mazda5

2012 Mazda5: Roomy, but lacking tech options

From generation to generation, automakers tend to make their cars bigger, boasting of increased headroom and legroom in updated model years. But the Mazda5, the mini minivan, kept its dimensions unchanged for the 2012 model update. And this vehicle is still the size of a first-generation Dodge Grand Caravan, yet contains third-row seating.

Although a fairly typical cramped people carrier for the rest of the world, the Mazda5 is an odd fit in the U.S. Here, our minivans are the size of buses, with lots of room for the kids to play, camping gear, and robust rear-seat entertainment systems … Read more

Mazda to mass produce hydrogen vehicles within five years

Usually when we hear about hydrogen as a fuel, it's actually being used to generate electricity for an electric motor. It's no secret that Mazda's been developing a hydrogen powered version of its Renesis rotary engine for years, but now the automaker says that it will soon be mass-producing hydrogen powered vehicles. The rotary engine's unique design actually makes it well suited for using hydrogen as a combustible fuel.

In an interview with U.K. magazine Autocar, James Muir, Mazda Europe's CEO said that the company "will do the hydrogen rotary engine, but it … Read more

Review: 2009 Mazda MAZDA5, the mini minivan

It seemed as if everyone who we spoke to about Mazda's Mazda5 said the same thing: "It's a mini-minivan." As cheesy as that sounds, there isn't really a better way to describe what Mazda has created with the Mazda5. As fuel prices soar and its full-size MPV minivan continues to grow, Mazda hopes to do for the van market what crossovers have done for the SUV market. Based on the compact Mazda3, the Mazda5 inherits performance that comes very close to Mazda's promise of "zoom-zoom." The Mazda5 isn't really a vehicle … Read more

Mazda developing Volt competitor

Chevrolet's Volt hasn't even been released yet and other automakers are already hard at work developing their Volt killers. Sources at Autocar say that Mazda engineers have developed a working Mazda5-based electric vehicle prototype. The prototype is said to use a rotary engine to charge a battery pack that powers an electric motor driving the wheels.

Essentially, the only thing that's keeping Mazda from putting the system into production is the high cost of batteries. Meanwhile, Mazda is said to be concentrating on more conventional green tech, such as engine start-stop technology.