Not so fast. Okay, I'll admit most minivans aren't exactly on the cutting-edge of automotive fashion. They are the utilitarian boxes that they came in. But I guess somebody forgot to send that memo to Mazda. Cutting against the conventional grain, the company continues to sell its surprisingly stylish Mazda5 microvan (What else do you call something nearly two feet shorter than a Honda Odyssey "minivan"?) complete with sliding rear doors.
Open it up, and there's handy & practical space for six passengers, and if you don't need those last two seats, fold down the nethermost row for a cavernous cargo hold. Very nice.
Of course, any vehicle on my list needs to offer the two items on my "must-have" list: in-dash navigation, and Bluetooth. For 2008, the 5 has both. So why isn't one of these little practical jewels sitting in my driveway already? One word: Power. Or more accurately, lack thereof.
As much as I love the styling, packaging, and gizmos on this Asian wonder-box, 153 horsepower just doesn't cut it in my book. Especially not with 3,400 pounds to haul around. What would complete this package is the tasty 2.3 direct-injection turbocharged engine from the Mazdaspeed3 and CX-7. Adding 90 horsepower and more than 100 lb./ft. of torque to the equation would put this car on my "gotta have it" list. Heck, I'm even willing to forego a manual-trans option as long as paddle-shifters and a six-speed auto are part of the package. But a six-speed stick with this engine would be sweeter yet. Okay, so you might lose an MPG or two in the process compared to the garden-variety 5. A small price to pay in my book.
I know the 5 is a niche vehicle for Mazda, and doesn't represent the big sales numbers the 3, CX-7, and CX-9 do. But I hope that it sticks around long enough, and that Mazda sees fit to inject a little zoom-zoom into it, to offer family-man enthusiasts an option that doesn't force them to sacrifice practicality in the name of performance.