Mazda 5 vs Kia Rondo

Replying to: medicineman (Feb 07, 2008 11:44 pm)

Replies to this message:
• medicineman (Feb 08, 2008 11:33 pm)

Replying to: bobw3 (Feb 08, 2008 9:15 am)

Weird. I uploaded them here in CarSpace to avoid any non-compatibility issues. What about the links?
 
http://www.carspace.com/coolmazda5/Albums/mazda5%20cargo/mazda5_stroller_001.jpg- - - /photo/v./photo.jpg
 
http://www.carspace.com/coolmazda5/Albums/mazda5%20cargo/mazda5_stroller_003.jpg- - - /photo/v./photo.jpg
 
And I have added the ones with the car seat. Captain chairs just make it work well, the baby seats are extremely wide
 

 

Replies to this message:
• coolmazda5 (Feb 08, 2008 6:59 pm)
• medicineman (Feb 09, 2008 4:59 am)
  • coolmazda5 (Feb 09, 2008 6:20 am)
    • coolmazda5 (Feb 09, 2008 11:42 am) and 9 more...
    • medicineman (Feb 09, 2008 6:03 pm)

Replying to: coolmazda5 (Feb 07, 2008 4:43 pm)

becp - congratulations on the purchase of the '08 Mazda 5, I'm sure you will enjoy it very much.
However I was extremely surpised regarding your comment
"my arms had no place to rest ... I am used to that centre console and side arm rest... I started thinking of what I liked in the Explorer so I turned on the stereo .. and it was poor .. not even fair .. I would consider it poor ... when back at the dealership .. I asked about arm rests and stereo upgrade and told no to armrests and that was the upgraded stereo ... "
 
this is totally opposite to my findings, the combination of the door rest and the centre console armrest makes it very confortable and just at the right height and I also find that if you are using the transmission manually, that resting your arm on the console armrest to shift is the ideal height - couldn't be more perfect set up. I have the seat all the way back and I'm 5'-11".
Regarding the stereo - I find it outstanding and listening to my CD's through the six speakers, I couldn't ask for a better sound. It's so easy to operature, maybe it wasn't set up right? Very puzzling comments, almost like you are not driving the same vehicle I own.
 
some pictures
carrying a large item in the back of my Rondo
 

 
possible storage capacity in the 5-seater model
 

Replies to this message:
• coolmazda5 (Feb 08, 2008 4:40 pm)
  • conwelpic (Feb 08, 2008 5:13 pm)
    • coolmazda5 (Feb 08, 2008 5:33 pm)
  • timtlm (Mar 05, 2008 7:52 am)
    • coolmazda5 (Mar 05, 2008 6:49 pm)
• becp (Feb 08, 2008 10:59 pm)

Replying to: conwelpic (Feb 08, 2008 4:22 pm)

Finally some pics. That gives a better "picture" to potential buyers. What is in the box? I think I posted these long time ago, but here we go again, I'm not tracking where all my old posts are:
 
Here is a swing set (2 seater). The store did not think it would fit . I just had to tie the liftgate and drive through back roads.
 

 

 
And here is trip day (4 seater):
 

Replies to this message:
• conwelpic (Feb 08, 2008 5:13 pm)
  • coolmazda5 (Feb 08, 2008 5:33 pm)
• timtlm (Mar 05, 2008 7:52 am)
  • coolmazda5 (Mar 05, 2008 6:49 pm)

Replying to: coolmazda5 (Feb 08, 2008 4:40 pm)

Replies to this message:
• coolmazda5 (Feb 08, 2008 5:33 pm)

Replying to: conwelpic (Feb 08, 2008 5:13 pm)

Replying to: coolmazda5 (Feb 08, 2008 1:13 pm)

I resist to use any other forum site for pics hosting so to respect this CarSpace forum rules, but here are the links to the car seats if you are still interested, if not, well, just don't click on them .
 
Tested on Firefox and Internet Explorer...
 
http://www.carspace.com/coolmazda5/Albums/mazda5%20cargo/mazda5_car_seat_width_1- 7.jpg/photo/v./photo.jpg
 
http://www.carspace.com/coolmazda5/Albums/mazda5%20cargo/mazda5_car_seat_width_1- 8.jpg/photo/v./photo.jpg

Replying to: conwelpic (Feb 08, 2008 4:22 pm)

Replying to: coolmazda5 (Feb 08, 2008 1:05 pm)

Okay, I took some pictures with the strollers and child seats in place. BTW, I didn't bother asking anyone (i.e., the wife) to sit in the car to demonstrate the car's roominess (or lack there of). When I told her what I was doing, she basically mocked me for wasting my time on this--and she's pretty much right. Ahh, she always provides a dose of reality.
 
First thing you'll notice in the pictures is that I only have the base for the baby seat. The baby was sleeping in the seat inside the house when I took these pictures and I don't think the wife would have been happy if I took the seat (with or without baby) just for this photography session.
 
Second thing, I hope everyone appreciates the effort it took to take these pictures, because I lost some blood over this--literally. While I was taking the last couple of pictures, I noticed that there was a reddish smudge on the seat and couldn't quite figure out what the heck it was. Then I noticed that my thumb was bleeding. I had somehow sliced it while moving stuff around in the garage (I guess). On closer examination, I found even more red spots in the vehicle and on the strollers. Needless to say, I wasn't doing the happy dance. So nobody better ask me to take any more pictures because you're just opening up a can of whoop ass!
 
Lastly, the pictures are fuzzy because I used my cellphone camera. Sorry about that.
 
Here's the umbrella stroller behind the third-row seats. Obviously, a larger stroller won't fit back there. Notice underneath the stroller that there's a handle flush with the floor --lift up the lid and you got some storage space below.
 

 
A larger stroller can fit after storing a third-row seat. Notice the third-row armrests on each side--lift up the lid on top of the armrest and you got a little more storage space. (In the first picture, see the red spot on the top-right set of wheels on the larger stroller? That's my DNA.)
 

 

 
Here are the two child seats. The blue thing is the base for the baby seat (it's latched into place although you can't see the anchors). The other seat is an older booster seat that uses the seatbelt to hold it in place. Last summer, I shoehorned my ten-year-old niece between the child seats on a couple of occasions--I don't think I would try that with an adult. (Notice the smudge on the seat cushion between the two child seats? Again, my DNA. Blood, that is. What fluid did you think I was talking about?)
 

 

 
This final picture is just showing the entry way into the third row.
 

 
As you can see, the door opening is wide and the seat slides forward by at least a foot, so it's really no problem getting back there. If there's a child seat in the way in the second row, you'll have to remove it. I usually have only one child seat in the second row (contrary to what the pictures imply, I only have one kid), so you can always enter on the other side without removing the child seat.
 
The one thing that I couldn't demonstrate was two adults plus child seat in the second row. Obviously, I'm not talking about two CFL linebackers here. I'm talking about my and my wife's kin, who all happen to be around 5'5" to 5'9" (so yes, I'm the freakishly tall monstrosity of my family).