You must be referencing the old 5 seaters.
I've had some pretty old minivans which were MUCH bigger than the 5.
The 5 is a 6 seater (not 7 like most minivans), has zero cargo space behind the rear seats (which means you can only fit 6 people if they have no stuff), and doesn't have the low (easy to load) floor in the rear like most minivans.
Cool, yes.
shrug i was referencing the 1987 Plymouth Voyager (not Grand Voyager) I spent a lot of time in as a kid. four kids in our family, so we had three rows of seats and a sweet 2.5L, 100hp 4-cylinder with an even sweeter 3-spd auto.
the 1994 Lumina we replaced it with was indeed bigger than the old Voyager. and at this point it's also "pretty old," but again, i specifically referred to the original chryslers.
1990 Voyager (oldest one I can find specs for): Length: 175.9" Width: 72" Height: 64.6" WB: 112"
2008 Mazda5: Length: 181.5" Width: 69.1" Height: 64.2" WB: 108.3"
2008 Honda Odyssey: Length: 202.1" Width: 77.1" Height: 68.8" WB: 118.1"
1990 Ford E-150 (8-seater): Length: 186.6" Width: 79.9" Height: 80.1" WB: 124"
What's the obsession with 7 seats?
7 seater has 3 rows of seats. 5 seater has 2.
Very big difference in size.
The 5 has three rows of seats but only six positions on vans shipped to the US. In Japan and Europe they have a seventh jumpseat that folds out between the seats in the middle row. In the US we get a center armrest that folds out instead.
We have had ours for 20K or so and I'd say it is fine for a family with two kids and the occasional need to carry more people. The rear seats fold flat into the floor and the center seats also fold flat. The rear loading floor can't get much lower unless the larger minivans have hydraulics or something in the back to drop the body on the ground.
Basically it's a great van if you want smaller size, better gas mileage, and more fun handling. For some reason we've become a society that needs our minivans to carry twelve people, have fifteen cupholders, an IMAX theater system, and tow a ski boat. Considering the 5 is significantly less expensive than the other "mini"vans it's really a great vehicle. You can buy a 5 and a fleet of Challenge priced Miatas if you want.
There is a 08 Sport 5-speed Mazda5 about an hour from me at a dealer. It is that awesome stormy blue mica color,and it is for sale at $13k and change. I am half tempted to go test drive it. We drove one many years ago when they first came out,but it was automatic. Very fun to drive,and I love the size of the car. I just wish I didn't need a tow vehicle for the camper,and I could afford even a used one,but I can't. It would be so cool if Mazda made a speed version. I know some magazine did it,but it seemed like a real hassle,and not as simple as it should/could be considering the chassis similarities.
Yes, body harnesses and lack of electrical know-how have long been the enemy of swaps in the fuel-injection era 
Im all for there being different sizes of vans, but i am NOT for the idea that the larger minivans are excessive or dont fill a purpose. Frankly everything bluesideup said about minivans applies almost equally well to families buying a humongous, 13mpg truck and only filling it to capacity 2% of the time.. at least the vans get 20 mpg when you're only using 2% of their capacity, and if each of those vehicles was to crash into you on the road, the truck is probably twice as likely to kill your ass. So, id direct my indignation elsewhere if we want to talk about people demanding ridiculous amounts of capacity and then not using it.
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