Mazda 5 with 2 Carseats? Can You Really Fit More?

Hi M.,

We did buy with a Mazda 5 and have 2 carseats.
To be honest, it is not realistic to transport others. We do it very infrequently and it is a big pain. You either have to take off a car seat to get the person in to the back seat or they have to be very flexible to climb through the back or through the narrow space between the two seats. The back seats are not super comfortable and definitely not advisable in our family for long car rides.

I hope this helps. In all other aspects we do love it. We live in SF and love to "small" mini van. Easier to park than a regular size mini-van. I love the sliding doors.

feel free to email with any other questions.

Jenny Rosen

Hi, we just got a Mazda 5. I love it, however the back 2 seats were not made for long distances, unless maybe the people in back are little kids. The seats are too small for adults and bigger kids to sit in for very long, so it won't replace a van.

It drives beautifully, though.

Hi M.,

Last month we rented a Mazda 5 for your vacation to Texas...I love this car...It drove great, got great gas mileage, and was just overall a great car to have. I told my husband that I would like to have one of these cars. I really liked the fact that we could seat 6 people. The only draw back is when the people in the middle section have the seats all the way back there is no room for people in the rear section. Its very cramped. The flip side of that is when you lay the seats down, you have a huge amount of luggage space. If only the car was just a few more feet longer it would work out. But even with that problem I would still buy one.

Good Luck,

J.

We have an '07 Mazda5 and love it. It actually works well with 3 carseats. The older boy (3) sits in the seat in the back row, with the other back seat folded for cargo space.

One trick to buckle in the back seat kid: If you don't want to reach over or around the middle seat with the carseat in it (seat won't fold forward with carseat in it) try buckling the back seat kid from behind through the rear hatch. It's actually quite easy to buckle them through the back.

I own a 2007 Mazda 5. I too have two carseats (3.5 yr boy & 2 yr girl)plus a 15 year old son who gets stuck sitting in the third row. Plus I have another on the way in December. We manage and we do have a comfortable ride on long car trips. I like the vehicle...good on gas and so far rides smooth. The only real draw back about it is cargo space. When we go to the grocery store or out of town the last seat that is empty is folded down for stuff. Anyways, good vehicle but for us we will be looking for a bigger vehicle probably in about a year.
Good Luck!

Dear M.,

My friend has a Mazda MPV which is larger than the the 5. Mazda went smaller and discontinued the MPV. when I watch her kids overnight I have a total of 4 kids under age 3. I can fit all the carseats in the MPV but it is tight. Plus my 3 year old has long legs and it is tight for him in the third row. The two infants who face backwards are in the second row for easier access. Hope this gives you an idea of how tight the 5 would be.
Good luck!

Greetings M.: I would like to suggest that you try what we do when buying a car. We put 3 car seats into the back of various sizes ( if we need them or not because at the time we were still building our famiy of 5. Then with the car seats in I put the largest of the adults in the back to see how comfort went.
To say the least we found that most cars are not set up for 2 car seats of size and then a real person adult or child for more than a 3 mile trip!!
I know tht our mechanic has talked to me about the Honda Pilots being very good and about the Toyota and Honda mini vans which actually look very nice and are comfortable to ride in. Comfort in the car will make up for any long trip one might take because it settles fights and short tempers about who is in who's space. I almost wish for the days of the real vans and larger mini vans to have the room I need still with 2 grandchildren and 2-3 adults that are often in my car.Good Luck and I will check later to see what advice you got for my own information. Nana G

I have a 2007 Mazda 5. I am able to transport everyone, but not for LONG trips. The very back seats are hard to sit on for long periods of time. Also, with the back seats all the way up it is hard to fit a stroller back there. You have to buy a small umbrella stroller to fit. Another thing I do is put one side of the third row up and put the stroller on the flattened side. Hope this helps. Good luck