Mazda USA quietly added the 2015 Mazda5 to their official lineup on Friday. Aside from an expanded range of colors for the Sport, it is completely identical to the 2014, except for one thing: The 6-speed is gone. So here are a few thoughts on the first 2,000 miles in the last 6-speed Mazda5: What was a very stiff shifter has loosened up a lot. Im still not entirely sold on the pattern, though--shift quadrants are too vague. As Im still in break-in mode, I dont push it hard, but there seems to be really nice big-four torque from it. Theres even a little growl at startup, and Id like to find a sportier exhaust. The idle is very smooth and sounds a little like a small modern diesel. Clicky. Steering is tight and firm but could use a little more feedback. The stock Toyos may be the problem there. I do really miss the pedal placement in the Subaru. No heel-and-toe here, the gas pedal is just too much lower than the clutch. Im going to take a look at the arm sometime and see if its possible to re-bend or replace it. The glovebox is crazy big. It makes up for a lack of other storage spaces up front. Big exterior mirrors are smart and welcome when visibility out the rear window is limited. Remind me again why you cant get bluetooth with a 6-speed? If youre not going to make it an option, at least put in a standard double-DIN radio so I can add it myself. There are a lot of switchblanks in this thing. A couple more gauges and fewer idiot lights would be nice, too. There is a refreshing lack of intrusive warnings. Leave your seatbelt off going up the driveway and it bings softly for 10 or 15 seconds, then stops. You can tell this is a vehicle late in the product cycle. There have been many years of development in which to refine it, and it feels like a very polished piece. Its also very tight and well built. It feels like a Hiroshima-built car should. 2015 Mazda5 specs mazdausa/MusaWeb/musa2/pdf/specs/2015_Mazda5_Features_Specs.pdf
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 15:09:36 +0000
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