New Mazda5 Diesel

Press Release

MZR-CD 2.0-litre Euro Stage IV compliant

With the introduction of the new Mazda5, Mazda breathes new life into the European C-MAV segment with a stylish, flexible and fun to drive vehicle offering two spirited petrol powertrains and two derivatives of Mazda’s improved MZR-CD 2.0-litre common-rail direct injection turbocharged diesel engine coupled to a new 6-speed manual transmission. Both diesel derivatives come standard with a diesel particulate filter system that is maintenance-free and Euro Stage IV compliant. Added to Mazda5’s unique Karakuri seating system with room for up to seven, class-first sliding doors, comfort and convenience, Mazda5 will offer customers just the right vehicle to meet their needs.

Positioning – the Zoom Zoom Alternative

• Only C-MAV in Europe with sliding doors

• Room for up to seven

• Highly flexible Karakuri seating and storage concept

Mazda has been successful with its compact van, the Mazda Premacy, selling 333,000 worldwide and over 140,000 in Europe between 1999 and mid-2005. The all-new Mazda5 is the Premacy’s successor and Mazda’s fifth new-generation product since the launch of the Mazda6 in 2002. Designed from the inside out, it provides insightful interior functionality, stylish exterior designing and spirited driving dynamics for a balance that makes it the Zoom-Zoom alternative in its segment in Europe.

The Mazda5 is Mazda’s first Zoom-Zoom venture into the C-Multi-Activity Vehicle (C-MAV) segment. This is one of the most important segments in Europe with growth of over 60 percent between 2000 and 2004. A total of approximately 1.4 million C-MAVs were sold last year. The Mazda5 enters this segment offering smart seating and storage solutions in a dynamic looking and surprisingly fun-to-drive vehicle.

Mazda5 is the only car in its segment with sliding doors. It is the only vehicle with a unique and innovative Karakuri seating and storage concept. This system uses the open, communicative space in the centre of its 2+3+2 interior to transport up to seven people in comfort. It is fun to drive and fun to look at on a daily basis. A full range of engines including two common-rail, Euro Stage IV compliant turbo diesels allow customers to choose just the right Mazda5 for their needs, regardless of where they live. Customers will be in their late thirties, either with or without children. They will be style conscious, sporty and perhaps a bit self-indulgent. For these customers, Mazda5 is the ideal vehicle.

Interior Functionality – Communicative and Flexible

• Superior functionality with innovative Karakuri seating and storage concept

• 45 storage compartments

• One-touch walk-in functionality for easy in- and egress

Mazda5 was designed from the inside out with high levels of comfort and convenience. It is designed around a space at the centre of the interior that promotes front to back communication, and takes full advantage of this space via an innovative Karakuri seating and storage concept to deliver superior seat flexibility and room for up to seven.

Front Row Environment

The driver environment of the new Mazda5 has been optimized for adjustability and operating comfort. The driver’s seat features 260 mm of slide adjustment and 56 mm of height adjustment. The seatback has adjustable lumbar support and can be reclined. The steering wheel is adjustable in height, 40 mm, and telescopically, by 50 mm. The shift lever is placed at the bottom of the centre instrument panel for high levels of shift comfort. The driver pedals have a layout that helps prevent discomfort in the legs, feet and ankles, including a specially developed accelerator pedal pad designed to stay snug to the driver’s foot during operation.

In front of the driver is a three meter instrument cluster with the speedometer in the middle. The centre instrument panel is raised to position audio controls and climate controls where they can be easily seen and reached. An aluminium-look finish gives the centre stack a refined appearance, which matches the front door switch bezels and inner handles for added quality. Yellow-green backlighting is used for meters and switches giving a cool, clean look to the driver area. And, of course, the passenger seat can be slid forward and backward, and reclined to a horizontal position if need be.

Second and Third Row Flexibility

Mazda5’s second row seats have 270 mm of slide adjustability and can be reclined. They feature one-touch walk-in functionality that provides easy access to the third row. After sliding the door open, pull lightly up on a lever on the outside of the cushion and the seatback automatically tips forward and slides to its front-most position. The resulting walk-in space between the C-pillar and the second row seat is large enough (628 mm at top of seatback, 240 mm at foot level) to make getting in and out of the third row easy. The second row seats can also be double-folded without

removing any headrests and without having to retract the seat belt separately. Simply pull on a strap at the back of the cushion, tip the cushion forward against the front seatback, then lift the same lever used for walk-in functionality, which automatically tips the seatback onto the floor.

Comfort for all rows

Comfort is further ensured by ample cushion widths of 510 mm in the first row, 500 mm per seat in the second and third rows. Since body-pressure distribution significantly influences seating comfort, each seat has a structure that evenly disperses body pressure regardless of the user’s physique, thereby minimizing fatigue and enabling long journey comfort. The S-spring structure in the first-row seatbacks and second- and third-row seat cushions enable thin cushioning panels to provide performance similar to that of conventional seats. This combination of comfort and space efficiency makes it possible for under-cushion storage areas and realization of the Karakuri seating and storage concept.

Karakuri Seating and Storage Concept

Mazda5 takes this basic seat flexibility and convenience to a new level by adding an innovative Karakuri seating and storage concept, which can convert the vehicle into a seven-seater in a matter of seconds and without having to remove or add anything. A seventh seat cushion is stored under the left second row seat. After locking the wide armrest between the second row seats into the up position, the left hand seat cushion is tipped forward, the seventh seat cushion folded out into the space vacated by the armrest, and the left hand seat cushion put back into its original position.

The armrest/seventh seatback is designed with a headrest integrated at the front, which can then be extended for added safety. If storage is a priority, a practical Karakuri utility box can be folded out of the right seat cushion into the space between the two second row seats using the same process. If neither the seventh seat nor the Karakuri utility boxes are in use, the centre armrest can be folded up and tilted towards the left hand seatback, which allows communication between the third and second rows and reach-through convenience.

The third row seats are bench-type in a 50:50 split design. Both seatbacks can be tipped forward, individually or together, by pulling lightly on a strap integrated into the seatback. The seatbacks drop in a single motion onto the cushion to form a flat load surface that extends the luggage floor area. With the third row seats folded down there is a load area that is 1,100 mm long, 1,040 mm wide with a capacity of 720 litres (VDA). When the second row seats are double-folded as well, the load floor is 1,700 mm long with a load volume of 1,566 litres (VDA). With the five-seat version, the Mazda5 has a load volume of 832 litres (VDA) with all seats up, and a load volume of 1,678 litres (VDA) with the second row seats folded down. The luggage area of the new Mazda5 also delivers high levels of functionality and is large enough, with all seats in the up position, to carry items used on a day-to-day basis—like two beverage cases with six 1.5-litre bottles each, or a standard baby stroller folded together. There are also four hooks in the luggage area to secure whatever is being transported. Below the luggage compartment floor is a handy subtrunk with 15 litre capacity. Its lid can be propped up vertically into a recess for ease of loading.