I just saw my friend Wendy's brand new Mazda 5 yesterday -LOVE it, and she does too. One small thing that I loved is the way the cargo cover is attached to the door itself, so the back cargo area is always easily covered from prying eyes. (You can undo it if you need to). I guess the third row must be optional, because hers did not have it.

I drive a KIA Sorento, with the optional third row. Our needs were similar to yours, in that we just occasionally need a third row. It is a very simple operation to put the third row up. Just reach into the cargo area from the back of the car, and pull on one strap for one part of the seat, and another strap for the other. This gives you the option of having just one seat up, or the entire seat up. The only inconcenience is that I ordered a deep plastic mat, and a cargo cover, both for the cargo area, and both have to be removed to put the third row up.

We were also drawn to this car because my dad had recently rolled one over on the highway, and he and his passenger walked away without a single injury. Not a lot of people realize that KIA hired the Chief Safety Engineer away from Volvo, and there are all kinds of nice little safety features in their cars now. Another one is some kind of fire retardent blanket that is attached to the front hood of the car by plastic nuts. If there is an engine fire, the nuts melt and the blanket drops onto the fire. We've been really thrilled with the vehicle so far.

Sorry I don't know anything about the Mazda. I've had the MDX for 9 years, and we have had very few problems with it. We bought it for the same reason you did - occasional need for the 3rd row of seats.
If you go for the Volvo you should take advantage of Volvo's overseas delivery program. It normally doesn't add anything to the purchase price and some cars are priced lower this way.

"Go on a trip to Europe where your own custom built souvenir is part of a truly unforgettable experience. Purchase a new Volvo via the Overseas Delivery Tourist Program and you will receive two complimentary, roundtrip flights to Europe on either Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) or British Airways (BA).*

This special offer also includes:
- One nights' hotel stay in Goteborg, Sweden (when taking delivery at the factory) *
- Shuttle service from Goteborg airport (when taking delivery at the factory)
- Access to SAS business lounges in the U.S. (only with SAS flights)"

Here is a link that might be useful: Volvo fly and drive

My niece has an older Mazda van that she picked up used. It has been flawless. My sister bought a Mazda years ago and drove it for 300,000 miles with no trouble.

My other sister currently has an MDX with almost 260,000 miles. It has been flawless too.

I'd consider a Prius station wagon if you didn't need that third row...

I checked on the Mazda 5 a few years ago when we were killing time at a dealership while buying a used car. I remember thinking "what is this?" I couldn't decide if it was supposed to be a minivan, or a crossover, or an SUV, or a hatchback, or what. And then I decided that it didn't matter what it was SUPPOSED to be, only that it did what it was intended to do. I decided it was a nice solution for the folks that need a little of something from each of those other categories. I think that Mazdas are good cars but tend to get overlooked for some reason.

Regarding the MDX, it's just an upscale Pilot. They're built on the same platform and their width, length, wheelbase, etc. are virtually identical. I don't know if there is a difference in design that makes visibility better in the MDX, but that would be the only difference.

I meant to add that I was at a wedding out of town recently and had a Mazda CX-9 (their big crossover with the third row seat) as my rental car. I thought it was very nice. My regular vehicle is a VW Touareg, which ovetrall has a better level of fit and finish than the Mazda. But, I think that for the price, you get a very nice product with the Mazda. I think Mazdas are more stylish than Toyotas and Hondas, and probably come standard with more goodies. And I think their quality is better than Nissan.

I test drove the CX-9 about 4 years ago when looking for a new car. (I wound up buying a CRV - what a pile of dog-poop) The problem with the CX-9 was that it took me 2 tries to get it into a parking spot at the grocery store. That was always part of my test drive - how easy is it too park at the grocery store.

Back to the CRV - it's just over 4 years old - bought new and so far we have replaced the transmission (yes), the rear differential (Yes), the air-conditioning and the wiper motor. Honda has paid for most of it. But still - piece of dog-poop.

I don't know anything about the Mazda but my husband drives an MDX. Prior to that, we had a Honda Accord. I LOVE the MDX. We have four kids, so I drive a Toyota Sequoia, which also has the 3rd row, but it is a really big SUV and drives like one. When we first got the MDX, I was surprised how "car like" it is since it is bigger. However, it didn't feel much different than our Accord sedan. It drives very much like a car. I have never driven a Pilot and think I've only been in one once, so I don't really know how it compares to the MDX even if it is built on the same platform. While I like my Sequoia, I much prefer to drive dh's MDX as I feel like I'm in a sedan, only slightly higher off the ground (unlike my Sequoia which is really a truck).

Your best bet is obviously to test drive both. However, if the dealer for the Mazda is that far away, it could be terribly inconvenient for servicing while it is still under warranty. We have a fantastic mechanic that we use for both of our cars and only ever used the dealers for warranty items. If the dealer offers a courtesy car for you to drive while your car is being serviced, then it might not be an issue.

my son has a mazda 5 and they bought it because they occasionally need a 3rd row.
I have driven it quite a bit when I've been babsitting.
I'm very short and I find it very easy to drive.
We had a Honda Osyssey. The Mazda 5 is much easier for me to drive than the Odyssey.

It's true that the MDX and the Pilot are virtually the same car, thought the Pilot somehow has more seating. The MDX had already been out a couple of years when the Pilot came out. I waited to see what it looked like, then got my MDX. The Pilot (at least that year's model) was just too bulky looking to me. We keep our cars a long time and I wanted to drive a pretty car. I actually surprised myself by getting a red one. I was going to get beige.

Close to 2 years ago now, when my neighbor and I were both looking for new cars, we test drove a few Mazdas, including the 5. My neighbor (whose van was totaled) wanted something that would still let her haul gardening stuff -- many bags of mulch, flats of flowers, etc.

She did like the 5 when she took it for a test drive herself. Once someone was in the passenger seat, it felt too tight, both in elbow room and head room. We both like a little more "air" over our heads. I don't see too many on the road, either: I think the 5 is just a mini-minivan -- and that people looking for that extra space just go with a traditional minivan.

She ended up buying the CX9. She doesn't like it so much anymore -- the handling, the road noise. Road noise seems to be a problem throughout the Mazda line, I learned when I was researching for my new car (test drove the Mazda 3, 6, CX7; bought a Hyundai wagon instead).

Concerning your height, there are so many vehicles now that have the seat height adjustment (either standard or as part of an optional pkg), and that will give you a better view of the road and a better handle for parking spaces.

(And I agree with the concern that the dealership is so far from you.)

Well, as I continue to obsess from afar (I have yet to actually visit a dealership), my concerns about the Mazda are the seating for a tall driver -- DH is 6'4" and will sometimes drive "my" car and reviews say it's not very comfortable for a tall driver -- and the location of the closest dealer.

The MDX very close in size to the Pilot -- just a few inches shorter -- but apparently drives more like a sedan somehow. While the reality is that I have to drive a big vehicle for a few more years (til at least one kid is out of the house and at least one dog, um, you know...), I'd like to actually enjoy it more than I do now, since I do spend a lot of time in my Mom Taxi!

We went thru the same search when we were looking for a new car a few years ago. I didn't like the Mazda 5 because it seemed like everything was so squished in. It seemed very tight. I was also worried about safety if we were ever rear-ended. It would be our kids in the very back most of the time and it just didn't seem like there was much between them and the car behind.

We ended up finding a great deal on a Volvo XC70 with two kids seats (jump seats) in the back. Unfortunately, you can't get them that way new any more (I don't think so anyways) and you can only seat kids up to 85lbs (worked for us, but doesn't sound like what you need). We have been extremely happy with the volvo and the safety can't be beat. I tried test driving the XC 90, but found it felt much larger than the XC70. However, my good friend has one and she says she feels it drives like a car.

You really need to do that test drive. I found that a couple of cars I really liked on paper, were really unimpressive when I actually drove them.

We like our Mazda CX9, but it is huge :) I don't love parking it in the garage. On the other hand I LOVE my infiniti FX. Not sure how much the new JX is, but it has the 3 rows of seating and might fit your criteria.

Daisy, very true, I need to just get out there and drive a few. When we bought the Pilot, I didn't drive any other cars. Just decided the Pilot was 'cooler' than the Odyssey, drove one around the block, and bought it. Not the smartest way to buy a car.

Boop, funny you should mention the JX -- my DH keeps telling me to check it out. On paper, it looks even bigger (longer, I think) than my Pilot but really, all these vehicles are about the same size so I just need to try them all out and see how they feel when I'm behind the wheel.

Too bad they're not all at the same dealer! I've got a serious case of summer laziness and we are also at our beach house for a few weeks, so I think all my car shopping will have to wait until we get home.

I would love to hear about it if you try it sueb20. My FX is my favorite car of any I have had ever. This is my second one and I hope they never stop making it and I can afford it when I might need another car. Hopefully this one will last a long time since I don't commute too far now and when we recently bought this one it was only 5 months old with 6k miles on it.

Cars like the Mazda 5 are very popular in Europe and Asia, but haven't found much of a market in the States. Don't understand why - it's the only non-minivan with sliding doors (which are much easier to enter and exit in crowded parking lots), it's affordable, roomy, has 3 rows of seats, and for those of us who like them, is available with a stick shift.

Ford was planning to bring a similar (and IMO better) vehicle to the US until recently, but decided against it at the last minute.

The Toyota RAV4 is available with 3rd-row seats. I know two people who drive them - you need to slide the 2nd-row seat forward for the 3rd row to have legroom, but there is a good amount of luggage room behind the 3rd row and the side-hinged tailgate door is easy to use. The optional V6 engine gives it muscle-car acceleration without taking a big hit in fuel economy. You can get them with front- or all-wheel drive; the latter is unnecessary if you don't live in the northeast or other frequently icy-weather areas.

Really they should bring back front bench seats so you could fit 6 people in a car in just the two front rows. Don't understand why these became unpopular (except in pickup trucks). Split-bench seats allowed both sides to be adjusted separately, just like bucket seats, typically with a 40/60% split so the center passenger is more comfortable. Some of the last cars that offered them, like the Ford Taurus shown here, even had innovative flip/fold center consoles that offered the best of both worlds - if nobody was sitting in the center position, the center seat cushion flipped forward to become a console with cup holders. You could then also fold down the center backrest to become a center armrest (shown in the up position in this picture, but it does fold down to become an armrest.) The driver and passenger seats are shaped just like bucket seats.

Sue, have you thought about an Acadia or a similar crossover? They are smaller than the Pilot and have third row seating.

I have an Acadia. It's not my favorite car but it's a good compromise between a full size SUV and a mini van. The big problem I have is that it has too many blind spots for my driving situation. We live in an area with lots of bikers, walkers, joggers, confused tourists and eldery drivers so I spend a lot of time double and triple checking to see if the roads and parking lots are clear.

It's comfy, has lots of fun features and my 6 foot 3 husband is comfortable driving it.

The Acadia and similar Chevy Traverse incidentally are a redesign of the old Chevrolet Uplander minivan, which offered FWD or AWD. GM restyled the body, replaced the sliding doors with hinged doors, and now they market it as a "crossover" instead of a van, since those are more profitable and popular (but less practical). Underneath they haven't changed much. (Still nice vehicles though, and the minivan heritage means a roomy 3rd-row seat you don't usually get in an SUV or crossover.)