A different thread on here about Kia's Soul got me to looking at the local (to me) Kia and Hyundai new car selections. It turns out that my local Hyundai dealer has several "leftover" Elantra Tourings and Accents. They have 2 or 3 Elantra Tourings with MANUAL transmissions, including a leftover '09. Same deal with Accents.
My question: If you were looking at this type of vehicle, did you happen to cross-shop the Touring and the Mazda5? Pros? Cons? of either? The only bad thing, so far, about the leftover Tourings is their color selections. Black (looks good, but I live in Florida) and that bright blue. The '10s are black low line trims (GL?) as is the blue '09. They also have a very nice '11 SE. If it came down to price, if I really wanted one of these, the "leftovers" would have to be WAAAAY cheaper than that '11 SE.
Just from having been in both, there is no size comparison. The 5 is waaaaaaaaaayyyyy huger. But the touring is still very cool for what it is!
I went and looked at the C&D's buyer's guide, and while these 2 seem to be VERY close in size...indeed, the Mazda has more space inside. With seats folded, the Mazda has WAAAY more room. About the only area where the Hyundai "seems" to beat the Mazda is on fuel economy. I'm not sure if that's because the Touring is nearly 500 pounds LIGHTER than a Mazda5 or if it's more aggressive gearing on Mazda's part? Power to weight seems to be very close, too.
This is one of many comparison tests I wish some magazine had done. Or maybe they have and I missed it?
No magazine is going to compare these two, you can stick an Elantra inside a Mazda5. There's just so much more room.
I'd imagine the fuel economy differences will be in aero (the 5 is tall) and gearing. The 5 also rolls on 18's with 225's.
An Elantra Touring... inside a mazda 5? Wow... again talking out of that stinky orifice many of us sit on....
Elantra Touring: Length 176.2", Width 69.5", height 59.8", Wheelbase 106.3", 3080lbs.
Mazda5 : Length 180.5", Width 68.9", height 63.6", wheelbase 108.3" , 3506lbs
Looks really darn close to me.
In reply to Bobzilla:
You'd be amazed at the differences in interior volume between these 2, I sure was. Though, I imagine some of that is down to the higher roofline of the 5. Which brings at least one question to mind....do you sit higher in a Mazda5 or is the room all above your head? According to the "official government figures" the Touring has more front seat legroom, about the only space measurement it bests the 5 on.
Oh, and the differences in gas mileage would seem to give the Touring a longer range between fillups....but Mazda beats Hyundai there, too. It has a slightly larger fuel tank to make up for it's inferior gas mileage.
Unfortunately, the last Mazda5 with a manual transmission within 100 miles was sold last month.
I just find the comparison's kinda funny. One is a minivan, one is a station wagon. Of COURSE the interior layout will be different.
Inb4 E36 M3storm over calling the Mazda5 a "minivan." 
I call it a minivan all the time, I don't care. Isn't this the forum where Miata's are the answer to every question except what a gay couple should buy?
Anyways...
Geeze Bobzilla, next time I'll smiley up the clear joke so you get it. 
It's kind of obvious that you can't stick a car into another car unless we're talking Bryce's Honda into an F450 bed or something. Come on man.
And as for the comparison, go look inside them. The Elantra, being a traditional wagon, has very little head room or floor storage. The 5 has a flat floor and the taller roof which makes it much roomier than any wagon, not to mention the large door openings make child/childseat ingress and egress MUCH easier.
Further, the 5 seats 6, each with their own actual seat, versus the Elantra's 5 with one person needing to be Gumby to sit in the middle of the 2nd row. The 5 also has the same cargo capacity with all seats up, double the capacity while still seating 4, and 50% more when only seating 2. That doesn't include the middle row underseat storage areas, the hatch storage bin, or the door and side bins.
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:
Inb4 E36 M3storm over calling the Mazda5 a "minivan."
It's a bit too small to be a "proper" minivan. I'll therefore call it a... miniminivan? subminivan? Whatever it is, I like it.
Microvan?
Good friends of mine just replaced their protege 5 with the Elantra Touring. Bit more room and trunk space. Not too bad, except for all the goofy chrome trim everywhere.
familytruckster wrote:
Microvan?
Nah, that's already taken and doesn't apply too well either. That's a kei car or similar in van form. The mazda5's way too big for that.
IMO Mazda5's are at least 25-30% to small to be a minivan and 30-50% too big to be a microvan. They do take a lot of cue form vans though, and I like vans. Mini or otherwise.
