's with the black/gray interior. The gray/blue interior doesn't do it for me. Now, keep in mind that the Element doesn't have alot of hp, but it doesn't feel bad. I'm curious of what performance enhancements bolt-ons will provide.

 

I hear that Mazda5 is a great vehicle. I've driven the Mazda3 many times, which the 5 is based on, and I love it. The 5 looks minivanish and only has adequate power, but has many other things going for it.