2011 Ford Fiesta

When the 2011 Ford Fiesta arrived stateside (after being sold in Europe since 2008), automotive reviewers hailed it as setting a new benchmark in the small-car class. The Fiesta, available in sedan and five-door hatchback, is fun to drive, has an upscale interior, and gets near hybrid-like fuel economy (up to 40 mpg in Fiesta SE with SFE package). Head room in the front and rear is 39.1 inches in sedan/hatchback. In the rear, the specs are 37.1 inches in the sedan and 37.2 inches in the hatchback. Leg room front/rear in both sedan and hatchback is 42.2 inches/31.2 inches. Testers say that the front is comfortable enough for six-foot-plus drivers, while the back might be tight on leg room for some taller passengers. The 2011 Ford Fiesta starts at $13,210.

Available at Ford of Orange.

Courtesy of familycarguide.com

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It’s not often one hears a manufacturer say it’s anxious for a rival to bring out a competing product, but that’s where Mazda is now. The 2012 Mazda Mazda5 is the only “true minivan” on the U.S. market today. Other so-called minivans have outgrown the original dimensions, says Mazda, and the Kia Rondo is no longer on the market. For a smaller company like Mazda, it’s hard to get consumer awareness of the automotive neighborhood where the Mazda5 lives.

So under the theory that a rising tide raises all boats, the best thing for Mazda would be a larger automaker to introduce a similar model. So for Mazda, the Ford C-Max “can’t come soon enough.”

The Ford C-Max, like the Mazda5, is a three-row/two seat per row van, and in fact shares the C-1 platform with the Mazda C-segment vehicles, including the Mazda Mazda3 and the Ford Focus models.

It’s number five As it is, the Mazda Mazda5 is the fifth besting-selling vehicle in the Mazda line, comprising nine percent of Mazda sales. Mazda5 sales totaled about 15,000 last year, and Mazda conservatively expects to sell about as many of the 2012 Mazda5 as well. (Rising fuel prices may actually benefit Mazda5 sales, though potentially at the expense of larger Mazda vehicles as well.)

The importance of the Mazda5 goes beyond its base sales, however. Although automakers often discuss “lifestyle” vehicles—with lifestyle almost always paired with “active”—Mazda calls the Mazda5 a “lifestage” vehicle. It’s a car for people with children younger than 12 years old. It’s designed to accommodate the needs of those families, with lightweight sliding doors, for example, and captains chairs in the second row that allow access to the third row between the seats. The seats don’t have to be folded forward for a kid to get in back—although although the seats do fold and slide forward for easier access.

At a price The 2012 Mazda Mazda5 was also unabashedly built to a price, that is, made to be affordable, with the top price in the low-to-mid $20,000, even fully equipped. Although the Mazda5 has no direct competitors on the market now, it is cross shopped against the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V as well as larger vans. These, however, can easily be priced up to $30,000 or, in the case of vans such as the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna, well over $40,000. At prices equal to the Mazda5, the crossover SUVs and the bigger minivans are, well, minimally equipped.

The 2012 Mazda Mazda5, however, doesn’t have options available on its alternatives, including navigation (does anyone want a Garmin or TomTom for Christmas?), although even base Sport trim Mazda5 Sport is well short of bare boned, the standard feature list including alloy wheels and automatic climate control. The base price of $19,195, the Sport is equipped with an six-speed manual transmission. The optional five-speed automatic adds $1,000 to the take-home price.

The new Mazda5, though, despite being smaller than the larger vans, doesn’t have better fuel economy. Mazda concedes that this is part of the original price differential. The other vehicles have more sophisticated—and expensive—drivetrains. However, we also know that Mazda will be introducing SkyActive engine and technology not only on the Mazda Mazda3 but across the Mazda line—particularly on the C-1 models, of which the Mazda5 is one.

In addition to the Sport, which Mazda expects to be 40 percent of production, the Mazda5 is also available in Touring ($21,195) and Grand Touring ($23,875) models, the latter with leather seating.

Nagare maximized Potentially the most controversial element of the 2012 Mazda5 is its “Nagare” styling concept. Nagare is Japanese for “flow”, and the Mazda5 is the first Mazda to fully implement the theme. Said to reflect the flow of water droplets over a surface, Nagare dictated the “smile” on the Mazda3 and new Mazda2. On the Mazda5, it adds curving folds to the sheetmetal of the doors, back to the rear of the vehicle. Mazda says it has been well received and we heard opinions for and against. However, Mazda has introduced “Kodo”, the next styling theme, while saying that it’s not a rejection of Nagare but an ongoing evolution.

Courtesy of examiner.com