2009 Mazda Mazda5

Of course, that means there's less space inside. Some reviewers say there's plenty of room in the third row for two children -- even in car seats -- but others say it's a tight squeeze. And although testers say it is possible to fit six adults in a Mazda5, they have different opinions of how comfortable that is. One 5-foot-10-inch reviewer says the driver's seat doesn't slide back quite far enough for his liking, and it still crowds the legroom of the passenger behind. More than one tester suspects that the Mazda5 was designed for small people. Frank Williams at The Truth About Cars says the only way Mazda could make its microvan feel spacious was to fill it with tiny furniture, which he finds disconcerting: "The steering wheel is the size of a dinner plate and every time I wedged my 6'3" carcass behind it I felt like I was in a parent-teacher conference sitting in a third-grader's chair," he writes. "The mail-slot sized sunroof opening only added to the sensation."

As for cargo room, the Mazda5 offers a little more than half the capacity of the especially roomy Toyota Sienna (*est. $24,540 to $37,865) with the third seat folded down. With the third seat in use, testers say there is room for only one suitcase behind it. Critics say the Mazda5 could never hold five or six people and all their luggage for a vacation, but it's ideal for a family of four that occasionally hauls one or two of the kids' friends.

True to its sporty roots, the Mazda5 is the only minivan that offers a stick shift. The five-speed manual gearbox comes standard on the base Sport trim (*est. $18,885), delivering an EPA-estimated 22 mpg in the city, 28 mpg on the highway and 24 mpg combined. A five-speed automatic transmission is optional on the Sport and standard on the Touring (*est. $21,590) and Grand Touring (*est. $23,345) trims; it still delivers class-leading fuel economy (21 mpg city, 27 mpg highway, 23 mpg combined) that is 5 to 6 mpg better than other minivans. The Mazda5's 153-horsepower, 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine is smaller than other minivans, but the Mazda5 is a smaller vehicle. Testers don't complain about the Mazda's power, except when it's fully loaded with six adults, passing or climbing steep hills.

Experts find one glaring flaw with the Mazda5: It lacks electronic stability control (ESC), which studies show can help with accident avoidance. All other minivans except the Nissan Quest (*est. $25,950 to $35,650) include ESC as a standard feature.

The Mazda5 also lags slightly behind most minivans in crash-test results. When the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration simulated a T-bone crash between the Mazda5 and another car moving 38.5 mph, testers discovered that the backseat passenger in a Mazda5 has a 6 to 10 percent chance of suffering a serious chest injury. In all other minivans, it's 5 percent.

The Kia Rondo wagon (*est. $17,495 to $22,295) is the only similarly sized vehicle. While the Mazda5 seats six, the Rondo claims to seat seven. It also includes electronic stability control. However, the Rondo is no minivan; its doors don't slide, and testers say things get awfully cozy with seven people inside.

Reviews don't spend much time enumerating the Mazda5's features. For the most part, it offers what buyers have come to expect, such as curtain airbags, anti-lock brakes, remote entry, power windows, etc. One notable omission: The Mazda5 is the only minivan that does not offer any sort of DVD player.

Consumer Reports examines the Mazda5 more thoroughly than any other review source. Experts there conduct their own fuel economy tests and reliability surveys, in addition to the usual road and track testing. FuelEconomy.gov (a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website) posts the official fuel economy numbers that most review sources use, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration posts official crash-test results. Other review sources are less authoritative, and their tests are less extensive than the best sources. However, we found write-ups at The Truth About Cars, MotherProof.com and Automobile.com particularly interesting, because the reviewers write in a personal style and make observations that most critics miss.