SA Road Tests

 

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.

*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left.

*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.

We drive the 2011 Mazda5 2,0 Individual

Pure Mummy Bus

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday March 16, 2011

Call it what you will - fugly, cute, interesting or "what the blazes is that?” the Mazda5 will not let you pass through life unnoticed. First, there's the big, happy smiley-face introduced on last year's Mazda3. Then you have the wave-like side creases meant to appear as if sculpted by the wind, lending a sense of motion.

This particular element can be found in previous concept vehicles and, according to Mazda, helps the 5 achieve improved aerodynamic efficiency with less drag and more optimal lift characteristics. "Ohh Kayy... " say we, totally unconvinced. If it's any consolation to non-believers, the creases are barely visible in the metal, being far more evident in photographs.  They also give the designers something to relieve the monotony of totally flat and otherwise boring surfaces.

Apart from that, the '5' boasts a new front lip spoiler, a flat engine undercover and front tyre deflectors to channel air under the vehicle efficiently, helping to reduce fuel consumption. The design of the vehicle is also optimised to improve lift balance at the front and back. These result in a drag coefficient of 0.30, one of the lowest in this segment. It also has a more rigid and stronger body with better impact absorption properties, is quieter and benefits from suspension upgrades designed to improve both cornering and straight-line stability.

There is just one version of the Mazda5. It's a seven-seat, five-door device described as a C-MAV (compact multi-activity vehicle) by Mazda, but to the rest of us it is pure Mummy Bus. It has a 2,0 litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. To cater for differing priorities and needs, three trim levels, Original, Active and Individual, spanning R36 000 are available.

Our test unit arrived in Individual trim meaning that it gains a variety of goodies, some shared with Active, that the Original does not have. These include a body-colour roof spoiler, front fog lamps, powered side doors, a trip computer, automatic air conditioner, cruise control, leather trim on the gear knob and steering wheel, a six-speaker, six-CD entertainment unit, leather upholstery with lumbar adjustment on the driver's seat, two seat-back tables and a Karakuri utility box.  A Kara-what?

You might well ask. The second row of seats is possibly the most versatile in the industry. Tipping the left seat cushion forward allows you to flip the middle seat cushion into the space below it. You can then either drop the centre seatback down for a wide and comfortable centre armrest, or you can fold out the practical Karakuri utility box, located under the right seat cushion, into the centre space. This is especially practical because it has a large top tray, two cup holders and a net below that can hold various items a family could need while driving. When the Karakuri box is in use, a 6.3ℓ storage space becomes available under the right seat cushion. When the middle seat is folded into the side seat, it leaves a passage wide enough for a small person to get to the third row. That means you do not have to first remove a child seat mounted in a second row outer seat and tip the seat forward to get into the back. Clear as mud? Just play with the combinations, they are fascinating.

The second row seats adjust backwards and forward, the backs recline up to 50 degrees and both can be folded flat provided you remove the head restraints first. Both rearmost seats deploy individually, so you can literally choose any combination between two and seven seats and plan your people carrying and load moving needs accordingly. Unlike many others, the third row seats are quite usable as well.

There is sufficient head- and knee room for taller passengers in the second row, with easy entry and exit thanks to a flat floor without sills. Loading height for the luggage area is readily accessible and the door opening is both wide at 686 mm and high (1 083 mm). With the two rearmost seats folded away, the boot is big enough for most families' needs. The spare is a steel space saver. For the chronically untidy, we counted seven stash places for odds and ends in the cabin, before eyeing cup holders and door bins.

As far as safety kit goes, the Mazda5 is equipped with large 278mm ventilated disc brakes in the front and 280mm solid discs in the rear, four-channel ABS, electric brake-force distribution (EBD), brake assist (BA), traction control (TCS), Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) and six airbags. Touch sensors on the sliding doors reopen them if solid resistance is encountered. There are warning signs on the door pillars though, so let's teach our children a little common sense for additional safety, shall we?

Apart from those who don't know what's going on around them, there are two kinds of people in this world - adventurous and hide-bound traditionalists. For the former, prepared to look beyond appearances, this Mazda5 does what it does, very well.

The numbers

Price: R285 140

Engine: 1 999 cc 16-valve DOHC four-cylinder

Power: 106 kW at 6 500 rpm

Torque: 180 Nm at 4 500 rpm

Zero to 100 km/h: 10,8 seconds

Maximum speed: 194 km/h

Average fuel consumption: 9,8 l/100 km

Tank: 60 litres

Warranty: 4 years/120 000 km with 3 years roadside assist

Service plan: 5 years/90 000 km

 

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax. 

So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

 

Comments?

Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously.