It is Monday night. NFL football fans have their TV dinners on their laps while watching their team play. Amidst the air of excitement amongst us, it is time for TheCarBlogger to choose its Car of the Week for this week. This week, TheCarBlogger's Car of the Week award goes to the Mazda5.
The days of the Nissan Axxess and the Mitsubishi Space Wagon are long into the archive section. Since they have been discontinued, which is about 10 years or so, the "mini-MPV" segment was long forgotten. The hold was broken when Mazda entered the segment with the "5" last year.
Oil prices have risen in North America and the popularity of fuel-gushing sport-utility vehicles have been steadily decreasing. While Ford was awe-strucken with the sales result, import manufacturers have been busy releasing new subcompact cars and basically smaller, and more efficient variants of what was already out there.
The 5, called Premacy in its domestic market, was already flying off the lots in Japan. The 5 is a multi-activity crossover, deemed my Mazda. We, consumers, call it a "mini-minivan" which sounds more appropriate...
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The 5 is based on the popular 3 compact model. The 5 slots between the Mazda3 Sport and the discontinued MPV. It comes with dual sliding doors and even a storage space under each 2nd-row seat without sacrificing style, which will definitely attract the baby boomers.
The 5 is coupled with a 2.3L 157HP 4-cylinder engine which is also found in the Mazda3. The 5 is versatile, practical, stylish, and presents value. The 5's base price is $17,995, and all the goodies you need is standard.
This growing segment is starting to be noticed by other manufacturers and Kia has just released its Rondo mini-MPV with more manufacturers rumoured to follow the successful footsteps. Is there anything better than seating 6 people in comfort for under $20,000 without consuming more gas than a Toyota Camry? Glance at today's gas price at your local gas station and bingo.
