Mazda Premacy

Mazda Premacy at a glance

The Premacy grew from a five- or seven-seat family car with removable rear seats into a longer MPV with sliding doors and a fold-away centre seat. Ford sold rebadged versions in Asia, Haima built the first generation in China from 2004 to 2014 as the Freema, and from June 2011 Nissan sold the third generation in Japan as the Lafesta Highway Star. More models of the brand are in our Mazda catalogue.

Generations: CP, CR and CW

Premacy CP (1999-2005)

The first Premacy was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show on 9 March 1999 and went on sale in April. It had two or three rows for five or seven people, and the second and third rows could be folded or removed. ADAC lists German deliveries from June 1999.

In Germany Mazda sold the petrol as the 1.9 with 74 kW (100 PS) or 84 kW (114 PS); Japanese sources quote the same outputs for the 1.8-litre FP-DE. The 2.0 TD diesel had 66 kW (90 PS). The November 2001 facelift added a 2.0 petrol with 96 kW (131 PS) and raised the diesel, now called DiTD, to 74 kW (100 PS). Seven-seat Active7 versions followed in January 2003. German list prices started at EUR 16,867 for the 1999 1.9 Comfort and EUR 16,990 after the facelift (ADAC).

Mazda also built a research version, the Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid, with a twin-rotor Wankel engine that ran on hydrogen or petrol. It carried a 110-litre hydrogen tank at 350 bar, holding up to 2.4 kg, plus a 60-litre petrol tank.

Mazda5 CR (2005-2010)

The second generation was previewed by the MX-Flexa concept at the 2004 Geneva show, unveiled at the 2004 Paris Motor Show and sold in Japan from 7 February 2005. Exports, now named Mazda5, began in mid-2005. It moved to Ford's C1 platform and shared many parts with the Mazda3. The wheelbase grew to 2,750 mm, sliding rear doors were standard, and the Karakuri seating system folded a seventh centre seat away under the second row. All seven seats had three-point belts. North American cars had six seats in three rows of two.

Gearboxes were a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic, with a five-speed automatic from the 2008 facelift, which also brought a new front bumper, wheels and LED rear lights on some trims. The Mazda5 won Canadian Car of the Year 2006 in the best new family MPV class.

Mazda5 CW (2010-2018)

Production of the third generation started on 13 May 2010, and Japanese sales began on 1 July 2010. It was the first Mazda in the Nagare design language and kept the 2,750 mm wheelbase and sliding doors. In Germany ADAC lists four engines from October 2010:

The direct-injection 2.0 with i-stop start-stop was the European highlight; Wikipedia says the system cut emissions by 15 percent. The United States had a 2.5-litre with 117 kW (157 hp). In Japan a 2013 update added the 2.0 Skyactiv-G and a six-speed Skyactiv-Drive automatic, rated at 16.2 km/l (6.2 l/100 km) in the JC08 cycle. From February 2012 Germany also had an Edition "40 Jahre" special model.

Europe dropped the Mazda5 in 2015, the United States after the 2015 model year and Canada after 2017. Japan kept the Premacy until 23 February 2018, when Mazda ended it together with the Biante.

Dimensions, space and boot

Figures for the Mazda5 CW 2.0 DISI i-stop (ADAC):

With all seven seats in place the boot is tiny, so the third row is best treated as occasional seating.

Fuel economy and running costs

ADAC lists the Mazda5 CW 2.0 DISI i-stop at 6.9 l/100 km (40.9 mpg imperial) and 159 g/km CO2 on the old NEDC cycle, with 0-100 km/h in 11.2 seconds and a top speed of 194 km/h. Real-world use is usually higher than NEDC figures; our fuel cost calculator helps estimate what a used one will cost to run.

Safety

Euro NCAP tested a Premacy 1.8 Comfort in 2001. The published report gives three stars; testers noted high chest loads for both front occupants and that the driver's head struck the pole hard in the side tests. The Premacy did better for pedestrians, with three stars, which UK trade magazine AM reported as one of the highest pedestrian scores at the time. For the Mazda5 CR, Wikipedia records five stars for adult occupants from Euro NCAP in September 2005 and six stars for front occupants in the Japanese J-NCAP test of April 2006. In North America electronic stability control became standard for 2010. We found no Euro NCAP result for the CW.

Reliability and known issues

Consumer Reports ranked the Mazda5 CR its best "tall wagon" but did not recommend it at the time, citing unknown reliability. Our sources do not document recurring faults, so none are listed here. On any used car with sliding doors, check that both doors run smoothly and lock properly.

Rivals

In Europe the Premacy and Mazda5 competed with the compact MPVs of the 2000s and early 2010s: the Volkswagen Touran, Opel Zafira, Renault Scenic and Grand Scenic, Citroen C4 Picasso and Ford's C-Max and Grand C-Max, which used the same C1 platform family as the Mazda5. Few of them offered sliding rear doors, which made the Mazda5 easy to use in tight parking spaces. None of these cars is sold new any more, so prices are not compared here; our comparison tool lines up their specifications.

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