Mazda5 2.0

We have had this car for 3 years (2006 car) and I must say that I have been very pleased with it. We wanted a car that had 7 seats but which wasn't huge, as we only have 2 children but wanted the flexibility of being able to carry their friends in the car or to have the space when family are visiting. When we only need the usual 5 seats we put the back two seats down and have a huge boot space.

It should be noted that it is not a permanent 7 seater. If you need 6/7 seats on a regular bass then the boot space will not be big enough for you in my opinion. When the back two seats are in use the boot is only about 10 inches deep (enough for a small buggy or a few bags). Also getting into the back seats is not for the old or infirm! You need to climb through the middle seats - fine for kids but not ideal for adults! Also the central seat in the middle row of seats is very small. It is fine for a child or small adult but it is not big enough for a regular booster seat (we use our inflatable bubblebum booster in this seat). You can however keep this small seat underneath one of the others (it just flips under, very easy) and this gives you more space when travelling as a family of four.

Therefore size wise it is ideal if you only want a 7 seater some of the time e.g. if you have step children who visit at weekends, share school runs with other parents or regularly give lifts to others without needing to transport a lot of things at the same time.

The best feature of this car is the sliding rear doors. These are brilliant for getting kids in and out of the car, especially when someone else has parked far too close to you in a car park! This has to be the feature I lovee best about this car. On top of that they aren't overly common which makes it easier to find in car parks!

One downside for me (might only be our car) is that the parking sensor is far too sensitive which means it isn't as useful as it could be. Overall though I love this car.