2012 Mazda5 Sport: Regular Car Reviews

Опубликовано 22 декабря 2025, 13:00

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They really don’t make cars like the 2012 Mazda5 Sport anymore, and that’s sad. On this episode of Race To the Bottom, I get to end 2025 by driving one of the most surprising cars I’ve featured this year: a minivan with a manual transmission! Mazda and Ford really cooked with this, because it’s not just a minivan with a 6-speed manual transmission, but it rides on a compact car platform rather than a dedicated van platform!

Known as the Mazda Premacy in Japan, the Mazda5 had the potential to completely change the family car landscape in the United States. So why did it ultimately fail to find an audience? And why don’t automakers build cars like this anymore? Is there even a market for something this delightfully weird anymore? Come along with me for a test drive, a critique, and an in-depth history of the 2012 Mazda5 Sport.

For more on the chaotic world of car design, check out my analysis of modern automotive design:

We’re In the Dark Ages of Car Design: youtu.be/Hq170ByWnC4?si=BJRbW2...

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Timestamps:
00:00 Modern automakers hate simple cars
01:29 Lasfit ad
02:42 Mazda used to be weird
04:48 Surprising performance (with a catch)
08:21 The things I didn’t like
12:35 We need more cars like the Mazda5
13:55 Mazda Premacy and the history of the Mazda5
16:01 Why the Mazda5 failed
20:04 Final Thoughts and Current Standings
23:12 The 2025 RCR Christmas Song