Mrs Lummox is after a new vehicle to replace her french attempt at a car (206)

We’ve essentially narrowed down our search to a Mazda 5 mpv

Before we start bartering etc has anyone got real world experience?

Model were looking at is is a 1.8 ts2 with 30k from a dealer

cheers for your time

Al

Just be VERY wary of this particular problem (not sure if that model has DSC on though)
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=76964

Just taken us for £££££££££££££££££££££££s on a three year old Mazda 3, full service history, just out or warranty, only 26,000 miles on the clock.

In the middle of arguing the toss with Mazda UK right now in the hope they will pay some/all of the cost.

We looked at one in the garage, I opened the boot and banged my head on the door which opened to be about an inch lower than I am tall (about 6’3″) and that was it, I couldn’t consider it after that because I would bang my head all the time and quickly grow to hate it. We bought a Mazda 6 (last shape) in the end and can’t fault it at all.

nearly bought one 2 yrs ago to replace a Scenic. The middle rear seat was just too small to be any use at all. went for a CMax instead

I have a mazda 6, now 4 years old and while OK, the paint work is sub standard and not suitable for UK weather. Loads of stone chips and now pitting along the roof, some rust.

BTW – we bought our car partly on the belief that Mazda has a great reliability record so, along with the uneven tyre wear which we have grown to get on with (it uses tyres twice as quickly as my car even though it barely ever gets ragged and I often get racy in mine yet the tyres have loads left in them after 14k) leads me to be somewhat disappointed in the choice we made.

Next year we will certainly be looking at replacing it with another make (probably the good old Cmax or Smax but maybe a Honda F-RV).

Honda FR-V is no longer in production. I think the C Max or S Max (forget which is the bigger.. S Max?) is the only decent option. I really wanted a 5 but when all seats are in use, the luggage space is not big enough.
Will go for a S Max when I swap. A neighbour traded theirs for a Touran and wants the S Max back.

Honda FR-V is no longer in production.

Yeah I know – will be looking at getting a batter-to-death wagon for the young family so I don’t intend on buying new this time.

It’s a pity though because I think it is a nice-looking car.

The thing putting me off an SMAx is that the brother-in-law already has one (not much of a reason not to get one I know).

LoL, I don’t know your brother in law, could well be a good enough reason 🙂

If you have <3 children then what we have is great (Corolla Verso) and can be picked up very cheap second hand. We can just about get us and camping gear for a week in it (3 child seats across the back) with a 240L roof box on, but getting bikes etc. on is not easy and it is PACKED – we’re either going to have to go to a bigger car, or possibly buy a trailer. I too can’t see the point in buying new having seen what the horde have managed to do to the interior in one short year!

I too can’t see the point in buying new having seen what the horde have managed to do to the interior in one short year!

Yep – my thinking exactly and as they get bigger the destruction will only get worse…

🙂

EDIT – seeing double

oddjob – Member

We looked at one in the garage, I opened the boot and banged my head on the door which opened to be about an inch lower than I am tall (about 6’3″) and that was it, I couldn’t consider it after that because I would bang my head all the time and quickly grow to hate it. We bought a Mazda 6 (last shape) in the end and can’t fault it at all.
I looked at a Volvo V70 I opened the boot and banged my head on the door which opened to be about an inch lower than I am tallish about 6’3″ and that was it, I couldn’t consider it after that because I would bang my head all the time and quickly grow to hate it. I bought a Mazda 6 TS2 (last shape) in the end and apart from a few very minor niggles its been the best car I have owned so far.

We have an S-Max – been a very good car and not looking to get rid of it. It’s due a service but otherwise it has been very good. It’s a great cargo lugger and bike carrier BUT it isn’t ideal if you have larger framed bikes and want to put them inside – when the seats are folded you loose about 4″ of depth to the carrying space and this has a big effect on what size bike you can cart around without much disassembly.

Basically any bike with 26″ wheels will need the saddle and front wheel removed if you want to carry the bike upright i.e. 3 people and 3 bikes (and for some reason can’t use the roof i.e. no roof bars).

Apart from that, it is a very good car – as it is my wife’s vehicle (we cart child and a lot of musical equipment around so it does get used), the bikes aren’t a huge issue with it.

I think I’d own one…it is a good car.

Hi all, thanks for your advice. Thank you especially for the link about the dsc warning light, will keep an eye on that and look into it a bit more. Had a look at the c max and was a little disappointed with the seat flexibility. The s max is very nice, but well outside our budget. The massive + for us with the mazda is the sliding rear doors, no kids whacking them on parked cars, people etc etc. Bike transporting might have to wait if we do get one as I’m not sure that’d go down so well with mrs L

The problem with that problem is that it is impossible to know whether it will go or not – perhaps ask if the model has DSC fitted and, if so, has the problem arisen and been fixed. Apparently the repair incorporates a modified replacement part.

So are S Max’s coming in considerably more than similar age 5’s?

Seeing as you’ve already looked, saves me the bother 🙂

I’ve owned an MX-5 in the past and I have nothing but good to say about it, never gave me moments hassle.. likewise the wife has had 323s with the same result. I think you’re OK on that level of trim – DSC is standard on the Sport models, but I guess it could have been bought as an option.

That thread is some fishy reading mastiles 🙁
Is it actually a known fault, or just a warning light/sensor issue? Surely it’s a safety issue if the former.

The s max as far as we’ve seen rock in around 8-10k with high miles to be expected around 90k in one diesel example! The c max was/is less popular so is more affordable, around 7-8k main dealer approved with 20-30k on a 3 year old car. However we weren’t as impressed with seat flexibility or kit levels etc. The Mazdas are around the same money for same mileage, and although cabin materials are less tactile the sliding rear door and seats trumped the c max, especially as they have 2 more in the boot for the odd occasions they’d be needed.

Is it actually a known fault, or just a warning light/sensor issue? Surely it’s a safety issue if the former.

Mazda are saying that DSC is a feature and therefore not a safety issue. This is although it is connected to the ABS system – but they claim the actual ABS works. (And it isn’t just a faulty light, it is a hydraulic pump failure or something).

The rub is, it could fail an MOT on it (but only if they notice the light is illuminated – if the feature is present it has to work) yet they say it is not a safety issue and therefore haven’t done a recall.

The DSC is now standard on all 5s I believe (but I assume it is the uprated one which may not be prone to this fault).

especially as they have 2 more in the boot for the odd occasions they’d be needed.

Ah, I see. I’d always need one of them, hence the boot being not up to much for me. I was gutted to be honest, loved the car apart from that. Once the big pram isn’t needed in a year or so I’ll revisit them I think.

If it’s not integral and just a feature you’d think they’d be a switch so you could turn it off for the MOT, like the old ‘not carrying a spare’ routine.

If it’s not integral and just a feature you’d think they’d be a switch so you could turn it off for the MOT, like the old ‘not carrying a spare’ routine.

You can switch it on and off, but the fault is a malfunction meaning that the light stays illuminated (ie, the fault is still apparent.

It is a pain because it has just cost us £600 and that comes just before Christmas and when my wife is on a much-reduced salary due to parenthood. It has really hit us sideways 🙁

I have a Mazda Premacy diesel, the predecessor to the Mazda 5 in the Mazda range. Based on my experiences with that I’d say a Mazda 5 would be a good buy.

Not the best looking car, but I didn’t buy it for its looks; rather for decent fuel consumption and a reputation for bombproof reliability. It’s very roomy, OK to drive, if a bit noisy at high speeds or when it’s windy.

It has pretty much lived up to those expectations in the four years I’ve had it up until the last couple of weeks, when it developed the worrying fault of the engine just randomly cutting out not long after starting a journey.

The garage thought it was a clogged fuel filter in the first instance, changed the fuel filter, but the problem came back. This time they managed to trace it to a faulty “relay” – which turned out to be £50 worth of tiny little electronic component.

So if you get one and it starts randomly cutting out, get the garage to check the relay.